{"id":718088,"date":"2026-07-29T23:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/718088\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T23:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:20:16","slug":"better-than-slow-horses-spooks-is-nicola-walkers-beyond-brilliant-spy-drama-to-watch-tonight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/718088\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBetter than Slow Horses\u201d: Spooks is Nicola Walker\u2019s \u201cbeyond brilliant\u201d spy drama to watch tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the return of Slow Horses<\/a> is feeling a little far off (24th September), don\u2019t fret because there\u2019s another beyond brilliant spy drama that you can stream in full now \u2013 and, in our opinion, it\u2019s even better. Enter Spooks, the hit BBC series about a band of MI5 agents working to protect the UK, which features one of Nicola Walker<\/a>\u2019s best performances – and so many brilliant storylines that even Slow Horses can\u2019t compete. <\/p>\n

The exceptionally good series, which first arrived on our screens more than two decades ago, lets us into the inside secrets of \u2018Section B\u2019 \u2013 the counter-terrorism department of MI5. Headed up by Senior Case Officer Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen). Over the course of 10 series, the agents face everything from terrorist plots to arms smuggling \u2013 and things are almost as complicated within the team as they are outside of it. <\/p>\n

With the series now available to stream on the BBC, here\u2019s everything you need to know about Spooks before you do, including the full plot, cast and how you can watch it.<\/p>\n

What is Spooks about?\"spooks\"<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

The British spy series, which first aired on the BBC in 2002 and ran for 10 series, takes an intriguing look into the inner workings of MI5 and the personal lives of those involved. We follow the adventures of \u2018Section B\u2019 – a crack team of spies in MI5\u2019s counterterrorism department led by Matthew Macfadyen\u2019s Senior Case Officer Tom Quinn. <\/p>\n

The officers deal with everything from terrorist plots to immigration rings, always seeking to outwit the world\u2019s smartest criminal minds. But being a spy comes with a price and we see that through the characters in Spooks. Among them are Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes), Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo) and, of course, Nicola Walker, who enters the show in series 2, playing quiet but brilliant intelligence analyst Ruth Evershed.<\/p>\n

\"person<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Fast-paced and stylish, the series moves quickly, always introducing new characters, plots and high-stakes missions. No spoilers, but the series 10 finale was as thrilling as it was poignant, ending with a truly heartbreaking scene between Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) and Ruth. Fans will no doubt remember their will they-won\u2019t they relationship! <\/p>\n

Reflecting on her part in the series, Nicola Walker told Digital Spy: “Spooks was unique. It took up such a lot of your life – I think we did 10 episodes for the first few seasons. That\u2019s six months of your life. But some things happened on that show that… the attacks on London happened while we were filming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember us filming and the producer coming in and saying, ‘Stop filming, everyone must go home’ and the episode we were making at the time… they almost didn’t show it, because it was about a bombing of London.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a new thing we were worried about – the rise of terrorism. I find that really strange looking back on it. Spooks was very much of its time, and rather unique, so I was more than happy to be in that as a long-runner – because I think we won’t have that sort of show again. I think it was really, really unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s in the cast of Spooks?\"two<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

The full cast of Spooks is a rather long one, with countless major character departures and arrivals over the 10 series. The main cast includes: <\/p>\n

Matthew Macfadyen as Tom QuinnKeeley Hawes as Zoe ReynoldsDavid Oyelowo as Danny HunterJenny Agutter as Tessa PhillipsPeter Firth as Harry PearceRupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter Shauna Macdonald as Sam BuxtonHermione Norris as Ros MyersAnna Chancellor as Juliet ShawRobert Glenister as The Rt Hon Nicholas Blake MPNicola Walker as Ruth EvershedIs Spooks any good?\"spooks\"<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Yes – it\u2019s slick, pacy and surprisingly emotional, not least because \u2013 surprise, surprise \u2013 not everyone makes it out alive. While Slow Horses has a lot more humour than you can expect from Spooks, the latter has all the twists that Slow Horses doesn\u2019t, and features some truly standout performances from the like of Nicola Walker, Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes. If you\u2019re looking for a great series to devour ahead of Slow Horses\u2019 return in September, Spooks is a very worthwhile choice. <\/p>\n

How can I watch Spooks?<\/p>\n

You can watch Spooks series 1-10 now on BBC iPlayer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What other Nicola Walker dramas can I watch now?\"prisoner's<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re enjoyed watching Nicola play detective in Unforgotten, we\u2019d recommend Prisoners\u2019 Wives<\/a>. The series takes us into the lives of a group of women who each have loved ones behind bars, with Nicola giving a superb performance as DCI Jo Fontaine. You can watch Prisoners\u2019 Wives now on Prime Video<\/a>. To see Nicola on the other side of the law, we\u2019d suggest Collateral<\/a>. Set over the course of four days, the drama follows the far-reaching repercussions of a fatal shooting of pizza delivery man Abdullah Asif (Sam Otto) and the impact it has on those who were connected to it, including Nicola’s Jane Oliver. Collateral is available to watch on Netflix<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the return of Slow Horses is feeling a little far off (24th September), don\u2019t fret because there\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,96,55144,237597,72097,237598,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-718088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-entertainment","tag-nicola-walker","tag-nicola-walker-drama","tag-slow-horses","tag-spooks","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}