Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky, CMG is a former colonel of the KGB who became KGB resident-designate (rezident) and bureau chief in London. He was a double agent, providing information to the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 1974 to 1985. After being recalled to Moscow under suspicion, he was exfiltrated from the Soviet Union in July 1985 under a plan code-named Operation Pimlico. The Soviet Union subsequently sentenced him to death in absentia.
Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne over a period of 31 years, from 1964 to 1995. The story makes reference to certain political and social events which occurred during the era portrayed, some specific to Newcastle and others which affected Britain as a whole. These include general elections, police and local government corruption, the UK miners' strike (1984–85), and the Great Storm of 1987.
François Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter.
Die Kinder is a six-part British television political thriller miniseries, written by Paula Milne and directed by Rob Walker, that first broadcast on BBC2 on 14 November 1990. The series, which starred Miranda Richardson and Frederic Forrest, follows housewife Sidonie Reiger (Richardson) as she tries to rescue her children, who have been kidnapped by her ex-husband, a former radical activist. She enlists the help of private investigator Lomax (Forrest), as they find themselves caught between her husband's past associates and an international array of security service operatives.
Romola Sadie Garai is a British actress and film director. Known for her extensive work on stage and screen, she often acts in period films. Her early film roles include Nicholas Nickleby (2002), I Capture the Castle (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004), and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). She has gained prominence for her performances in the critically acclaimed costume dramas such as Vanity Fair (2004), As You Like It (2006), Amazing Grace (2007), Atonement (2007), Glorious 39 (2009), and Suffragette (2015).
Charlie Thomas Cox is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in the television series Daredevil (2015–2018) and other projects as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Patrick Kennedy is an English actor and director.
Nicholas Nickleby is a 2002 British-American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Douglas McGrath. The screenplay is based on The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, which originally was published in serial form between March 1838 and September 1839. Charlie Hunnam stars in the title role alongside Nathan Lane, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway, Romola Garai, Alan Cumming, and Timothy Spall.
Emma is a four-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma. The episodes were written by Sandy Welch, writer of previous BBC costume dramas Jane Eyre and North & South, and directed by Jim O'Hanlon. The serial stars Romola Garai as the titular heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jonny Lee Miller as her loyal lifelong friend Mr. Knightley, and Michael Gambon as Emma's father, Mr. Woodhouse. The serial originally ran weekly on Sunday nights on BBC One from 4 to 25 October 2009.
The Crimson Petal and the White is a 2011 four part television serial, adapted from Michel Faber's 2002 novel The Crimson Petal and the White. Starring Romola Garai as Sugar and Chris O'Dowd as William Rackham, the drama aired in the UK during April 2011 on BBC Two. The supporting cast includes Shirley Henderson, Richard E. Grant and Gillian Anderson. Critical reviews of the drama were mixed but generally positive.
The Hour is a British television drama series broadcast on BBC. The series was centred on a then-new current-affairs show being launched by the BBC in June 1956, at the time of the Hungarian Revolution and Suez Crisis. It stars Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, and Romola Garai, with a supporting cast including Tim Pigott-Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Burn Gorman, Anton Lesser, Anna Chancellor, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and Oona Chaplin. It was written by Abi Morgan.
Simon Patrick Douro Hoare, known by the stage-name Sam Hoare, is a British actor and director known for his role as rower Dickie Burnell, alongside Matt Smith, in BBC One Olympic drama Bert and Dickie (2012).
Set in 1970s London, Legacy is a spy novel by English author Alan Judd. Published in 2001 it continues the story of Charles Thoroughgood, first introduced in his debut novel, A Breed of Heroes, published 20 years earlier. British historian Peter Hennessy described it as 'one of the best spy novels ever'.
The Wrong Mans is a British BBC Television comedy-drama series, co-produced with the American online television provider Hulu. It premiered on BBC Two on 24 September 2013 and in the United States on 11 November 2013. Considered a critical and ratings success, it was co-created and written by Gavin & Stacey alumni James Corden and Mathew Baynton as an attempt to combine the situation comedy format with the intricate plotting and storytelling tropes of an action-adventure series.
Inside Claridge's is a British documentary television series that first broadcast on BBC Two on 3 December 2012. The final episode aired on 17 December 2012. The series documented a year behind the scenes of Claridge's, a five-star hotel located in Mayfair, London.
Tudor Monastery Farm is a British factual television series, first broadcast on BBC Two on 13 November 2013. The series, the fifth in the historic farm series, following the original, Tales from the Green Valley, stars archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold, and historian Ruth Goodman. The team discover what farming was like during the Tudor period at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. The program also recurringly features other historians, such as Colin Richards, and Professor Ronald Hutton.
The Game is a British Cold War spy thriller television serial set in London in 1972. The six-part series was created by Toby Whithouse, written by Whithouse, Sarah Dollard and Debbie O'Malley, and first broadcast on BBC America in 2014.
The Casual Vacancy is a 2015 British miniseries based on the 2012 novel of the same title by J. K. Rowling. Directed by Jonny Campbell and written by Sarah Phelps, the series premiered on 15 February 2015 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on 29 April 2015 on HBO in the United States.
Code of a Killer is a three-part British police drama television series which tells the true story of Alec Jeffreys' discovery of DNA fingerprinting and its introductory use by Detective David Baker in catching the double murderer Colin Pitchfork. Filming commenced in late September 2014, and the program aired on the ITV network, on 6 and 13 April 2015. Endemol Shine handled international distribution of the series.
Connor Ryan Swindells is an English actor and model. He gained prominence through his role as Adam Groff in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2023). He has since starred in the BBC One war drama SAS: Rogue Heroes (2022–present). His films include The Vanishing (2018), Emma (2020), Barbarians (2021), and Barbie (2023).
