The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service.
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels.
SS-GB is an alternative history novel by Len Deighton, set in a United Kingdom conquered and occupied by Germany during the Second World War. The novel's title refers to the branch of the Nazi SS that controls Britain. It was first published in 1978.
Silent Witness is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective based in Nottingham. Twenty-seven series of Silent Witness have been broadcast since 1996, with series 27 airing in January/February 2024.
David Troughton is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in A Very Peculiar Practice and Ricky Hanson in New Tricks.
Simon Rouse is an English actor, known for playing the role of Detective Chief Inspector, later Superintendent, Jack Meadows in the long-running ITV police drama The Bill.
Bomber is a novel by Len Deighton that was published in the United Kingdom in 1970. It is the fictionalised account of "the events relating to the last flight of an RAF Bomber over Germany on the night of June 31st, 1943", a deliberately non-existent date, in which an RAF bombing raid on the Ruhr area of western Germany goes wrong. In each chapter, the plot is advanced by seeing the progress of the day through the eyes of protagonists on both sides of the conflict.
Robert Daws is an English actor, and crime fiction author. He is best known for his television roles, including Tuppy Glossop in Jeeves and Wooster (1990–93), gruff cricketer Roger Dervish in the comedy Outside Edge (1994–96), mini-cab firm owner Sam in the sitcom Roger Roger (1996–2003), and East Yorkshire GP Dr Gordon Ormerod in the period medical drama The Royal (2003–11).
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson have been depicted in popular culture, both biographical and fictional, following his abdication in 1936 and their marriage the following year.
George VI is depicted in art and popular culture.
Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, and widely regarded as being among the most influential people in British history, Winston Churchill has been regularly portrayed in film, television, radio and other media. The depictions range from minor character to the biographical centerpiece, exceeding 30 films, more than two dozen television shows, several stage productions, and countless books.
A hypothetical military victory of the Axis powers over the Allies of World War II (1939–1945) is a common topic in speculative literature. Works of alternative history (fiction) and of counterfactual history (non-fiction) include stories, novels, performances, and mixed media that often explore speculative public and private life in lands conquered by the coalition, whose principal powers were Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy.
Luther is a British psychological crime thriller television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan, written by Neil Cross. The detective Luther must make cases against criminals while the murderer Morgan has a complicated relationship with him. The first series is composed of six episodes which ran in May and June 2010. A second series of four episodes aired on BBC One in June and July 2011, and a third was commissioned in 2012 composed of four episodes which aired in July 2013. A two-episode fourth series was broadcast in December 2015, and a fifth series of four episodes premiered on 1 January 2019. BBC Studios handled distribution for the TV series.
There is a large body of fiction set in an alternate history or a secret history, where the Operation Sea Lion, a German plan to invade Britain during World War II, is attempted or successfully carried out. However, analyses by experts during a wargame conducted in 1974 concluded that there was little chance of the plan succeeding.
James Northcote is an English actor and producer who has appeared in The Last Kingdom, The Imitation Game, Nymphomaniac, Anna Karenina and Wuthering Heights.
The Missing is a British anthology drama television series written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams. It was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on 28 October 2014, and in the United States on Starz on 15 November 2014. The first eight-part series, about the search for a missing boy in France, was directed by Tom Shankland. It stars Tchéky Karyo as Julien Baptiste, the French detective who leads the case, with James Nesbitt and Frances O'Connor as the boy's parents.
The Man in the High Castle is an American dystopian alternate history television series created for streaming service Amazon Prime Video, depicting a parallel universe where the Axis powers of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan rule the world after their victory in World War II. It was created by Frank Spotnitz and produced by Amazon Studios, Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions, and Big Light Productions. The series is based on Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel of the same name.
Philipp Kadelbach is a German film and television director. In discussing Kadelbach, actor Jürgen Schornagel stated "He's in the top five of the 116 directors I've worked with. He helps young people and experienced actors - and he lets us make mistakes".
The Pembrokeshire Murders is a Welsh three-part television drama miniseries based on the Pembrokeshire murders by Welsh serial killer John Cooper. In 2006, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins decided to reopen two unsolved 1980s murder cases linked with a string of burglaries. New advances in technology for forensic DNA analysis, witness reports and artists impressions of the suspect led to Dyfed-Powys Police reviewing a 1989 episode of Bullseye, which led to the serial killer finally being caught. It premiered on ITV on 11 January 2021.
Olivia Vinall is an English actress known for her roles in Apple Tree Yard (2017), The Woman in White (2018) and as Detective Matilda Stone in Queens of Mystery in 2019.
