‘For secret assassination . . . the contrived accident is the most effective technique. When successfully executed it causes little excitement, and is only casually investigated’
We are now so immersed in paranoia and suspicion that an accident isn’t sufficient to divert our attention – fundamentally we don’t believe in coincidence, but we do believe in stories, or at least, we believe in stories that are well told. In order to make sure a death doesn’t become a murder, the murderer must become a story teller. In a subsection of the manual, under the label “Techniques” it declares: “A subject’s personal habits may be exploited to prepare him for a contrived accident of any kind.” Which is to say, in order to create a plausible lie, you weave in elements of truth. I would go much further in my analysis of this approach, as with all story telling, it’s important to have your audience in mind, which means understanding, or trying to, how they’d react to certain story elements. Prejudices are useful in this context because they’re stories people believe without requiring any evidence. For example, the murder of a charity worker would be much less toxic if it was implied that he or she was embezzling money from the charity they worked for, after all, deep down we believe bad people get what they deserve, and people who flirt with the underworld of our society, do so at their peril.
In London Spy, Danny argues that storytelling of a different kind is at play. The death of his lover draws on my own very powerful fear that I’ve experienced throughout my teenage years, and adult life, that the intimacy I crave will ultimately be my destruction. At school I thought my attraction to the same sex would end my career before it had begun. Desire was sublimated, configured in my brain as a threat to my ambitions, my place in this world, and with the arrival of HIV/AIDS as a threat to my life. I reasoned that if I could convince myself that I was straight maybe I could convince other people too, as if sexuality were merely a matter of presentation. My thoughts were distorted by this self-appointed undercover operation to such an extent that it’s taken many years to unpick the damage, indeed, perhaps some of the damage is not yet undone. So, in London Spy, when Danny finds love and intimacy, on a deeper level he fears it will end badly because that is the narrative lodged in his mind. For this very reason Danny does everything possible to avoid the pitfalls of a relationship ending badly – he promises to tell the truth, he avoids drugs, or excessive drink, he’s faithful, committed, he’s devoted. He does everything right. That is why Danny must fight, because that narrative of death and despair is from the past. Just as that old Hungerford bridge has been ripped down and replaced with a bridge where many linger and enjoy the view, we are in a new world, with new narratives. But as with anyone trying to tell a new story, a story previously untold, the stories of old have great weight behind them. What is worse, they often have some element of truth, and the battle is not as straightforward as Danny might think.
London Spy
Cast List and Production Credits
Series Directed by Jakob Verbruggen
Ben Whishaw
Danny (5 episodes, 2015)
Edward Holcroft
Alex (5 episodes, 2015)
Jim Broadbent
Scottie (5 episodes, 2015)
Zrinka Cvitesic
Sara (4 episodes, 2015)
Samantha Spiro
Detective Taylor (4 episodes, 2015)
Harriet Walter
Claire (3 episodes, 2015)
Josef Altin
Pavel (2 episodes, 2015)
Richard Cunningham
Danny’s Lawyer (2 episodes, 2015)
Adrian Lester
Professor Marcus Shaw (2 episodes, 2015)
David Hayman
Mr. Turner (2 episodes, 2015)
Charlotte Rampling
Frances (2 episodes, 2015)
Lorraine Ashbourne
Mrs. Turner (2 episodes, 2015)
Nicolas Chagrin
Charles (2 episodes, 2015)
Priyanga Burford
Clinician (2 episodes, 2015)
Kate Dickie
Editor (1 episode, 2015)
Riccardo Scamarcio
Doppelganger (1 episode, 2015)
Michaela Coel
Journalist (1 episode, 2015)
Henry Goodman
Silversmith (1 episode, 2015)
James Copestake
Lead Party Guy (1 episode, 2015)
Sean McKee
Dealer (1 episode, 2015)
Tatsujiro Oto
Geisha (1 episode, 2015)
Grant Stimpson
Danny’s Boss (1 episode, 2015)
Mark Gatiss
Rich (1 episode, 2015)
Lizzy McInnerny
Danny’s Mother (1 episode, 2015)
David Meyer
Danny’s Father (1 episode, 2015)
Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Magician (1 episode, 2015)
Steffan Donnelly
Raphael (1 episode, 2015)
Sam Kenyon
HIV Group Chair (1 episode, 2015)
Jay Benedict
Phone Voice (1 episode, 2015)
Deon Lee-Williams
Ryan (1 episode, 2015)
George Hewer
Clarke Peters
The American (1 episode, 2015)
Heronimo Sehmi
Club Staff (1 episode, 2015)
James Fox
James (1 episode, 2015)
Matthew Stagg
Young Alex (1 episode, 2015)
Nicola Grier
Agent in the Attic (1 episode, 2015)
Oliver Messenger
Front of House Manager (1 episode, 2015)
Neil Alexander Smith
Nightclub Doorman (1 episode, 2015)
Richard Clark
Warehouse Worker (uncredited) (1 episode, 2015)
Svyatoslav Ketchin
Doctor (uncredited) (1 episode, 2015)
Series Produced by:
Tim Bevan
executive producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Charlotte Bloxham
line producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Eric Fellner
executive producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Guy Heeley
producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Polly Hill
executive producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Juliette Howell
executive producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Hilary Salmon
executive producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Tom Rob Smith
executive producer (5 episodes, 2015)
Also by Tom Rob Smith
Child 44
The Secret Speech
Agent 6
The Farm
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2016
A CBS COMPANY
Scripts copyright © Working Title, 2015
Introduction and end matter © Tom Rob Smith, 2016
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