The best spy series and films

“I would make a great spy!”

Everyone has said these words at some point in their lives. However, as MI5 is aware, most of us should stick to watching spies on telly, not trying to become one.

Luckily for us, Netflix’s new spy thriller, Black Doves, arrives on December 5th. Starring Sarah Lancashire, Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, it promises to keep us on the edge of our seats.

If December 5th still feels far away, you may need some other espionage entertainment to keep you going until then. I consider myself an expert in this arena due to my spy phase/obsession when I was younger (M15, hire me). Here is my list of the best spy series and films.

A word of warning: this list is very Keira Knightley-heavy. If you find yourself Knightley’d-out over the festive season (or Love Actually season) then you might want to save some of these for the new year.

Spooks, 2002-2011

Would it be too bold to call this the best TV show of all time? Probably. But I stand by it. No one is safe in Spooks. Even the characters that you think will live forever will die a brutal death eventually. It’s best not to get too attached – but it’s a hard task. Peter Firth stars as Harry Pearce, the stoic head of counter-terrorism at MI5. Among his ever-evolving staff are Matthew Macfayden, Keeley Hawes and Nicola Walker. Together they must work tirelessly to protect the general public from a diverse array of threats: suicide bombers, government coups and biological warfare, to name a few.

Having watched every episode at least twice, I can confirm that series 4 and 5 are the best, and series 10 isn’t worth bothering with.

All episodes are available on BBC iPlayer (and I envy you for getting to watch them for the first time).

Slow Horses, 2022-

In most lines of work, if you make a mistake it’s no biggie. Gave a customer a cappuccino instead of a latte? Don’t sweat it. Swore at a pupil because they were being a pain? It happens. The same logic does not apply to espionage. When a spy messes up, there are catastrophic consequences. But what happens to the spies that make mistakes? You can’t just fire them, they know too much.

This is where Slow Horses comes in. Disgraced spies are relegated from the Regent’s Park HQ to Slough House, a dilapidated office for them to eke out the rest of their careers doing tedious admin work. Nicknamed ‘slow horses’, they are looked down on by the others spies. But what happens when the slow horses get caught up in some serious espionage? – watch the series to find out!

Official Secrets, 2019

Everyone knows that to be a spy you’ve got to be good at keeping secrets. In fact, you’re legally bound to by the Official Secrets Act. But what happens when you’re asked to keep quiet about something dodgy? Do you speak up or stay silent? This is the decision GCHQ worker Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) wrestles with in Official Secrets.

Based on events that actually happened, the film follows Gun as she discovers the USA’s plans to bug several nations at a UN conference and takes the information to the press – breaking the Official Secrets Act. What happens next marked a key moment in the UK human rights movement, and is well worth watching.

Operation Mincemeat, 2021

Based on real life events, Operation Mincemeat follows various members of wartime intelligence services as they try to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. The key to their deception? A dead tramp called Glyndwr Michael. The spies give him a new lease of life as a captain, dropping him in the ocean with false documents to trick the Nazis. The real fun comes when they decide to give him a backstory (and get their personal feelings involved in the process).

The Imitation Game, 2014

Keira Knightley is back spying again. This time in the 1940s, working in Bletchley Park to crack the enigma. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as (University of Manchester alumni) Alan Turing, the (literally) tortured genius who, through his obsessive coding, helps Britain defeat the Nazis. The film received eight Oscar nominations when it came out, winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay, so what are you waiting for? Watch it now.

Munich: The Edge of War, 2021

We’re back in World War Two again (as a child, I once told my mum ‘I love war!’- I blame Michael Morpurgo). This time we’re watching two diplomats, Hugh (George MacKay) and Paul (Jannis Niewöhner), who knew each other in their youth, working for Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler respectively, as a peace agreement is discussed at the Munich Conference in 1938.

The film tackles one of the key issues of being a spy: the difficulty of keeping your personal life separate from your work. The answer, as the characters soon discover, is that you can’t. While we know that peace was in fact not reached at the Munich Conference, the film shines a light on the inner workings of espionage and diplomacy, showing just how much effort goes on behind the scenes.

Spy Kids, 2001

You thought I’d make a list of the best spy films and not include Spy Kids? This film was my introduction to the world of espionage. I’m still waiting for my parents to turn around, tell me they’re actually spies, and send me and my brother on a secret mission.

(P.S. I wasn’t joking earlier – MI5, get in touch!)