Sam Taylor
If you think you’ve seen all of Anna Maxwell Martin’s best performances, we’re here to tell you otherwise. Yes, her turn in Motherland was iconic and her portrayal of Delia Balmer in Until I Kill You was virtually flawless, but there’s another 5-star series that might have passed you by. ITV’s A Spy Among Friends sees her deliver a performance that’s just as compelling – so much so that fans have taken to social media to say they “can’t stop watching it” – and it’s available to watch (in one sitting, if you please) right now.
The Cold War spy thriller, which first aired in 2022, brings to life the true story of Nicholas Elliott (played by Damian Lewis) who worked for MI6 in the 1960s and discovered that his close friend and colleague Kim Philby had been secretly working as an undercover agent for the KBG. Anna Maxwell Martin plays Lily Thomas, who interrogates Elliott, suspecting him of being complicit, and the intense face-off between her and Lewis makes for truly spectacular viewing.
What is A Spy Among Friends about?
Sam Taylor
The six-part series is based on Ben Macintyre’s New York Times best-selling book and dramatises the true story of Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) and Kim Philby (Guy Pearce), two British spies and lifelong friends. Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet double agent in history and the series tells the tale of how his deeply personal betrayal was uncovered at the height of the Cold War and resulted in the gutting of British and American Intelligence.
Anna Maxwell Martin plays Lily Thomas, who is the only fictional character in the story – but you wouldn’t know it given how seamlessly she fits into the story. Lily works at MI5 and is brought in to determine whether Elliott had any involvement in his friend’s deception and defection. She appears in a number of interrogation scenes opposite Damian Lewis and she told Metro how they were “good fun”.
Adi Marineci
“They’re like a sort of game of tennis. So I just really enjoyed them,” she said. “The main thing about interrogation scenes, you don’t want to do it too many times. It just gets a right snooze.”
The cast of A Spy Among Friends includes:
- Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Line of Duty)
- Damian Lewis (Homeland, Billions)
- Guy Pearce (Jack Irish, Mare of Easttown)
- Adrian Edmondson (Back to Life, The Pact)
- Stephen Kunken (Billions, The Handmaid’s Tale)
- Nicholas Rowe (Mr. Holmes)
- Monika Gossman (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry)
- Thomas Arnold (The Golden Compass)
Is there a trailer for A Spy Among Friends?
Yes, you can watch the trailer for A Spy Among Friends below:
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A Spy Among Friends Limited Series Trailer
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Is A Spy Among Friends any good?
ROB YOUNGSON
Yes, there’s a lot to love about A Spy Among Friends. The characters are superb, the plot is very strong, not least because of the intriguing real-life story it’s based on, and the cinematography is impressive. Viewers have called it “captivating”, “elegant” and an “extremely good” spy thriller – and we don’t disagree.
