Gordon Carrera

Famously, he had a wooden leg and he wouldn't tell new recruits that he had a wooden leg. And they'd come into his office and he would stab himself with a penknife in the wooden leg to test whether or not they'd flinch. And if they flinched, he knew they weren't good enough for the British Secret Service.

Famously, he had a wooden leg and he wouldn't tell new recruits that he had a wooden leg. And they'd come into his office and he would stab himself with a penknife in the wooden leg to test whether or not they'd flinch. And if they flinched, he knew they weren't good enough for the British Secret Service.

So it's a bit of a character there. You've got a brilliant series on North Korean espionage, haven't you? Yep. More recently, we've done North Korean espionage, done a bit about Syria. Got a series going out around now about Anna Chapman, who was a rather famous female agent from Russia who infiltrated both London and New York society on behalf of the Russian security services in around 2010.

So it's a bit of a character there. You've got a brilliant series on North Korean espionage, haven't you? Yep. More recently, we've done North Korean espionage, done a bit about Syria. Got a series going out around now about Anna Chapman, who was a rather famous female agent from Russia who infiltrated both London and New York society on behalf of the Russian security services in around 2010.

So it's a bit of a character there. You've got a brilliant series on North Korean espionage, haven't you? Yep. More recently, we've done North Korean espionage, done a bit about Syria. Got a series going out around now about Anna Chapman, who was a rather famous female agent from Russia who infiltrated both London and New York society on behalf of the Russian security services in around 2010.

So we've got a kind of rich array, I think, of different stories for people who just love spy stories.

So we've got a kind of rich array, I think, of different stories for people who just love spy stories.

So we've got a kind of rich array, I think, of different stories for people who just love spy stories.

So you're going to do those at some point? Absolutely. Vassal is a fascinating story about a honey trap in Moscow, actually, you know, and he gets trapped there while he's serving with a British embassy. And Gordievsky is one of the great spy stories. I've met Gordievsky a few times and he's an amazing character, still alive, living in kind of semi-hiding in Britain.

So you're going to do those at some point? Absolutely. Vassal is a fascinating story about a honey trap in Moscow, actually, you know, and he gets trapped there while he's serving with a British embassy. And Gordievsky is one of the great spy stories. I've met Gordievsky a few times and he's an amazing character, still alive, living in kind of semi-hiding in Britain.

So you're going to do those at some point? Absolutely. Vassal is a fascinating story about a honey trap in Moscow, actually, you know, and he gets trapped there while he's serving with a British embassy. And Gordievsky is one of the great spy stories. I've met Gordievsky a few times and he's an amazing character, still alive, living in kind of semi-hiding in Britain.

But he's a great example where you've got all the excitement of a spy story, of his exfiltration from Moscow under the kind of watching eyes of the KGB and the drama of it. But you've also got a figure who is quite consequential.

But he's a great example where you've got all the excitement of a spy story, of his exfiltration from Moscow under the kind of watching eyes of the KGB and the drama of it. But you've also got a figure who is quite consequential.

But he's a great example where you've got all the excitement of a spy story, of his exfiltration from Moscow under the kind of watching eyes of the KGB and the drama of it. But you've also got a figure who is quite consequential.

in history, because the intelligence he provided helped, especially Thatcher and Reagan, kind of inform them how to deal with the Soviet Union, how to deal with Gorbachev, and how to manage the end of the Cold War. And I think that's really interesting, when you get a spy story, which isn't just an exciting story, but actually tells you something about history.

in history, because the intelligence he provided helped, especially Thatcher and Reagan, kind of inform them how to deal with the Soviet Union, how to deal with Gorbachev, and how to manage the end of the Cold War. And I think that's really interesting, when you get a spy story, which isn't just an exciting story, but actually tells you something about history.

in history, because the intelligence he provided helped, especially Thatcher and Reagan, kind of inform them how to deal with the Soviet Union, how to deal with Gorbachev, and how to manage the end of the Cold War. And I think that's really interesting, when you get a spy story, which isn't just an exciting story, but actually tells you something about history.

And that's right. I think that's one of the things we want to answer is as well as the kind of human side of things. But when did it matter? And I think Gordievsky is an example. Philby is another figure who mattered enormously in terms of the early Cold War, but also shaping, you know, I think Dominic knows, you know, shaping British institutions and British culture. actually, for many decades.

And that's right. I think that's one of the things we want to answer is as well as the kind of human side of things. But when did it matter? And I think Gordievsky is an example. Philby is another figure who mattered enormously in terms of the early Cold War, but also shaping, you know, I think Dominic knows, you know, shaping British institutions and British culture. actually, for many decades.

And that's right. I think that's one of the things we want to answer is as well as the kind of human side of things. But when did it matter? And I think Gordievsky is an example. Philby is another figure who mattered enormously in terms of the early Cold War, but also shaping, you know, I think Dominic knows, you know, shaping British institutions and British culture. actually, for many decades.