London Spy

by Tom Rob Smith

  ‘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

  Restaurant Diner (1 episode, 2015)

  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

  This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.

  No reproduction without permission.

  ® and © 1997 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

  The right of Tom Rob Smith to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4711-5943-5

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-5944-2

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.

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