''A Perfect Spy'' is a BBC serial adaptation of

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

's 1986

spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...

'' A Perfect Spy'' which was aired on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

and broadcast from 4 November to 16 December 1987. It follows the career of the British MI6 spy Magnus Pym from his early days as a schoolboy to his eventual disappearance as a suspected agent of the Czech secret service. The series was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series represents excellence in the category of limited series that are two or more episodes, with a total running time of at least 150 minutes. Criteria The program must tell a compl ...

and the

British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series The British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry. The category is described on the official ...

in 1988.

Plot summary

''A Perfect Spy'' traces the life story of Magnus Pym and his career in British intelligence and as a double agent. The series recounts Pym's childhood with his con-man father, his early years at school and university, his encounters with long-time friend and Czech spy Axel, and his final downfall.

Main cast

Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor and animal rights activist. He is known for his television roles, including Hogarth in ''Big Breadwinner Hog'', the future George IV of the United Kingdom in ''Prince Regent'' (1979 ...

as Magnus Pym (episodes 3 to 7) * Benedict Taylor as Young Adult Magnus Pym (episodes 1 and 2) *Jonathan and Nicholas Haley as Child Magnus Pym (episode 1) *

Ray McAnally Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and ...

as Rick Pym *Rüdiger Weigang as Axel *

Alan Howard Alan Howard may refer to: * Alan Howard (actor) (1937–2015), English actor * Alan Howard (cricketer) (1909–1993), English cricketer * Alan Howard (engineer) (1905–1966), American engineer * Alan Howard (hedge fund manager) (born 1963), hedge ...

as Jack Brotherhood *

Jane Booker Jane P Booker (born 9 May 1956) is an English actress. She was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and has over 40 television roles to her credit. One of her first roles was in James Ivory's " Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures ...

as Mary Pym * Tim Healy as Syd Lemon *

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

as Miss Dubber *

Sarah Badel Sarah M. Badel (born 30 March 1943) is a retired British stage and film actress. She is the daughter of actors Alan Badel and Yvonne Owen. Life and career Badel was born in London to actor, Alan Badel and actress, Yvonne Owen. She was educ ...

as Baroness Weber *

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series '' Edge of Darkness'', and went on to feature in popular films such as ''The Englishma ...

as Sefton Boyd *

Julian Firth Julian Firth (born 8 January 1961) is an English actor, best known for his roles as troubled inmate Davis in the cinematic version of the film '' Scum'' and as Brother Jerome in the long-running television series '' Cadfael''. Firth has enjoye ...

as Young Sefton Boyd *

Garrick Hagon Garrick Hagon (; born September 27, 1939) is a British-Canadian actor in film, stage, television and radio, known for his role as Biggs Darklighter in '' Star Wars: A New Hope''. His many films include ''Batman'', ''Spy Game'', '' Me and Orso ...

as Grant Lederer *Lesley Nightingale as Sabina

Episodes

Reception

John J. O'Connor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' cited the series as "on a par with ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'' and ''Smiley's People,''", and wrote it "makes another very impressive addition to the television record of Le Carre explorations. Gloomy and disturbing, to be sure, but singularly absorbing."

Awards and nominations

The series was nominated for five

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

in 1988, for Drama Series (

Colin Rogers ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Reg Watson and first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the soap in 2000, by order of first appearance. All character ...

, Peter Smith),

for Actor, Michael Storey for Original Music and Television Craft for Film Cameraman (Elmer Cossey) and Film Sound (Malcolm Webberley, Ken Hains, Tony Quinn, Graham Lawrence, John Hyde). After airing in the United States on '' Masterpiece Theater'', the series was nominated for two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

at the

41st Primetime Emmy Awards The 41st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 17, 1989. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. The ceremony saw the guest acting categories double, as they were now based on ...

, for Outstanding Miniseries and

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perfect Spy, A 1987 British television series debuts 1987 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series BBC television dramas Espionage television series 1980s British television miniseries John le Carré Television shows based on British novels English-language television shows Secret Intelligence Service in fiction British spy television series