''Circles of Deceit'' is a British

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

series, produced by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

, first broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

on 16 October 1993. The series stars

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder (TV series), Minder'' and ''New Tricks'', singing the ...

as John Neil, a former SAS officer, and

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Du ...

veteran, later recruited as an agent and investigator for the Security Service (MI5). Some years previously Neil's wife and child were killed by an IRA bomb. In his despair, Neil turned to drink and quit the service. He took refuge from the world in a remote house deep in the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

countryside, until MI5 come calling with a job offer he can't refuse, however reluctantly. A VHS video of the self-titled pilot was released in the US in 1994. The complete series was later released on Region 1 DVD in the US by Acorn Media on 17 May 2011. On 23 April 2018, nearly twenty-five years after the broadcast of the self-titled pilot, the complete series was released on Region 2 DVD in the UK by Strawberry Media.

Production

The series was filmed in and around

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and across

. Set-up shots or on-screen captions are used to establish particular or specific places like London, Belfast or Paris, where required. Leeds city centre locations include: County Arcade,

Leeds Town Hall Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...

, The Bourse, Trevelyan Square, City Square, the chessboards on Victoria Square outside the central library, the Cinder Moor, and Headingley Hill Congregational Church. Several streets in the Burley and Hyde Park areas, including Woodhouse Lane are also recognisable. The canal path, back roads, waste ground, and derelict buildings in the Camp Fields area south of Leeds city centre were used, but this area has been redeveloped to the point of being virtually unrecognisable today.

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

is ten miles west of Leeds, and parts of

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

stood in for the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. Various

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

buildings are also featured, including the interior of the

Brotherton Library The Brotherton Library is a 1936 Grade II listed Neoclassical building with some art deco fittings, located on the main campus of the University of Leeds. It was designed by the firm of Lanchester & Lodge, and is named after Edward Brothert ...

and Parkinson Court, interiors and exteriors of the Roger Stevens Building, and a section of the "red route" corridor in the Mathematics and Earth Sciences Building. Rural locations north east of Leeds include the villages of Linton and

Sicklinghall Sicklinghall is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England that is situated between the town of Wetherby ( to the east) and the village of Kirkby Overblow. In 2007 the population was recorded as 300, increasing to 336 at the 2011 ...

, and the stately Bramham Park House, all near

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

. North west of Leeds, filming took place at sections of

Fewston Fewston is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated north of Otley and close to Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs. St Michael and St Lawrence's Church, Fewston mostly dates from 1697, although the t ...

and Swinsty reservoirs, and the environs of

RAF Menwith Hill Royal Air Force Menwith Hill (RAF Menwith Hill) is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and th ...

. A total of four feature-length episodes were made, including the self-titled pilot in 1993,BFI.org
/ref> followed by a series of three episodes, filmed in 1995, and broadcast between 1995 and 1996. Although broadcast as the final episode of the series, ''Sleeping Dogs'' is set chronologically after the events of the self-titled pilot (which was re-titled ''The Wolves are Howling'' for disambiguation reasons on repeat broadcasts and home video release). In the pilot, Neil's MI5 handler is played by

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen as well as for his work at the Royal National Theatre, he has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, two ...

using the name Randal. For the series, his handler is replaced by "Zero" played by

Susan Jameson Susan I. M. Jameson (born 13 August 1941) is an English actress. She is best known for three roles: portraying Esther Lane in the BBC crime drama series ''New Tricks'' between 2003 and 2013, voicing Mrs Wibbsey opposite the Fourth Doctor Tom B ...

, credited as the Controller. The only other recurring character throughout the series was Andy, a wheelchair-using researcher and collator, played by

Dave Hill Dave Hill may refer to: * Dave Hill (baseball) (1937–2018), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Dave Hill (golfer) (1937–2011), American golfer * Dave Hill (American football) (1941–2022), American football player * Dave Hill (automot ...

Cast

as John Neil *

as Controller aka 'Randal' (1.1) *

as Controller (2.1 — 2.3) *

as Andy (2.1 — 2.3) ''The Wolves are Howling'' *

Peter Vaughan Peter Ewart Ohm (4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016), known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage. Vaughan played Gr ...

as Liam McAuley *

Clare Higgins Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins (born 10 November 1955) is an English actress. She is a three-time winner of the Olivier Award for Best Actress; for '' Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1995), ''Vincent in Brixton'' (2003), and ''Hecuba'' (2005). She mad ...

as Eilish *

Ian McElhinney Ian McElhinney (born 30 June 1948) is a Northern Irish actor and director. He has appeared in many television series in a career spanning more than forty years; notable appearances include ''Taggart'', '' Hornblower'', ''Cold Feet'', and ''The ...

as Father Fergal * Tony Doyle as Graham * Colum Convey as Dessie Gill * Gerard Crossan as Colum McAuley *

Andrew Connolly Andrew Connolly (born 30 November 1965) is an Irish stage and screen actor and director. Biography Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 30 November 1965 and was raised in the Finglas and Ringsend areas. At sixteen years old he left school ...

as Dermot McAuley ''Sleeping Dogs'' *

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ...

as Alexander Petrov *

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and '' Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with ...

as Annie Shepherd * Paul Freeman as Armitage * Nicholas Jones as Schroeder * Bill Armstrong as Bill Roper *

Lalor Roddy Lalor Roddy (born 30 November 1954) is an Irish actor, described by ''The Irish Times'' theatre critic Fintan O'Toole as "surely the finest Irish actor of his generation". Youth Roddy was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His moth ...

as Mark Grady *

Ian Fitzgibbon Ian Fitzgibbon (born 1962) is an Irish film and television director, screenwriter and occasionally actor. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Spin the Bottle'', '' A Film with Me in It'' and the Comedy Central UK show Threesome, and for th ...

as Tony Lynch *

James Aubrey James Aubrey may refer to: * James Aubrey (actor) (1947–2010), English actor * James T. Aubrey (1918–1994), American television and film executive * Jimmy Aubrey Jimmy Aubrey (23 October 1887 – 2 September 1983) was an English actor wh ...

as George Grant ''Dark Secret'' *

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor. Early life Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. He was educated at Westminster School and ...

as Harry Summers * David Dixon as Detective Inspector Ransome * Kate Buffery as Kate Moore *

Pippa Guard Philippa Ann Guard (born 13 October 1952) is a British actress. Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Guard briefly attended the University of Montreal in Canada, first studying English and drama and then nursing, before returning to Britai ...

as Elizabeth Ferrer *

Melanie Hill Melanie Jane Hill is a British actress, known for playing Hazel Redfern in ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1985–1986), Aveline in ''Bread'' (1989–1991), Rita Dolan in Kay Mellor drama '' Playing the Field'' (1998–2002), Maggie Budgen in the BB ...

as Angie Norman *

Holly Aird Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress. She was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. Career Aird was spotted by a casting director at age nine whilst at Bush Davies Ballet School and starred in the 1980 dramatisation o ...

as Sarah Ellis *

Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

as Jim Caine *

Adjoa Andoh Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh MBE (; born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Lady Danbury in the Netflix Regency romance series ''Bridgerton'', since 2020. Other roles on television include appearances in two s ...

as Daniela *

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...

as Travis * Peter Birch as Stefan ''Kalon'' *

Simon Cadell Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was a classically trained English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy '' Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Born in London, he w ...

as Brendan Rylands *

Saskia Wickham Saskia Wickham (born 14 January 1967) is a British actress best known for playing Alex Wilton in the drama series ''Boon (TV series), Boon'', and Dr. Erica Matthews in the ITV Network, ITV television drama series ''Peak Practice'' between 1996 a ...

as Liz Baker * John Hannah as Jason Sturden *

Struan Rodger Struan Rodger (born 18 September 1946) is a British actor who has appeared widely in a range of supporting roles. He appeared briefly in '' Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' in 1978 but his first major film role was as Eric Liddell's ...

as Alec Dwyer *

Sean Gilder Sean Brian Gilder (born 1 March 1964) is an English stage, film and screen actor and playwright. Gilder was born in Brampton, Cumberland, England. He is best known for his portrayal of Styles on '' Hornblower'' and Paddy Maguire on '' Shamele ...

as Tarleton * John Hartley as Francis *

Constantine Gregory Constantine Gregory (born Constantine Liebert, September 16, 1942) is an American actor, dialect coach, and voice actor. Until 1983 he was usually credited as Constantin de Goguel. Life and career He was born of a Dutch father and Russian–born ...

as Paric *

Jack Klaff Jack Klaff, born August 6, 1951, is a South African-born actor, writer and academic. He has held professorships at Princeton University and Starlab. Amongst his early screen roles were in ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' (1977) as Red Four ...

as Osuna * Tony Armatrading as Lawrence

Episodes

Pilot (1993)

Series (1995—1996)

Trivia

When carrying a gun, Neil uses a

Walther PPK The Walther PP (, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. Design The Walther PP series feature an exposed hammer, a double-action ...

. Throughout the series, Neil’s drink of choice is a pint of

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

. David Dixon appeared with Dennis Waterman in an episode of

the Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a British police drama television series focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

appeared with Dennis Waterman in an episode of

and in The Railwayman’s Apprentice.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Circle of Deceit 1993 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1993 films 1993 television films 1990s British crime television series 1990s British drama television series British English-language television shows ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television