Is ITVX show A Spy Among Friends a true story? All you need to know-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro

The drama tells a tale of bitter betrayal (Picture: Sam Taylor/Sony Pictures Television/Spectrum Originals/itv)

In need of a new espionage thriller to sink your teeth into? Then look no further than A Spy Among Friends, a drama coming to the newly-launched ITVX streaming platform.

Starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, the six-episode series – which is based on a book of the same name – tells a complex and bitter tale of deception and betrayal.

With the release date arriving this week, find out more about the characters Damian and Guy play – Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby respectively – whether it’s based on a true story and who else is in the cast.

Is A Spy Among Friends based on a true story?

A Spy Among Friends is based on a true story, taking after the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre, who had access to MI5 papers and previously unseen papers.

Kim Philby is regarded as being the most notorious British double agent in history, after working for the Soviet Union under his colleagues’ noses for several years.

The traitorous spy spilled secrets to the Soviet authorities during the Second World War and the early years of the Cold War, before his true intentions and identity were eventually discovered.

Philby defected to Moscow in 1963, remaining there until his death in 1988.

Elliott was close friends with Philby before finding out about his treachery, before finding out how much of his life he’d actually been hiding behind closed doors.

When Philby’s deceit was uncovered, Elliott put himself forward to confront his old pal with the aim of obtaining a written confession from him.

Philby managed to escape before doing so, fleeing to Moscow where he was granted Soviet citizenship despite confessing out loud to Elliott.

Philby died in Moscow decades after being found out (Picture: Bettmann Archive)

Who is in the cast?

In addition to Guy as the notorious defector Kim Philby and Damian as his unsuspecting friend Nicholas Elliott, Line of Duty star Anna Maxwell-Martin is also in the cast as Lily Thomas, a woman who works for MI5.

Motherland star Anna plays a fictional character (PIcture: BBC/Delightful Industries/Merman/Colin Hutton)

Lily Thomas is the only character in the drama not based on a real person, as she delves into the investigation looking into Nicholas Elliott’s potential involvement in Kim Philby’s betrayal.

Adrian Edmonson plays Sir Roger Hollis, who was the Director General of MI5 from 1956 to 1965, while Stephen Kunken portrays James Jesus Angleton, who was chief of counterintelligence for the CIA from 1954 to 1974.

When is the release date and where to watch

A Spy Among Friends is set to premiere on ITV’s new streaming platform ITVX on Thursday December 8, with all episodes being made available to watch on the service.

The date of the drama’s release coincides with the launch of ITVX, which is a new free-to-watch streaming site that’s been created to replace ITV Hub.

More than 10,000 hours of on-demand content will be made available to watch on the platform, including 35 flagship shows, 200+ series and 250+ films.

ITV has announced that a number of shows will first stream exclusively on ITVX, before being broadcast on ITV channels six months later.

A Spy Among Friends premieres on Thursday December 8 on ITVX.

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