Spy Stories

The story of the long and often extraordinary relationship between fact and fiction in the mysterious world of British espionage. The programme charts the evolution of real spies and spying through the twentieth century, and looks at the parallel development of spy fiction during the same period. From Rudyard Kipling's Kim to 007 and Spooks, Spy Stories shows how fiction writers in novels, films and television responded to the changing nature of the reality of espionage, paying particular on the Cambridge Spies (Burgess, MacLean, Philby and Blunt) and the way the climate of betrayal and paranoia they generated was subsequently portrayed by writers like John Le Carre. Contributors include: Dame Stella Rimington (former Director-General, MI5); Baroness Daphne Park (former Senior Controller, MI6); David Shayler; John Le Carre; Charlie Higson; Prof Bernard Porter; Dr Nick Hiley; and Stephen Dorril