Shaun Evans, Romola Garai and the cast of new MI5 thriller Betrayal discuss filming as the drama starts of ITV
ITV‘s fresh drama Betrayal launches on Sunday, February 8, taking over from After the Flood in the prime-time slot.
The thriller, featuring Shaun Evans, Romola Garai, Zahra Ahmadi and Nikki Amuka-Bird, examines trust, truth, and the personal price of secrets within today’s intelligence community.
This compelling four-part thriller unfolds within MI5’s world, delving into the delicate, complex network of human connections where loyalty and betrayal intersect.
A synopsis reads: “At the heart of the story is John Hughes (Shaun Evans), a mid-career MI5 officer navigating a rapidly evolving intelligence landscape while struggling to keep his personal life intact. On a hunch John meets a British Iranian man with links to the Stockport gangland who claims he has intelligence about a plot on UK soil.
“Before he can share intel, the informant is executed, and John kills the assassin in self-defence. John soon finds himself under internal investigation, facing scrutiny from his superiors, including Simone Grant (Nikki Amuka-Bird), while his partner Claire (Romola Garai) grapples with the secrecy that defines his world.
“John’s efforts to save his marriage are complicated by his inability to let the case go. And when he meets Mehreen Askari-Evans (Zahra Ahmadi), an intelligence operative who is tasked with taking over John’s duties, he finds an unlikely ally. As John becomes increasingly convinced of the involvement of a hardline faction of the Iranian regime, he also starts to worry there are enemies closer to home. But can he identify the target and avert the attack before it’s too late?”
Betrayal takes place in Liverpool, with filming locations spanning Liverpool and Manchester, and numerous cast members have praised both cities and their breathtaking scenery, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Discussing the experience of shooting locally, Shaun Evans, who portrays intelligence officer John Hughes, commented: “I spend a lot of time in Liverpool because my family are all there, so to be up north was brilliant. They were a really funny, hard-working crew, and to be seeing parts of Liverpool in a way that I hadn’t seen them, having access to certain parts of the city, that was just amazing. A very special time in my life.”
Romola Garai shared similar enthusiasm: “I had a very nice little apartment right by the docks, so I’d go on walks and go to all the museums, which was great. It was a city I don’t know very well, so it was a real treat to explore the food scene and galleries.”
Zahra Ahmadi, who portrays intelligence operative Mehreen Askari Evans, has also discussed the striking architecture and rich musical heritage she discovered whilst filming her scenes. Speaking about shooting in Liverpool and Manchester, she said: “I loved it. I’d worked in Manchester before for quite a considerable amount of time and I’m a big fan, but I had only ever been to Liverpool once (and only for a week) before Betrayal I was working that whole time, so I didn’t get to know it at all really. But what I do remember fro that week was how every single Scouser I met was really engaged, eloquent and energised which I loved.
“This time round however, I got more time to explore, and I’d never realised what a beautiful city it was. The architecture is stunning, and then of course there’s the musical history and the food scene too, which is incredible. I ate the most amazing cauliflower dish that blew my mind – Maray’s Disco Cauliflower – you need to try it..”
Betrayal starts on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Sunday, February 8.