{"id":26784,"date":"2022-12-08T11:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T10:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1752131"},"modified":"2022-12-08T12:16:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T11:16:07","slug":"a-spy-among-friends-true-story-the-explosive-real-saga-of-itvx-drama","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/a-spy-among-friends-true-story-the-explosive-real-saga-of-itvx-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"A Spy Among Friends true story: The explosive real saga of ITVX drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By James Hibbs\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 08 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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With new streaming service ITVX<\/a> now having launched, TV fans will likely be diving into the platform\u2019s first brand new dramas, including long-awaited Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce spy series A Spy Among Friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show tells the story of a Soviet defector amongst the British intelligence services during the Cold War, with the widespread betrayal hitting particularly intimately for his friend and colleague.<\/p>\n

But fans may be wondering, just how much of this story is true, are the characters in the show real, and has it been based on a particular source material?<\/p>\n

Read on for everything you need to know about A Spy Among Friends and its basis in reality.<\/p>

Is A Spy Among Friends based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Damian Lewis as Nicholas Elliott, Guy Pearce as Kim Philby and Stephen Kunken as James Jesus Angleton in A Spy Among Friends.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITVX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

A Spy Among Friends is based on a true story about real-life spies Kim Philby and Nicholas Elliott.<\/p>\n

Philby was a British intelligence officer, who in 1963 was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring, which had divulged British secrets to the Soviet Union for decades. After being uncovered, he flew to the Soviet Union where he remained until his death 25 years later.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Nicholas Elliott was an MI6 officer who had been good friends with Philby for decades when his betrayal was revealed. Elliott was tasked with attempting to secure Philby\u2019s confession after the intelligence service\u2019s suspicions were raised. You can watch a clip of Elliott interrogating Philby in A Spy Among Friends<\/a> below.<\/p>