![]() ![]() Related: SAS Rogue Heroes boss responds to Peaky Blinders comparisonsĪccording to a 1994 New York Times article, Philby's new life in Russia wasn't as he had expected, with him spending his first few years in the country under house arrest. Elliott had left his friend under guard, but in a speech Philby gave years later (as reported by The Guardian), he said he was able to escape because the agent who kept an eye on him could not resist going skiing after hearing about the fresh snow on the nearby Lebanese mountains. According to his obituary in The Independent, he volunteered to challenge his former friend and was instructed to go to Beirut, where he got Philby's confession in writing, as we see in the series.Īfter Elliott returned to London, Philby fled to Moscow under cover of night aboard a Soviet freighter (as the series shows). In his book With My Little Eye, Nicholas Elliott wrote about his last contact with Kim Philby in 1963. ![]() Philby's betrayal of the friend who had always tried to protect and defend him led to Nicholas's journey to Beirut to finally confront him. In 1961, a Russian defector passed on information that implicated Philby as a spy and traitor, and Nicholas Elliott was interrogated to see if he knew anything about Philby's other life (he didn't). He was cleared by the Foreign Secretary at the time, Harold Macmillan, but was forced to resign from MI6 and, on Nicholas Elliott’s urging, went to work as a journalist in the Middle East, eventually settling in Beirut. SAS Rogue Heroes' true story is wilder than showīurgess and Maclean fled to Moscow in 1951 before they could be arrested for spying, and many believe it was Philby who found out they were under suspicion and tipped them off.(They all had code names, with Philby known as Sonny or Mr Stanley). ![]() He secretly worked with four other men – Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross – who became known as the Cambridge Five after their spy ring was uncovered. It is believed that Philby had been recruited by the Soviets as far back as 1934 and, in the three decades he divulged British secrets, he held a series of well-placed posts, including at MI6 and as secretary to the British Embassy in Washington (where he liaised with American intelligence agencies). So how much of A Spy Among Friends is based on true events? A Spy Among Friends: The true storyĬambridge-educated Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby became close friends in 1940, when they were both working in separate departments of the British Intelligence Service. ![]() While there have been other dramas about Philby and the men who were part of his spy ring known as the Cambridge Five, this six-part series details not just Philby's life and crimes, but also focuses on his relationship with fellow British agent Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis).Įlliott was Philby's close friend and staunch supporter – he defended Philby against accusations of treachery for years – yet he was also the man sent to Beirut (where Philby was working as a journalist) to interrogate Philby and bring him home when Philby's ties with Russia were finally uncovered. New ITVX drama A Spy Among Friends tells the true story of a very British scandal – how British Intelligence officer Harold "Kim" Philby (played by Guy Pearce) secretly worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union for decades after World War II until he eventually defected to Moscow in 1963. ![]()
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