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SPIES, LIES VIDEOTAPE
Hidden in a former office block on the outskirts of London is a secret world of espionage. From floor to ceiling in a futuristic- looking workplace there are screens and screens, each showing different street views. Rooms just off the main area have yet more computers.
This is the re-imagined world of counter-terrorism into which we enter for the BBC’s hottest Autumn show. If Bodyguard thrilled you with its why/what/is she dead? story and Line Of Duty kept you up all night pondering who H might be, then The Capture will be your new obsession.
Set in a world of conspiracy, with an ex-soldier hero and a cop whose morals just about trump her ambition, the show will not only have you furiously debating what’s going on until the next episode, but also leave you a little – maybe very – paranoid about the world around you. It will have you questioning what is true and what is fake – and it’s a rollercoaster of a thriller to boot.
The main role of soldier Shaun Emery is taken by Callum Turner, best known from War And Peace as the wild Anatole Kuragin. When we meet Shaun, he is being tried for unlawfully killing an insurgent while in Afghanistan. He is accused of murdering the injured man in cold blood because that is how it appears in video footage. But brilliant barrister Hannah Roberts (played by Laura Haddock) unearths evidence which shows the sound and the pictures in the footage are flawed, and he is freed.
Shaun leaves prison infamous, but is determined to turn his life around for the sake of his daughter. Within 24 hours, however, he’s arrested again – this time because CCTV footage appears to show him committing a criminal act on a London street.
‘Shaun’s driving force is that he is a famous guy but he’s famous for all the wrong reasons,’ Callum says. ‘People think he’s a murderer. His initial journey is to clear his name, but he’s dragged into another nightmare and it’s one that he can’t get out of.’
The arresting officer is DI Rachel Carey, played by Holliday Grainger. A high-flying graduate on the Metropolitan Police’s fasttrack scheme, she quickly identi
fies Shaun as the perpetrator. But as the investigation goes on, she realises there is much more to this apparent crime, and she is thrown into a world of counter-espionage and conspiracy.
Created and directed by BAFTAwinning documentary maker Ben Chanan, the story is rooted in his experience of working with real-life experts in counter-terrorism. ‘Video fakery is becoming ever more convincing,’ he says. ‘But video evidence is one of the most successful ways to convict a criminal. What happens to criminal justice if we can’t trust what we see?’
The show is set in London, and much is made of the fact that the capital has one of the highest numbers of CCTV cameras in the world.
‘I became aware of how many cameras I saw all over the place,’ says Ben Miles, who plays counter
terrorism boss Danny Hart. ‘It will open people’s eyes to how truth is malleable. These are things we worry about, but this brought it all into focus. The size and scale of counter-terrorism in this country is vast. It’s the best in the world because of situations like Northern Ireland. The series will make you think about this stuff and the scale of what goes on.’
Acclaimed actor Ron Perlman, who plays Frank Napier, an American brought into the conspiracy, adds, ‘The series thrusts you into a world where you have no idea what is happening and the scripts were the quintessential page-turners.
‘The big revelation for me was the CCTV world that is part of everyday life in the UK. In London there are surveillance cameras everywhere you look – in places you couldn’t imagine. I guess in order to be secure and free you need to give things up, and part of that is some privacy.’
To prepare for their leading roles, both Callum and Holliday worked with their real-life counterparts in the Army and police force.
‘ There is a company of exParas who train actors and I did a lot with them,’ says Cal lum. ‘One trained me up physically and another helped me with weapons. I also did amazing surveillance training which gave me a small idea of what it’s like. I met the guy in a café. We were talking and he was giving me tips. Then, all of a sudden, he said, “How many people do you think I can control today?” Then he clapped and everyone in the café – about 30 or 40 people – packed away their bags and left. It was like being in a Derren Brown show. I completely freaked out, I had no idea what was going on and said, “Please don’t kill me.”
‘ It was the start of a mad day in which I had to dash around without getting spotted. It was a day I won’t forget and it really enabled me to understand the adrenaline of it all. I think that is partly why so many of these guys have PTSD when they come home; it’s not all about trauma, but just fitting back in. One minute you are in a gun fight and then you have to go to Tesco.’ He was also put on a highprotein diet and felt himself changing emotionally. ‘I found myself more aggressive than I’ve ever been before, which may have been the role or it might have been because I was really hungry,’ he says. ‘I also filmed with the real Army boys for the first part of the show. It helped me understand why the Army is so appealing. It is a real brotherhood and I have a massive regard for them.’
Meanwhile, Holliday immersed herself in the world of the police. ‘I shadowed the homicide department at the Met and it was fantastic,’ she says. ‘I even helped with one of the crime scenes as the incident happened right near where I live so I
‘What will happen if we can’t trust what we see?’
was able to show the police around. I became a bit obsessed with it all. There’s a part of me that would like to go back there when I finish. I could have carried on forever.’
While Ben Chanan, who also penned 2015 drama Cyberbully, starring Maisie Williams, has promised that all the strands of the conspiracy will be wrapped up by the end of the series, the questions the show poses about our society may not be.
‘When I read the script it seemed so futuristic, but the more I looked around, the more I saw this is the world we live in,’ says Holliday. ‘Every story can be seen from at least two different perspectives. It makes you think about manipulation and how truth is interpreted. It’s incredibly timely.’ BBC1, Tuesday, 9pm