Miniseries · BBC Two
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
One of Britain's master spies is working for the enemy. Can George Smiley beat him at his deadly game?
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Alec Guinness
George Smiley
7 eps
Michael Jayston
Peter Guillam
7 eps
Anthony Bate
Sir Oliver Lacon
7 eps
George Sewell
Mendel
7 eps
Bernard Hepton
Toby Esterhase
6 eps
Ian Richardson
Bill Haydon
5 eps
Hywel Bennett
Ricki Tarr
5 eps
Michael Aldridge
Percy Alleline
5 eps
Ian Bannen
Jim Prideaux
4 eps
Terence Rigby
Roy Bland
5 eps
Alec Sabin
Fawn
4 eps
Beryl Reid
Connie Sachs
3 eps
Alexander Knox
Control
3 eps
Duncan Jones
Roach
3 eps
Daniel Beecher
Spikely
3 eps
Nigel Stock
Roddy Martindale
1 eps
Milos Kirek
Barak
1 eps
Eugene Lipinski
Czech Guard
1 eps
Brian Hawksley
Bookseller
1 eps
Thorley Walters
Tufty Thessinger
1 eps
Susan Kodicek
Irina
1 eps
Hilary Minster
Boris
1 eps
Pauline Letts
Mrs Pope-Graham
1 eps
Stephen Earle
Norman
1 eps
Frank Compton
Bryant
2 eps
Frank Moorey
Lauder Strickland
2 eps
Timothy Stetson
The American
1 eps
Jean Rimmer
Senior Secretary
1 eps
Patrick Stewart
Karla
1 eps
Marjorie Hogan
Alisa Brimley
1 eps
Joe Praml
Paul Skordeno
1 eps
Warren Clarke
Alwyn
1 eps
John Standing
Sam Collins
1 eps
Mandy Cuthbert
Molly Purcell
1 eps
Joss Ackland
Jerry Westerby
1 eps
Guy Standeven
Flemyng-Smith
1 eps
John Wells
Headmaster
2 eps
Betty Hardy
Headmaster's Mother
1 eps
Jo Apted
Linda
1 eps
Siân Phillips
Ann Smiley
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy reads strongest on Bingeability, Character Depth and Serialized.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a seven-part BBC2 spy drama written by Arthur Hopcraft, adapted from John le Carré's eponymous 1974 novel. The serial, which stars Alec Guinness, Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Anthony Bate, Ian Bannen, George Sewell and Michael Aldridge, was broadcast from 10 September to 22 October 1979.
George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.
The run
Seasons
1 season · 7 episodes.
- Poster unavailableSpecials
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20004 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Limited Series
19797 episodes
9.9IMDbGeorge Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.
Best episode · S01E05 Tinker Tailor
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S00E04
Michael Jayston Remembers... Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
S00E03
A Conversation with John le Carré
S00E01
John le Carré: The Secret Centre
S01E07
Flushing Out the Mole
- Directed by John Irvin
- Written by Arthur Hopcraft
S01E06
Smiley Sets a Trap
- Directed by John Irvin
- Written by Arthur Hopcraft
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Jonathan PowellProducer
Writing
- Arthur HopcraftWriter
Direction
- John IrvinDirector
Cinematography
- Tony Pierce-RobertsDirector of Photography
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
Checking regional listings…
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