hollington drive anna new show© Photo: ITV

Hollington Drive star lines up next major role - and it sounds brilliant

Anna Maxwell Martin is joining Damian Lewis for a new drama

Senior Features Writer
November 1, 2021

If you enjoyed Hollington Drive with Anna Maxwell Martin last month, then you're in luck as the actress has already lined up her next major drama series role – and it sounds brilliant. The star, who played Theresa in the recent ITV series, is set to appear alongside Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce for the upcoming show, A Spy Among Friends.

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The Cold War drama, which began filming last week, will see Billions actor Damian take on the leading role as Nicholas Elliott, a British MI6 intelligence officer, who become known over history due to his close connection with British double agent, Kim Philby.

WATCH: Did you watch Anna Maxwell Martin in ITV drama Hollington Drive?

It's not confirmed which role will be played by Anna, who is also known for her work in Line of Duty and sitcom Motherland, but she will be joined in the cast by other actors including Adrian Edmondson and Stephen Kunken.

The story of A Spy Among Friends has been adapted from the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre, who explored the relationship between Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby.

Kim became known as being a prominent member of the group, the Cambridge Five, along with Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross.

Kim was exposed in the early 1960s as sharing British secrets with the Soviet Union during the early years of the Cold War.

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© Photo: ITV

Anna Maxwell Martin appeared in Hollington Drive as Theresa

Executive producer on the show, Alexander Cary, told Deadline: "How could I resist the opportunity to dramatize the true story of Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby — two spies and lifelong friends, one of whom was betraying the other all along?

"A friendship that resulted in the gutting of British and American intelligence at the height of the Cold War and shaped the field of play for the dangerous game against Russia that we’re still trying to win today."

© Photo: Getty Images

The actress will join Damian Lewis for the new drama

The news of Damian joining A Spy Among Friends, which will air on BritBox in late 2022, comes soon after the Homeland actor announced his departure from his long-running series Billions last month.

Speaking about leaving the show, he told New York Times: "There's an opportunity maybe for me to return. But for now, broadly speaking, Axe has been vanquished." He added that it was "easily the most time I've spent playing one character" after playing the part for five years.

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