50 Fun Facts About Slow Horses
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Take the 50-question quizWho plays Jackson Lamb?
He has been nominated for Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Emmys and SAG Awards for the role.
Which author wrote the novels the series is based on?
His books have sold more than four million copies.
On which streaming service did the show premiere?
It premiered on 1 April 2022.
What does Jackson Lamb affectionately call his agents?
The nickname hides a firm loyalty beneath the flatulence and insults.
Who adapted the novels for television and served as showrunner?
He is the English comedian and writer, not the Hollywood actor.
Who plays River Cartwright?
He earned an Emmy nomination for Supporting Actor in a Drama for series 3.
Who plays Diana Taverner?
Her character is known as "Second Desk" until a promotion at the end of series 5.
What is Diana Taverner's designation for most of the series?
She becomes First Desk, Director General, at the end of series 5.
Who plays River's grandfather David Cartwright?
David is a retired MI5 legend nicknamed "The Old Bastard".
Who is revealed to be River's biological father?
Hugo Weaving plays the ex-CIA mercenary.
Who plays Catherine Standish?
Standish is the office administrator and a recovering alcoholic.
Why was Louisa Guy sent to Slough House?
Rosalind Eleazar plays her.
What is Roddy Ho's speciality?
Christopher Chung plays the arrogant former hacktivist.
Who plays Shirley Dander?
Dander is physically capable but undone by drug and anger issues.
Who plays MI5 Director General Ingrid Tearney?
She appears in series 1 and 3 as "First Desk".
Why was Min Harper assigned to Slough House?
Dustin Demri-Burns plays him in series 1 and 2.
Who plays Sidonie "Sid" Baker?
She appears in series 1 and returns in series 6.
Why was Struan Loy banished to Slough House?
Marcus Longridge is the one who gambles on the job.
What is the nickname of MI5's internal affairs and tactical unit?
Nick Duffy heads them in the early series, Emma Flyte later.
What is James Webb's nickname?
Freddie Fox plays the smug Regent's Park agent.
Who plays the ambitious politician Peter Judd?
Judd rises to become Home Secretary.
Which real politician did Herron cite as the basis for Peter Judd?
Herron says he is drawn to incompetence and things going wrong.
Who plays the bumbling Director General Claude Whelan?
Whelan banishes records keeper Moira Tregorian to Slough House.
What is the name of the far-right group that kidnaps Hassan Ahmed in series 1?
Hassan is a Leeds University student.
Who plays the former KGB agent Nikolai Katinsky in series 2?
He lives in exile in London after defecting at the Cold War's end.
In which small village does much of series 2 take place?
The Tropper family run the pub there.
Who plays disgraced ex-MI5 officer Dickie Bow in series 2?
His real name is Richard Bough.
What is the private security firm at the centre of series 3?
Sly Monteith heads it.
Who plays Sean Donovan in series 3?
Donovan was head of security at the British embassy in Istanbul.
Who plays Mayor of London Zafar Jaffrey in series 5?
He is best known as Nate in Ted Lasso.
Which novel did series 2 adapt?
The first five series adapted the first five books in order.
Series 6 jointly adapts which two novels?
Series 7 is to be based on Bad Actors.
How many episodes are in each series?
Each series is helmed by a single director.
Who directed the first series?
Lovering took series 2, Metzstein 3 and 5, and Randall 4 and 6.
Who takes over as head writer for series 6?
Ben Vanstone follows for series 7.
In which Gloucestershire town did filming continue in July 2021?
Filming of series 1 began on 30 November 2020 after a pandemic delay.
What production habit lets the show release a new run every year?
The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed praising the schedule.
How many Primetime Emmy nominations did series 3 receive?
They included Outstanding Drama Series and nods for Oldman and Lowden.
Which two runs of the show scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes?
Series 1 scored 95%, series 3 98% and series 5 96%.
In what year did Apple TV+ give the show a straight-to-series order?
Gary Oldman was announced to star at the same time.
In which year was the first novel, Slow Horses, published?
Herron began writing it in 2008.
Near which tube station is the fictional Slough House located?
It was inspired by a building on Aldersgate Street on Herron's commute.
What mistake got River Cartwright sent to Slough House in the books?
He claimed he had been fed false information during the assessment.
Which award did the second novel in the series win in 2013?
Spook Street later won the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2017.
Which fictional detective influenced the character of Jackson Lamb?
Herron has named Reginald Hill's Yorkshire policeman as the model.
Which bookseller named Slow Horses its "thriller of the month" in August 2017?
Herron also credits Brexit-era turbulence for the books finding an audience.
Which NPR book critic's 2017 recommendation sparked US sales?
Soho printed 2,000 extra copies that sold out in 24 hours.
What event shifted Herron from detective to spy fiction?
He was commuting from Oxford when the attacks struck.
What was Herron's day job before writing full time?
He wrote for an hour each evening after commuting home to Oxford.
Which Herron detective series got its own Apple TV+ adaptation in 2025?
Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson star as Oxford private detective Zoë Boehm and her client.
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