Episode 2
Philby is promoted to head the MI6 Soviet Section - where he plots his greatest of betrayals. Read by Simon Russell Beale.
With access to newly released MI5 files and previously unseen family papers, and with the cooperation of former officers of MI6 and the CIA, author Ben Macintyre unlocks the last great secret of the Cold War.
Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War. Philby's two closest friends in the intelligence world, Nicholas Elliott of MI6 and James
Jesus Angleton the CIA intelligence chief, thought they knew Philby better than anyone - only to discover they had not known him at all.
This is a story of intimate duplicity; of loyalty, trust and treachery, class and conscience; of an ideological battle waged by men with cut-glass accents and well-made suits in the comfortable clubs and restaurants of London and Washington; of male friendships forged, and then systematically betrayed.
The story begins in Beirut 1963, a bugged room. Two men who've known each other for thirty years face one another. Both are spies, but one is a traitor. In the second episode of A Spy Among Friends, Philby's charm and intelligence make him many friends inside the Intelligence Service, where his career enjoys an irresistible rise even as he is plotting his deadliest betrayals.
Reader: Simon Russell Beale
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Last on
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Reader | Simon Russell Beale |
| Producer | David Roper |
| Author | Ben Macintyre |
Broadcasts
Tue 25 Mar 2014 09:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM- Wed 26 Mar 2014 00:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Tue 19 Feb 2019 14:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Wed 20 Feb 2019 02:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
Listen to more Audio Books
Including My Sister The Serial Killer, Queenie, The Flatshare and more.
Opening Lines
John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.
Sample our books and authors Clip Collection
Interviews, previews and reviews
Subscribe to the Short stories podcast
Featuring the best stories from the UK's finest writers
How many of these 100 Novels have you read?
After a passionate debate, our panel has come up with this surprising literary selection.
Finding Your Story
Ten remarkable novels about identity: Which one will help you discover yourself?
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Arts: Books
Celebrating reading and the 100 novels that have shaped our world.