History Trivia / Spooks

* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: Originally, the show didn't hew particularly close to this mindset. When the crew had an exodus in series 3, only one character (of four) was actually killed. The other three either retired due to burnout or, in the case of Shauna MacDonald, [[ChunkCunninghamSyndrome disappeared after the series was over]]. It was only as the series went along (with different showrunners) that they killed off pretty much everybody who wanted to leave, barring a few fan favorites like Malcolm and Ruth, who were PutOnABus so they could (and did) come back.

* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: The show either brutally killed or permanently exiled the character of any actor who left the show. As early as the second episode, the show had established the fact that any character could be killed at any time - which makes for exciting viewing, because it neatly averts the "main characters are always safe" trope.
** Specifically, when Olga Sosnovska had to leave due to pregnancy, Fiona Carter was kidnapped, tortured and then shot trying to escape. She died in her husband's arms.

** There was supposed to be a Spooks game for the UsefulNotes/Playstation2.

** Rupert Penry-Jones, who played Adam Carter, later decided to move on. He was blown up by a car bomb.

* CastingGag: Creator/RogerAllam as a media mogul spreading fear and panic using a faked terrorist attack to prop up a move to a fascist government, just a year after he played a news host in the aftermath of that same chain of events in VForVendetta.

* UncreditedRole: Creator/ChristopherFairbank as Gordon Blaney in "Spiders".

* DoingItForTheArt: The production crew and cast were advised by retired agents from the [=CIA=], [=KGB=] and [=MI5=] and [=MI6=] on how their work is actually done in reality and how intelligence operations are conducted when on domestic soil.

* McLeaned: The show either brutally killed or permanently exiled the character of any actor who left the show. As early as the second episode, the show had established the fact that any character could be killed at any time - which makes for exciting viewing, because it neatly averts the "main characters are always safe" trope.
** Specifically, when Olga Sosnovska had to leave due to pregnancy, Fiona Carter was kidnapped, tortured and then shot trying to escape. She died in her husband's arms.
** Rupert Penry-Jones, who played Adam Carter, later decided to move on. He was blown up by a car bomb.

* CastingGag: Creator/RogerAlum as a media mogul spreading fear and panic using a faked terrorist attack to prop up a move to a fascist government, just a year after he played a news host in the aftermath of that same chain of events in VForVendetta.