Spooks (series 3)
The third series of "Spooks" was produced by Kudos Film and Television for the BBC. Much of the production crew from the first two series returned. New crew members were brought in with the requirement that they were fans of the series and have ambition, so that they can understand "Spooks". Andrew Woodhead was the series producer, with Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins and Gareth Neame as executive producers. Collins, who was the producer for the first two series, had to step back to executive producer, as he was overcommitted producing Kudos crime series "Hustle". Woodhead replaced him as he was accustomed to the show, but also added more vitality to the show. Christopher Aird was the assistant producer. The third series included five writers. Howard Brenton wrote the first, second and eighth episodes. Rupert Walters wrote the third and ninth episodes. Ben Richards wrote the fourth, sixth and tenth episodes. Richards previously wrote the ninth episode of series two, and accepted the offer to return. His script in the second series was his first script for television; he found writing easier as time went by. Raymond Khoury wrote the seventh episode. Series creator David Wolstencroft wrote the fifth episode. Wolstencroft was poised to write the next episode, but found himself committed to other projects.
Spooks (series 3)
The third series was seen by an average of 5.77 million viewers, a decline in ratings from the second series with viewership dropping below five million at one point. However the BBC had renewed "Spooks" for a fourth series before the third had begun broadcasting. Critical reaction was generally positive, though reviewers believed it did not perform as well as its preceding seasons. It was nominated for seven British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA), winning one. The third series was released on DVD on 23 May 2005 in Region 4, 5 September 2005 in Region 2, and 31 January 2006 in Region 1.
The third series includes nine main cast members. Matthew Macfadyen returns as Tom Quinn in the first two episodes. Macfadyen intended to leave the series as he felt "your senses get dull doing a long-running TV show." As the producers were storylining the third series, they were "99 per cent sure" Macfadyen would not return until they heard he wanted to come back for two episodes because he did not want to leave the series so soon. Keeley Hawes also returns in the series as Zoe Reynolds. Hawes wanted to leave the series also after the first six episodes. David Oyelowo makes a return as Danny Hunter. After Tom's exit, it allowed Danny's character to develop further. Oyelowo also announced his intention to leave the series, after the finale episode. Peter Firth returns as superior Harry Pearce. After two seasons, Firth attempted to lighten Harry up "a little bit" after his mother suggested the character "smile more," despite the fact that Harry is a serious man. Nicola Walker returns as Ruth Evershed. First appearing in the second series, Walker felt more like the "new girl," but felt more experienced upon her return to the third. Shauna Macdonald also returns as Sam Buxton. The five-month filming gap between series two and three left Macdonald "a bit de-Spookified" as she was more focused on her film career. Hugh Simon and Rory MacGregor return as Malcolm Wynn-Jones and Colin Wells, respectively.