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 producers learned from an ex-MI5 officer that it is common for intelligence gatherers who spend most of their work listening in to other people to fall in love with civilians through just their voices. This story was the basis of Ruth wanting to go out with John in "Love and Death". Khoury based "Outsiders" on Internet security. He already became intoned with the area, as he once worked with an internet company. Although the story is dramatised, Khoury did research on what was feasible, such as if one man and a laptop could theoretically bring Britain to its knees. Also in the episode, the G&J algorithm is based on an actual computer programme. "Frequently Asked Questions" deals with interrogation and torture. Walters realised that torture is counterproductive as the suspects can say anything the interrogators want to hear, but rationalises that Adam is an expert in that field. To get the interrogation as true as possible, the producers consulted with ex-Army advisors who were trained in questioning terror suspects. As the episode was first broadcast, a prison abuse scandal in Iraq was put on the news. In response to this, Kudos director Stephen Garrett stated ""Spooks" is really well researched and sometimes we look like we're ahead of the game. It's just we know stuff that's happening, and it'll come out in the news a bit later on." In the same episode, the weapons caches came from a true story that the Russians hid weapons in Britain during the Cold War, according to Collins.