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 1)
The first series also sees a number of recurring characters and guest appearances. Rory MacGregor appears in two episodes as Colin Wells, an MI5 technical officer. American actress Megan Dodds appears in the first episode as CIA liaison Christine Dale. The producers were impressed enough by Dodds' performance that they wished to see her return in the second series. Kevin McNally appears as Robert Osbourne, the antagonist of the second episode. The producers felt the actor was suitable for the role, as was the case with Debra Stephenson, who played his wife Claire. In the fourth and fifth episodes, Hugh Laurie appears as Jools Siviter, a department head of MI6, an organisation depicted as "old school" compared with MI5. Laurie based his performance on Barry Foster's portrayal of the head of MI6 in "Sweeney!". Meanwhile, also in episode four, Anthony Head, best known for his work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" at the time, played Peter Salter. Despite his status as a former "Buffy" regular, Head still had to earn the role from his audition.