Spooks (series 1)
Kudos Film and Television developed "Spooks" after releasing Channel 4 medical drama "Psychos" in 1999, though the company initially faced friction from television networks which saw no potential in a post-Cold War spy show. The producers later successfully pitched the series to the BBC after the networks' commissioning teams were replaced. Four episodes were being written when the September 11 attacks took place, and the some scenes were rewritten to take the event into account to show the audience "Spooks's" goal of fighting terrorism. Throughout production, the producers were advised by former intelligence officers from the Security Service, KGB and Central Intelligence Agency. Filming took place from November 2001 to March 2002.
Spooks (series 1)
The "Spooks" producers were hoping the ratings for the pilot would achieve at least six million viewers; at the time this was considered acceptable ratings by the BBC, as it would allow them to further consider "Spooks" future. The first episode ended up with an overnight rating of 9.2 million viewers, with a 41 per cent audience share, easily winning its time slot, and nearly doubling the numbers of ITV1's "Helen West", which was viewed by 4.8 million at the same slot. The second episode dropped to 7.8 million, but was still the most seen series in the timeslot. Although the series won its timeslot again in the third episode, "One Last Dance" faced competition from "The Kumars at No. 42" on BBC Two, and was down to seven million. The different timeslot for episode four meant that it dipped below six million; however, ratings recovered to over seven million by the series finale. With consolidated figures factored in, the first series was seen by an average of 7.49 million viewers. After two episodes aired, the BBC began considering renewing the show for a longer second series as it had proved popular among the key demographics of viewers aged 16 to 34 years. The renewal was officially announced by the BBC's Head of Drama Commissioning Jane Tranter in December 2002.