UKTV - Historys Ultimate Spies (2015)

Treason has always been one of the most severly punishable crime. Every country, state, crown or government has its enemies, even when they're not at war. These battles are fought in the murky shadows and grey underworld, in obscure buildings and hidden rooms, where the prize is not territory or land…..but information.
Long before any forms of mass communication, history's spymasters invented and established any number of sophisticated spy networks, many of which formed the basis for the rules of modern day espionage. It was these men and women who pulled the invisible strings, chose the operatives and established the methods used by the first secret services of the world. They were the cold eyed, ruthless servants prepared to do anything to serve their political or royal masters.
The stories of History's Ultimate Spies are woven around many notorious plots and infamous characters, and they'll feature in a series that delves into the psyche of the men and women who set up the networks - or destroyed them.
Scenes like these have been played out for centuries by infamous figures who wielded the power behind the throne. It is these men and women and their methods that are the subject of this series.
From Tudor times to the early 20th Century, It is the stories of these spymasters and their methods that feature in this six part series.

Written & Directed by Bruce Burgess ; A Battlefield Series Productions Ltd in association with UKTV

Part 1: Thomas Cromwell
Learn about the wily characters from history who pulled strings. This first episode in the series of spies and conspirators in history covers Thomas Cromwell, who was executed for treason in London in 1540. Thomas Cromwell's cloak-and-dagger work helped steer Henry VIII through his troubles with Rome and several wives.
Thomas Cromwell was a protege of the cunning and ambitious Cardinal Wolsey, whose death in 1530 promoted Cromwell to Henry VIII's right-hand man. In order to do the king's bidding, he established a network of spies that steered Henry through his troubles with Rome, divorces, assassinations attempts and the establishment of a new religion. As this documentary reveals, though cunning and ambitious, none of these achievements proved sufficient to preserve his life.


Part 2: Sir Francis Walsingham
History's scheming spymasters in profile. Hear all about the remarkable cunning of Francis Walsingham, whose spy network foiled many plots against Queen Elizabeth I. As a Protestant, Queen Elizabeth I lived with the threat of assassination from Catholics throughout her reign. Thankfully, there was an army of men available to work in secret under spy master Francis Walsingham with the sole aim of protecting her. As this documentary reveals, Walsingham was able to demonstrate remarkable cunning in his role.
In the face of conspiracies to replace or even kill the Queen, Walsingham established a network of spies and informants in England and Europe. The use of ciphers, coded documents and invisible ink was legendary.


Part 3: Robert Cecil
A profile of Robert Cecil, a formidable political operator who devised and established an extraordinary web of spies and informers designed to ensure King James I's security. Learn more about this pioneering agent of espionage.
Robert Cecil was one of England's most feared spymasters. He focused his intelligence work less on the internal enemy and more on the enemy from outside. But his greatest success was the foiling of the most ambitious terror plan in British history, the so-called "Gunpowder Plot" of 1605. The idea was to blow up Parliament, killing King James I and his entire government in the process.


Part 4: Cardinal Richelieu
Profile of Cardinal Richelieu, who as Louis XIII's diabolical chief minister, was feared and hated thanks to his complex spy network.
Cardinal Richelieu was a ruthlessly ambitious man who built an unparalleled intelligence network to protect King Louis XIII of France from intrigues and assassinations. As a Catholic, Richelieu distrusted the Protestant Huguenots who wanted to overthrow the king. So he built up an extraordinary network of spies, informants and double agents to counter threats emanating from the French court itself.


Part 5: Zofia Potocka and Mata Hari
The journey of two women at the heart of espionage affairs: Zofia Potocka (1760 - 1822) and Mata Hari (1876 - 1917), who became famous for their intrigues. Zofia Potocka and Mata Hari were two of the most notorious "honey traps" in espionage history. They used their beauty and charms to seduce countless men. They penetrated the highest circles of European society, which gave them access to the emperors, generals and rulers of their time. They sold their secrets to the highest bidder and thus acted as multiple double agents.
First the story of Zofia Potocka, the lover of Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin, who ran a successful spy network in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-92. Then we follow Mata Hari, a dancer turned secret agent in World War I who is the very epitome of beauty and feminine seduction. Her story is transformed into a myth: the most famous and most beautiful spy of all time.


Part 6: Elizabeth van Lew
The American Civil War was notable for its female spymasters. Hear about the tricks employed by Elizabeth van Lew's effective network, who smuggled out messages in hollow eggs.
Elizabeth van Lew was one of the bravest and most important Northern spies in the American Civil War and one of the bravest women in American history. She freed her slaves long before the Civil War and later used them as spies and informers behind Confederate lines. Their information relayed to Union generals helped end the brutal war.