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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
RELEASED·SERIES·EN

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Mon, Sep 10, 1979
  • War & Politics
  • Drama
  • Mystery
Series · Synopsis

Synopsis

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a seven-part BBC2 spy drama written by Arthur Hopcraft, adapted from John le Carré's eponymous 1974 novel. The serial, which stars Alec Guinness, Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Anthony Bate, Ian Bannen, George Sewell and Michael Aldridge, was broadcast from 10 September to 22 October 1979. George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.

Trailer

Watch the trailer

Where to watch

Streaming on

  • BBC Two↗
Cast

Top of the call sheet

  • Alec Guinness
    Alec Guinness
    as George Smiley
  • Michael Jayston
    Michael Jayston
    as Peter Guillam
  • Anthony Bate
    Anthony Bate
    as Sir Oliver Lacon
  • George Sewell
    George Sewell
    as Mendel
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Episodes

1 season · 7 episodes

Ended · 7 aired
Season 1
7 episodes · 7 aired
▾
  • E1
    Return to the Circus
    Aired · Mon, Sep 10, 1979 · 50m

    Was George Smiley sacked after a scandal or is he merely retired? When he is summoned by the Cabinet watchdog for Intelligence Affairs, Smiley agrees to head the hunt for a Secret Service mole.

  • E2
    Tarr Tells His Story
    Aired · Mon, Sep 17, 1979 · 50m

    Smiley is forced to go back over some very old ground when he is told a story about spies.

  • E3
    Smiley Tracks the Mole
    Aired · Mon, Sep 24, 1979 · 50m

    In his search for the mole sitting at the heart of the Circus, Smiley sets out for Oxford to visit an invaluable friend.

  • E4
    How It All Fits Together
    Aired · Mon, Oct 1, 1979 · 50m

    Smiley recalls the past - his involvement with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier and Poorman, and Karla - the legendary head of Moscow Circus.

  • E5
    Tinker Tailor
    Aired · Mon, Oct 8, 1979 · 50m

    Smiley thinks that the time has come to call on Jim Prideaux, whose assignment to Czechoslovakia went disastrously wrong, with the mole at the heart of the Circus to blame.

  • E6
    Smiley Sets a Trap
    Aired · Mon, Oct 15, 1979 · 50m

    Smiley's investigation to snare the traitor at the heart of the Circus leads him to Jerry Westerby, a Fleet Street journalist.

  • E7
    Flushing Out the Mole
    Aired · Mon, Oct 22, 1979 · 50m

    In the final part of John le Carre's classic story, George Smiley's search for the mole at the heart of the Circus finally comes to an end.