The Hour

In 1956, two BBC reporters, Bel Rowley and Freddie Lyon, apply to join an ambitious new current affairs programme. A chance meeting involves Freddie in a dark conspiracy.

The Hour is struggling. The ratings are down, the reviews are terrible and Hector and Freddie are bickering like children. As events escalate in Suez, Bel knows their only hope is to pull off a brave interview with an Egyptian diplomat - but is Hector up to the challenge? Meanwhile, Freddie discovers a mysterious code which may well provide a clue to Ruth's death.

A weekend invite to a shooting party at Hector's in-laws gives Freddie an opportunity to quiz Adam Le Ray on his relationship with Ruth, whilst Hector struggles with his ailing marriage and his growing feelings for Bel. At the office, suspicion about Tom Kish is mounting and Isaac is on the case.

It is Freddie's birthday and the effects of Tom's death are still being felt around the newsroom. Two huge news stories are breaking but Freddie has disappeared and it's a newly confident Hector who's leading the charge. Meanwhile, Bel and Hector's affair gathers steam and Isaac's got his eye on Sissy.

The war in Suez has the country divided and McCain steps up his pressure on The Hour to toe a pro-government line, but with a huge anti-war protest gathering in London, Freddie has other ideas. Meanwhile, pressure mounts on Bel and Hector when news of their affair gets out and Lix helps Freddie with an important lead.

The Hour is about to go live and there are tensions for all as they prepare to defy government instruction and deliver a controversial episode on the crisis in Suez. Freddie finally learns what happened to Ruth, and Hector and Bel come to a decision on their affair.

November 1957. Freddie has been fired, leaving Bel struggling to keep Hector in line, as a new head of news is welcomed to The Hour.

Hector's drunken late nights at El Paradis catch up with him when he is arrested on suspicion of beating up Kiki. Bel has a fight on her hands to clear Hector's name and hide his disappearance from Randall. However Freddie complicates matters further when he decides to hold a controversial interview with a fascist on the same day as a visit from members of the board.

It is Christmas at Lime Grove and a time for much soul-searching. Kiki has gone missing and Hector's self-destructive behaviour spirals as Bel and Freddie search for the truth about what happened to her. Meanwhile, Randall tells Lix the real reason for his return but is she willing to dredge up a painful past?

Freddie and Bel's bond deepens as they make startling discoveries about the extent of Soho club-owner Cilenti's influence. Yet when a contact's life is endangered, Bel fears they've gone too far. Hector confronts old demons with Laurie - will he upset his team and protect his best friend? Lix and Randall receive uplifting news.

Bel is shaken by news of a source's murder and tries to put a stop to the team's pursuit of organised criminal Cilenti. However, the story is more tempting than ever when Freddie and Hector discover the depths that the corruption has reached, leading to chaos at the club. Is Bel right? Is Freddie charging towards a loaded gun?

Bel, Freddie and Hector verge on breaking the biggest corruption expose ever - a house of cards stretching across London's most influential men - but things get complicated when one of them becomes the centre of a tabloid sex scandal. As they battle against high-level cover-up, Freddie's quest for a controversial contributor takes him right into the lion's den.