Spies Like Us

Wannabe secret agents try to emulate Winston Churchill’s elite unit of spies

- Hannah Davies, Sean Marland and Ian Macewan

In the darkest days of World War Two, when an invasion of Britain by the Nazis was a real possibility, Prime Minister Winston Churchill created a covert organisation in a bid to ‘set fire to mainland Europe’.

The Special Operations Executive, or SOE, drew recruits from all parts of society to fight a secret war against Hitler’s forces – and tales of their bravery and sacrifice are legendary.

In this new five-part series, a group of 14 recruits will be heading to the Highlands of Scotland to take on exactly the same recruitment test as SOE agents underwent during the war. But will a group of modern-day Brits have what it takes?