A Spy Among Friends, the new Cold War espionage thriller starring Emmy Award-winners Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, arrives on our screens this week. The six-part series dramatises Ben Macintyre's New York Times best-selling book on dastardly British double agent Kim Philby. A Spy Among Friends is free to watch on ITVX in the UK but read on for our guide on how to watch A Spy Among Friends from wherever you are in the world.
Premiere: Thursday 8th December
Free stream: ITVX (UK)
Watch ITVX from overseas: ExpressVPN
US/Canada stream: Britbox ($6.99/month)
Cast: Guy Pearce, Damian Lewis, Anna Maxwell Martin, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Kunken, Karel Roden, Monika Gossman
A Spy Among Friends is the true story of Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) and Kim Philby (Guy Pearce), two British spies and lifelong friends. Until, that is, Elliot discovers Philby is the most notorious MI6 defector and Soviet mole in history, betraying almost every Allied secret with the craft and cunning of a John Le Carre villain.
Billed as an intimate portrait of of Philby’s deeply personal betrayal, uncovered at the height of the Cold War, A Spy Among Friends explores Philby's treacherous exploits – and British/American intel failures – in six heart-pounding episodes. The superb supporting cast includes Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), Stephen Kunken (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Adrian Edmondson (Bottom).
The first episode is called Boom-ooh-yatatatah. We're not sure how you're supposed to pronounce that. Hopefully all will be revealed when you watch it.
All six episodes of A Spy Among Friends will be available to stream exclusively on ITVX from 8th December 2022. Make sure you know how to watch A Spy Among Friends from wherever you are.
Watch A Spy Among Friends for free
All six episodes of A Spy Among Friends will be available to stream free on ITVX from Thursday, 8th December. Need to sign up? Simply use your email address and a UK postcode (e.g. W12 7RU).
Travelling outside UK? You can use a VPN to access ITVX from anywhere. Full details just below...
How to watch A Spy Among Friends from abroad using a VPN
Even if you have signed up to ITVX, you won't be able to use the service when outside the UK. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, so you can watch your favourite streaming services when travelling abroad.
There are many VPNs out there, but some are more reliable and safe than others. We prefer ExpressVPN which offers a 100 per cent risk-free money back guarantee and is excellent at unblocking streaming services
How to use a VPN for A Spy Among Friends
Using a VPN to watch A Spy Among Friends is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.
2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For ITVX, you should choose 'UK'.
3. Then head over to ITVX on your browser or device and enjoy the free A Spy Among Friends live stream.
US/Canada: A Spy Among Friends live stream
In the US and Canada, A Spy Among Friends will stream on Britbox. Subscription costs $6.99 a month or $69.99 annually. All six episodes are available from 9th December.
Don't forget: Brits who find themselves in US, Canada or anywhere far flung can use a VPN to stream all six episodes of A Spy Among Friends for free on ITVX. We recommend ExpressVPN. Details just above.
Australia: A Spy Among Friends live stream
BritBox Australia is the only place to find A Spy Among Friends live stream in Oz. Subscription costs AU$8.99 a month of AU$89.99 annually. New users get a 7-day free trial.
A Spy Among Friends episode 1 synopsis
In the wake of Kim Philby’s escape to Moscow, his closest friend in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (also known as MI6.), Nicholas Elliott, is under investigation by Mrs. Lily Thomas from the Security Service (MI5). Did he facilitate Philby’s escape because he’s also a traitor working for the Russians, or is it just that his judgement was clouded at a critical moment by their twenty-three year friendship? Or maybe, just maybe, he in fact had the last laugh having manipulated Philby to run to the bosom of the KGB for foreign intelligence purposes.
A Spy Among Friends official trailer
- Browse our pick of the best TVs
- Save big with today's top cheap TV deals
