Kim Philby: His Most Intimate Betrayal

In programme one of this new two-part special, best-selling author Ben Macintyre explores the truth behind the most famous double agent in modern history - Harold Kim Philby. He argues that Philby has become a caricature of the gentleman spy, obscuring the fact that Philby was a ruthless killer, who betrayed everyone around him. The key to Philby's success and his survival, Macintyre explains, lay in his friendship with a man that history has largely forgotten - Nicholas Elliott. Elliott was Philby's colleague in MI6 who befriended him, defended him, and unwittingly supplied him with secrets until he discovered the truth. This is the remarkable tale of two friends and two spies, each working on opposite sides in the Cold War.

In the second episode of this two-part special, the net begins to close on Philby. Summoned back to London from Washington, he faces interrogation, as suspicion grows that he is a Soviet agent, working within MI6. His old friend and colleague in MI6, Nicholas Elliott, defends his friend's reputation, insisting that he is innocent. For the next 12 years Philby, with Elliott's unwitting help, manages to charm and bluff his way out of every accusation. Then, in January 1963, Philby's luck runs out as the two friends meet for the final time and Elliott demands the truth. This is the remarkable tale of two friends and two spies, each working on opposite sides in the Cold War.