from Digital Spy.co.uk / by Catriona Wightman

Yesterday we brought you a chat with new Spooks cast member Laila Rouass, and today it’s the turn of Sophia Myles! She’s joining the show as Beth, a new spy in the team. We caught up with Sophia to find out more about her character and working on Spooks.

Were you a fan of Spooks before you joined the show?
“I’d never seen an episode! I’ve seen a few now. I went back right to the start and watched the first series, and then the series just before this so I knew where I was coming in.”

Can you tell us a bit about Beth?
“She was head-hunted by MI6 when she was 18 as a student in Edinburgh University studying English. So she went through all the training at MI6 when she was 18. She passed everything with flying colours, and actually Harry Pearce met her back then. She’s actually based on a real-life woman, who I’ve met. She was very rebellious so she decided at the last minute that she didn’t want to go and work for the government. But she was passionate about security and intelligence so she went into the private sector instead. First she went off to Columbia but most of her 20s was spent in the Middle East – she owned a private company and had like 600 SAS soldiers working beneath her by the age of 26. She’s come back to London and I think looking for a bit more stability, so she applies for a job.”

You said Beth’s based on a real person. What was it like meeting her?
“Amazing. I’ve got a crush on her!”

It’s been said that the theme of this series is deception. Does Beth trust people?
“I think in this particular field of work, no-one reveals their true nature on the surface. So I think anyone working in this industry would be wise to not believe what they hear or what they see is true. I think she has a pretty good instinct. Probably her closest ally is [her fellow new spy] Dimitri [played by Max Brown], just because they’re the same age. I think from day one because they join at the same time, they’re both like the new kids at school together. And I probably think of everyone he’s the most likely person she would want to go out with and have a dinner with or something out of work. I think they’re most likely to be friends in real life.”

How does Beth get on with the rest of the team?
“I think from Beth’s perspective, because she’s known Harry for 12 years previously, she feels very, very comfortable already with him. And she instantly finds it very easy in Dimitri’s presence. It’s like joining a school three years late. Of course everyone’s going to be a bit wary of you to start with. But I think both Dimitri and Beth prove themselves pretty quickly to be good eggs.”

Did you get to film a lot of action scenes?
“Yeah, loads! We never stop running! We’re all runners, we get quite competitive. I thought I was doing well getting three times round my local park once or twice a week! The boys get adrenaline rushes from guns and cars, and I feel nothing. Give me a horse and I’ll be happy!”

Spooks isn’t concerned about killing its main characters off. Does that worry you at all?
“You know from day one that’s part of the deal. So you’d be an idiot not to expect your death at some point because that’s the way they roll on this show.”

The new series of Spooks begins on Monday at 9pm on BBC One.

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