ITV identifies Betrayal
FIRST LOOK: Endeavour’s Shaun Evans and Romola Garai (The Years) star in Betrayal, a drama set against the backdrop of MI5 that is due to premiere on ITV and STV in 2026.
Written by David Eldridge and directed by Julian Jarrold (A Very Royal Scandal), the four-parter explores the fragile, tangled web of human relationships, where loyalty and deception collide.
John Hughes (Evans) is a mid-career MI5 officer navigating a rapidly evolving intelligence landscape while struggling to keep his personal life intact. Acting on a hunch, John meets a British-Iranian man with links to the Stockport gangland who claims to have intelligence about an imminent plot on UK soil.
When the encounter takes an unexpected turn, John finds himself under internal investigation, facing scrutiny from his superiors, including Simone Grant (Nikki Amuka-Bird), while his partner Claire (Garai) grapples with the secrecy that defines his world.
John’s efforts to save his marriage are complicated by his inability to let the case go. When he meets Mehreen Askari-Evans (Zahra Ahmadi), an intelligence operative who is tasked with taking over John’s duties, he finds an unlikely ally. As John becomes increasingly convinced of the involvement of a hardline faction of the Iranian regime, he also starts to worry there are enemies closer to home. But can he identify the target and avert the attack before it’s too late?
Produced by Irma Inniss (Mr Loverman,), Betrayal stars Gamba Cole, Omid Djalili, Matthew Tennyson, Hayley Tamaddon, Anthony Flanagan, Paddy Rowan, Waj Ali, Karim Kadjar, Emma Cunniffe, Georgina Rylance, Ben Lambert, Julia Watson and Julian Wadham, alongside newcomers Elham Karimpour, Aidan Rivers, Corin Silva and Eliza Agrosoaie.
The series is produced by Mammoth Screen in association with Navarino Pictures. Executive producers are David Eldridge, Shaun Evans, Julian Jarrold, Tom Leggett and Damien Timmer, with development led by Rebecca Keane.
ITV Studios will distribute the series internationally. It will air on ITV1, STV, ITVX, and STV Player in 2026.
tagged in: Betrayal, ITV, ITV Studios, Mammoth Screen, Navarino Pictures, Shaun Evans