Spooks Series 9 Archive

12

2011 BAFTA TV Nominations

For the last few months, we have been running a poll on this fansite :

Should Nicola Walker be nominated for a BAFTA* for her exemplary work in Spooks Series 9?

  • 92% of you said, Yes, absolutely!
  • 7% of you said, No, it was good work, but not good enough for a BAFTA yet.
  • 1% asked, What’s a BAFTA?

(A big THANK YOU to everyone who cast a vote in this Poll!)

The 2011 BAFTA Television Awards nominees were announced on 26 April 2011. Nicola was not named as one of the nominees. There could be several reasons for this :

  • No entry was submitted for consideration by or on behalf of Nicola for Spooks Series 9
  • An entry was submitted for consideration by or on behalf of Nicola but it did not make the shortlist in the relevant category announced today.

To be up for consideration for a BAFTA in the performance category, an entry must be submitted by the actor/actress in question, or someone on his/her behalf, such as a Director or the production company. Whilst it is possible for a BAFTA member to originate the nomination process, this is rarely done, except perhaps in the case of the Fellowship (i.e. Lifetime Achievement) Award. These nominations are not generated by fans. For Nicola, she would have been eligible for a nomination in either the Lead Actress or Supporting Actress categories for Spooks Series 9. Unlike the Emmy Awards in the US, the TV BAFTAs do not have a category which rewards excellence as a guest performer in either a Drama or Comedy series. So Nicola’s guest appearances in Luther and Being Human would not have been eligible for consideration. As for her guest appearance in Law & Order : UK, that episode was broadcast in the UK on 21 March 2011, i.e. after the deadline was closed on 28 February 2011, so even if there was a category for guest performances, it would not have been eligible for consideration.

Although the BAFTA rules say that there is no entry fee for the performance categories (there is a small fee payable for submitting entries in the production categories), performers and production companies must still incur considerable expense in mounting a BAFTA campaign, from the production of copies of the submitted episodes to the BAFTA voters for consideration, meeting and greeting the voters to solicit votes, to attending the actual ceremony, dressed to the nines.

Whilst it would have been nice if Nicola did receive a nomination for her work in Spooks Series 9, we have to remember that there are many, many talented British actors and actresses who have never been nominated, or have been nominated but didn’t win an award. As long as Nicola continues to be gainfully employed, us fans would be happy for the chance to watch her on screen or listen to her dulcet tones via audio programmes.

To understand more about the BAFTA nomination and voting process, you can download a copy of the Rules and Guidelines for the British Academy Television Awards HERE.

You can view a full list of the nominees HERE.

The winners will be announced at a gala event to be held on 22nd May 2011. This event is usually televised live on British TV on the day.

*BAFTA stands for British Academy of Film and Television Arts

3

Spooks S9 DVD Competition

We have a winner!!!

The competition closed on 17 March 2011. A massive THANK YOU to everyone who submitted an entry. We received many entries from the US, UK, South Africa, France, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Finland and the Czech Republic. Spooks and Nicola fans are truly an international crowd!

The Answers

The answer to Question 1 was episode 907. Nicola provided audio commentary to only one episode for the Series 9 box set. This was mentioned in this Post.

The answer to Question 2 was TWO featurettes only. Again, this was mentioned in this Post.

We were a little disappointed to see a fairly large number of incorrect entries, mostly wrong answers to Question 2. For the Series 9 box set, there were two featurettes plus audio commentaries for two episodes (901 & 907). In order to avoid confusion over whether the audio commentaries should be considered a featurette, we specifically started question 2 by saying, “apart from the audio commentaries …”. On 11 March 2011, we gave you a chance to correct your entries, by posting an update on this page, as well as posting a Tweet about it. Sadly, no one took up our offer for you to amend your answer.

So, after all that’s been said and done, we put all of the entries into a hat and came up with a winner and it is :

Kerry D of the UK

We have emailed Kerry to congratulate her.

THANK YOU once again for your support of Spooks, Nicola and this fan site.
Read more about the competition on page 2.

6

Spooks Series 9 DVD news

Amazon UK has a short video, lasting about 1:06 minutes, which shows many cast members talking about Series 9. Once you’re on the Amazon webpage, click underneath the product image to bring up the video. It shows a brief glimpse of Nicola, in her dressing room, with Peter Firth, talking about the general tone of Series 9.

The UK/Region 2 DVD boxset of Series 9 is still on schedule to be released, in the UK, on 28 February 2011, and is listed at £25.99.

This post will be updated as more news about the DVD extras become available. For this Series, the DVD Extras are produced by Helen James Productions, and will include an analysis of Harry and Ruth’s relationship!

Update : 21 January 2011

From the CultBox website comes news of the Series 9 DVD extras and they include :

  • a feature called “The Cost of being a Spy”
  • a feature called “The Downfall of Lucas North” and
  • episode commentaries with Nicola Walker, executive producer Andrew Woodhead, Sam Vincent, Jon Brackley and writer Anthony Neilson

It is unclear from this report how many episodes will Nicola be providing a commentary.

Update : 5 February 2011

Universal Playback are doing the Spooks Series 9 DVD extras in conjunction with Helen James Productions. Its website has a page on Spooks which gives very brief cast biographies and episode guides for Series 9. The most interesting bits from this website are these photos :

taken from the Universal Playback website

And this photo :

taken from the Universal Playback website

which is the alternative shot for this photo, released by the BBC at the start of Series 9 back in September 2010 :

released by the BBC

Update : 24 February 2011

Access the CultBox webpage for more cast interviews HERE.

There has also been a rather unfavorable review of the Series 9 DVD box set from CultBox which you can read HERE. From this review, it would appear that Nicola will be providing commentary for only one episode.

Universal Playback has also created a brand new online game to coincide with the release of Series 9 on DVD on 28 February 2011. Apparently, becomeaspook.com features never-before seen footage from the Spooks cast. Have fun!

 

Update : 25 February 2011

New trailer to go with the DVD release on 28 February 2011
 

 

Update : 26 February 2011

From various lucky fans who have already received their copies of Series 9 from Amazon: Nicola provides audio commentary for episode 907, together with executive producer, Andrew Woodhead. As always, it is a  most entertaining commentary.

Update : 27 February 2011

Thanks to Lady J on the Spooks forum, you can watch an interview with Richard Armitage and Nicola Walker, conducted by MSN, where they talk a little about Series 9 HERE.

Update : 1 March 2011

Here is the YouTube version of Nicola’s interview on MSN
 

 

HERE are screencaps of Nicola from that interview.

Nicola and Peter Firth did a short interview with Paris and George of Heart Radio which you can listen HERE.
 
There are interviews on CultBox and Digital Spy where Peter Firth talked about Spooks generally and Series 9 in particular.

Ruth on cover of Disk 2

Update 9 March 2011

Just noticed that my Region 2 DVD box set says on the back that the discs are both Regions 2 and 4 compatible! Aussie fans take note.

Update 11 March 2011

CultBox has a series of interviews with two Spooks scriptwriters, Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley, about their experiences in writing for Series 9 and what might be in store for Series 10. Must read!

Update 1 April 2011

Region 1 DVD box set will be released on 12 July 2011, priced at US$27.99. Click on the link provided below to buy your copy from Amazon US and help us earn a small commission which will be donated to a charity to be nominated by Nicola.

COMPETITION

HERE is a competition where you can win a copy of the Spooks S9 DVD box set which has been signed by Peter Firth and Nicola Walker. Good luck!

Shop

Buy Spooks Series 9 from Amazon UK


Buy MI5/Spooks Series 9 from Amazon US


To buy other series of Spooks in which Nicola appeared as a cast member, check out our Shop page.

16

Ruth’s Online Dating Profile

Ruth’s has had a thoroughly miserable time in Spooks Series 9 where her love life is concerned. Her relationship with Harry seems to have reached an impasse. We thought that perhaps Ruth ought to try online dating and to that end, we have put together this Online Dating Profile for Ms. Evershed, in the hope that she might get lucky, somewhere, somehow. What do you think, should she or shouldn’t she, reach out for someone else, that is?


About Her

Country of Origin :    United Kingdom
Location :    London, England
Gender :    Female
Age :    40
Hair colour :    Dark brown
Eye colour :    Blue grey
Height :    5’ 3” (1.6 m)
Appearance :    I have been described as someone who is not conventionally beautiful, but equally friends have described me as a true beauty
Relationship status :    Single
Children :    Ask me later
Education :    Postgraduate
Occupation :    Ask me later
Income :    Ask me later
Ethnicity :    White/Caucasian
First language :    English
Other languages :    Arabic, Farsi, Greek, French and recently, Chinese (Mandarin)
Interests :    watching movies from the golden age of Hollywood music, anything from classical to pop, as long as it has a tune
Religion :    Ask me later
Drinking :    Occasional glass of wine
Personality traits :    Intelligent, realistic, loyal, independent, sensible, thoughtful, trustworthy, faithful, generous, adventurous
Pets :     prefer cats, used to own one, may acquire another one dogs are alright too
Lived abroad :    Yes, in Europe, which I enjoyed immensely
Looking for :    Let’s see what happens

In her own words

I have recently come out of a rather intense relationship which ended badly; he died. I then threw myself into work – I am an analyst with one of the biggest security organizations in the world. Lately, my job has sort of overtaken my life and now I’m trying to get back on the bus and into the world of dating. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want a relationship, I do. But I’m not about to jump into one. I don’t jump into decisions at work and there’s no way I’ll jump into a relationship either. For now, I’m more interested in going out, having fun, and getting to know someone who will respect my job and all the time it requires of me. Occasionally, weird things happen to me because of my job; nothing that you should be afraid of, but just realize that if we get together, you’re in for a wild ride. I love funny guys who can hold me spellbound with a story or make me laugh until I cry. I also love creativity and passion. The right man should not only fascinate me but also bring out the best in me. We should push each other to be the greatest people we can be. If you’re comfortable in your own skin, have a strong sense of self and aren’t afraid to expose your flaws, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine. If it turns out that we make better friends, great, and if its more than that, then even better.

Her ideal match

Country of origin :    Anywhere in the world
Location :    Anywhere in the world
Gender :    Male
Age :    Not important, but not too young
Relationship status :    single
Appearance :    not important
Height :    not important
Smoking / Drinking :    not important
Children :     not important
Education :    any
Occupation :    any
Income :    any
Ethnicity :    not important
First language :    any
Other languages :    any
Religion :    any
Personality traits    :    someone who is good at his job, has a mature outlook, a strong sense of morality but is not afraid of making a tough but perhaps questionable decision from time to time

Editor : The first four comments below were received when this Profile was first published on the old fansite back in October 2010. However, under the old format, it was difficult for us to display comments to a particular entry. With our new format, leaving comments is easy, which is why we feel that the comments already given before should be displayed here.