JUST the briefest of glimpses.
But I’m so glad the humble cake stand is making a comeback, both on screen and off.
Not that Ros finds time to nibble a Fondant Fancy when she meets up with her former MI6 mentor Jack Coleville.
Or “The Jack Coleville,” as Harry describes him.
The woman with anti-freeze running through her veins has never struck me as a Mr Kipling kind of girl.
Serving up a selection of Cherry Bakewells, Vienesse Whirls and a hefty slice of Battenberg when Harry calls round for Sunday tea.
It would provide a few crumbs of comfort for those who like to see Ros’s sensitive side.
But it’s not going to happen, is it?
With just a restaurant cake stand between them, Jack (Stephen Boxer) asks Ros (Hermione Norris) if she’s still in love with the job – now at MI5.
“Nothing the occasional vodka can’t sort,” she replies.
That’s our Ros.
Spooks series eight, episode five is also the one where she gets to say:
“Traffic in and out. One mile radius. Two hour window.”
Something Shakespeare never got round to writing.
Harry (Peter Firth) repeats one of his more redundant lines:
“And Ros, no heroics.”
Which is the obvious cue for her to walk into an explosive trap.
While aside from *some people in cars* it’s patently obvious that Harry just hasn’t had time to ring up the Job Centre to fill a few vacancies.
Other things to look out for in this episode include:
1. A brand new accent from CIA officer Sarah Caulfield.
2. “The Chinese.”
3. Harry and Ruth watching the TV news together though, sadly, not while sat at home on the sofa with two lemon slices.
4. 6:03am.
5. More mentions of Basle. As opposed to Bay-zel.
6. 1983.
7. Lucas in leathers.
8. “Smart boy”.
9. Macbeth.
10. A Mr Kipling delivery van. (OK, I made that one up)
My interview with Hermione Norris will be in tomorrow’s MEN. I’ll add a link here when I post it online. And there will be more from Hermione in this blog in due course.
*Spooks episode five can be seen for the first time on BBC3 at 9pm tomorrow (Friday) ahead of its main BBC1 screening at 9pm next Wednesday.
Life of Wylie 