It’s the most wonderful time of the year: frantically juggling work dos with gift shopping and carol concerts. Add to that list the small matter of avenging the murder of your secret lover, and things get wild very fast.

This is where we find Keira Knightley’s Helen in the opening episode of Netflix’s six-part spy thriller Black Doves. Married to Wallace (Andrew Buchan), the British defence minister who’s tipped for No 10, she’s the picture of domestic bliss as a dedicated wife and mother to two young twins.

Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) stars as Helen Webb – devoted mother, wife, and spy. For years Webb has been leaking her politician husband’s government secrets to her spy organisation, The Black Doves. When Webb’s lover Jason is suspiciously murdered, she turns to an old friend, Sam Young (Whishaw) – an assassin whose dark past is swiftly catching up with him. 

Set against a backdrop of London in full Christmas swing, the two begin solving the murder, uncovering a web of conspiracies in the process that all lead towards an impending geopolitical crisis. 

Whishaw will play the on-screen version of Kay, who also adapted the memoir for TV, which will explore what it means to be a good doctor in a system that is buckling under pressure from all angles.

Kay created the memoir using his diaries which were written in secret after sleepless nights and hectic days, giving the honest truth of what it means to be a doctor working in obstetrics and gynaecology.

The series sees Whishaw playing Kay, a doctor suffering from 97-hour work weeks, while making life and death decisions and dealing with surmounting pressure and responsibility.

Halfway through 2018, it already seems clear who some of the leading contenders will be in the actor categories of next year’s Bafta and RTS awards: Benedict Cumberbatch and Anthony Hopkins for their title roles in Patrick Melrose and King Lear, and Ben Whishaw and Hugh Grant as Norman Scott and Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal.

1. London Spy

Available on BBC iPlayer

The show ended in revelatory fashion this week on BBC 2. Written by Tom Rob Smith, it tells the story of Danny, played by Ben Whishaw (James Bond), who falls in love with a mysterious man, Alex (Edward Holcroft – Kingsman: The Secret Service, Wolf Hall.) After Alex disappears Danny begins to look into the life of his partner, revealing a twisted tale of murder, betrayal and espionage. A fantastic supporting cast including Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling enhance this tense thriller.

Monday

London Spy

BBC Two

9pm