Welcome to RichardArmitageOnline.com

This is an unofficial website about the work of the British actor Richard Armitage, star of BBC Spooks, Robin Hood, North and South and The Vicar of Dibley.

There's information here about his television, film and theatre work, including pictures and video clips of many of his TV and film roles. You can also read his comments about his characters, taken from published interviews.

Navigate to any of his roles from the menu at the top of the page, or go to the Television Career, Film Career, Theatre Career or Voice Career pages and follow the links from there. Also see...

Latest News

New DVDs  A French region 2 DVD boxset of Robin Hood series 2 will be released on 6th January. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon France. The DVD includes French subtitles, and both French and English soundtracks. A Dutch-subtitled DVD of Robin Hood series 2 is due to be released in February 2009.

A Region 2 DVD of series 4 of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, which includes In Divine Proportion, is now available for pre-order at Amazon UK, due for release on 11th May 2009. (However, other retailers give different release dates - Play.com says 30th March, while the BBC Shop says 6th July.)

The Region 2 DVD boxset of the latest series of Spooks will be released on 23rd February 2009. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon UK.

See the New and Recent DVDs page for details of other DVDs scheduled for release soon, or recently released.

Richard Armitage's next project   Richard Armitage was in Liverpool in December filming a drama for the BBC that is due to be broadcast on BBC One Daytime in spring 2009. Written by Sarah Deane, it's part of a series of five 45 minute dramas called Moving On. The executive producer of the series is award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern (Cracker, The Street).

Spooks series 7 finishes in style   The final episode of the series on 8th December attracted 6 million viewers, the highest audience of the series. The critics have continued to praise not only this episode, but also the series as a whole.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph (8th December) Gerard O'Donovan said of the final episode, "It’s all terrifically exciting – the streets and Underground tunnels of London have rarely been used to such climactic effect – with great performances from everyone involved. Not only that, it also sets up a great cliffhanger ending that will leave fans absolutely gagging for the next series."

In her Radio Times blog (4th December), Alison Graham praised Spooks yet again. "Hasn't this been the best ever series? I've always been a fan, but suddenly Spooks seems to have grown up into a beautifully polished, clever, adult drama that's just so flipping exciting. [...] The series has intelligently exploited the terrorist threat without scaring the hell out of its audience. And it's also had some good, strong, prescient stories about the resurgent Russian threat and global financial meltdown. [...] At the end of the first episode of the current series, smooth spy Adam (Rupert Penry-Jones) was killed in a bomb explosion. His absence, in other, lesser dramas, could have spelt disaster. Yet Spooks glides on, with Richard Armitage fitting in seamlessly as Lucas, Adam's replacement."

Spooks series 8  The BBC has announced that it has commissioned Kudos Film and Television to produce an eighth series of Spooks. Filming will begin in March 2009. Its press release describes the current series as "its most critically-acclaimed ever".

Richard Armitage is quoted as saying, "I'm thrilled with the response we've had to this series and I can't wait to find out what the next series has in store. If the climactic episodes at the end of series seven are anything to go by, I think series eight will be spectacular. I am excited about taking Lucas into deeper and more dangerous territory, and seeing if he can survive!"

The Story of the Costume Drama   ITV3 recently showed a five part series about the history of costume drama on TV over the last 50 years called The Story of the Costume Drama.

The third in the series was 'Affairs of the Heart', which included a short piece about North and South, for which Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe were both interviewed. They spoke about the filming, and in particular the final scene at the railway station. Watch it here...

Radio Times interview   In connection with the broadcast of the final episode of Spooks on 8th December, Richard Armitage was interviewed for the 'One Final Question' feature in the Radio Times (cover date 6th-12th December).

Press comment on Spooks   Comment on the current series of Spooks in British newspapers and TV magazines has been almost uniformly positive. Most of the latest TV magazines chose the final episode as Pick of the Day, and many had short features about Spooks, including interviews with Richard Armitage, Peter Firth and Gemma Jones. The general consensus is that this series was well up to the standards of previous years, and the viewing figures have been good, at around 5.7 million for each episode.

In an article in The Guardian (4th December) about episode 7, Mark Lawson praised the whole series. "In the rush to publicise and review what's new, long-running dramas are easily taken for granted. But it needs to be acknowledged that Spooks (BBC1) is one of the highest achievements of popular drama. This week's episode - twisting, shocking, breathlessly gripping - was typical of the smart writing, affecting performances and atmospheric direction maintained over seven seasons. [...] Tending to cast the sort of actors that other casting directors covet, the producers have also dealt effortlessly with character attrition: Tuesday night dispensed with two more series regulars, through death and treachery."

Also in The Guardian (2nd December) Leigh Holmwood wrote, "I had feared the death of main character Adam Carter, played by Rupert Penry Jones, at the beginning of the series would have cast a long shadow but I have barely noticed his absence given the speed at which things have been racing along. The introduction of Richard Armitage as Penry Jones' replacement has more than made amends, while the return of the great Hermione Norris as Ros Myers, and her elevation to senior case officer, has been a genius move." He considers this series of Spooks to be its best ever.

In the Radio Times (15th-21st November) Alison Graham called Spooks "the best drama on the box". The Observer's Mike Bradley described episode 6 as "riveting television" (23rd November), while the Glasgow Daily Record (29th November) previewing episode 7, had this to say, "It's clear Spooks is by no means losing its edge, as this run has been as breakneck and high-octane as ever. In the opener, a British soldier was kidnapped by al-Qaeda, with the warning he would be killed unless Remembrance Day services were cancelled, while Harry was reunited with his protege, the unstable but brilliant Lucas, played with aplomb by the brooding Richard Armitage."

On a more flippant note, Paul Flynn in Grazia (10th November) pondered whether Spooks could survive without Rupert Penry-Jones. Answer, yes.

The One Show   On Tuesday 25th November, The One Show (BBC One) included a feature about the filming of a scene from episode 6 of Spooks at a house in London. Richard Armitage spoke very briefly about the filming (right).

The item can be viewed online at The One Show's blog... (UK viewers only). Or download a video clip here...

Interview on BBC Radio 6   Richard Armitage was a guest on BBC Radio 6 Music's Chris Hawkins Show every day during the week after Spooks began. Each morning he talked about his career and chose a piece of music that reminded him of a certain time in his life. The tracks ranged from Grease (a childhood Christmas present) to Keane.

Listen to Monday's interview..., Tuesday's interview..., Wednesday's interview..., Thursday's interview..., Friday's interview...

BBC Spooks website interview   The complete video interview with Richard Armitage is now available to UK visitors at the BBC Spooks website. The site also includes a preview of the next episode, information about the characters and deleted scenes. (The Sun's website has previews of the first two episodes, and unlike the BBC's videos, they're available to visitors worldwide - episode 1, episode 2.)

Robin Hood series 2 DVD in UK   The region 2 DVD boxset was released on 3rd November. It's available at Amazon UK and Amazon Germany.

Interview on Heat Radio - Richard appeared on Andi Peters' Hot or Not show on Heat Radio on 27th October, in a relaxed and funny interview. Listen here... part 1, part 2, part 3

Interview on BBC Breakfast - Richard was interviewed on BBC Breakfast, talking about the new series of Spooks, which has just started. Watch the interview...

Interview on This Morning - Richard was also interviewed on ITV1's This Morning. Watch the interview...

Interview on The Sarah Kennedy Show - Richard Armitage was interviewed on Radio 2 by Richard Allinson, standing in for Sarah Kennedy. Listen to the interview...

Richard Armitage on torture - The Times (27th October) had an article about waterboarding, in which Richard Armitage described how he was filmed being waterboarded for a scene in Spooks. He said that he was initially convinced by consultants from the CIA and FSB (the former KGB) that it was not a form a torture. But after experiencing it, he changed his mind and believes it should not be used. "The psychological damage of doing that to someone for even a minute would be indescribable," he said.

This story, and the issues it raises, was later picked up by a number of other newspapers, for example, the Daily Telegraph (28th October). And it was also mentioned in some of the radio and TV interviews that he did that day to publicise the new series.

The Sunday Times (2nd November) returned to the theme, reprinting an article by Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair about being waterboarded, and again quoting Richard's comments about his experience of it.

The scene is part of episode 3 of the series. Richard's character, Lucas North, experiences a sudden flashback to his interrogation by the FSB during his time in a Russian prison. The views of Lucas being waterboarded are brief, but they are enough to show the nature of this form of torture. (Video clip...)

Radio 1 Newsbeat interview - The Newsbeat website has an interview with Richard Armitage.

TV previewers on Spooks - Newspapers and TV magazines welcomed the return of Spooks, and most them chose it as a Pick of the Day. Some of them also included it in their previews of the whole week's television.

Gareth Lean in The Guardian (27th October) said, "Rare is the returning British drama that gets you giddy but, back for its seventh series and resolving last year's big cliffhanger, Spooks returns triumphant. It's no secret that Ros is back, Adam is leaving and new boy Lucas North (Richard Armitage) has been rescued from a Russian prison, but how it all plays out is a delight."

In the Radio Times (25th-31st October), Alison Graham said that in spite of Spooks having reached its seventh series, "its standards are still toweringly high, and, if anything, it gets better with age". She described the opening two part story as "an absolute corker".

And in The Scotsman (26th October), Mik Duffy chose it as his Drama of the Week, saying that "the gripping spy drama gets a welcome infusion of new blood as Richard Armitage, finally escaping the grim TV gulag of Robin Hood, brings his Byronic presence to Section D. Playing Lucas North, an MI5 operative re-learning the ropes after a decade in Russian captivity, he's a compelling hero whose need to prove his loyalty adds a weighty Le Carré-like vibe to the high octane proceedings."

Interviews in the Coventry Telegraph and Sunday Mercury - These two Midlands newspapers both carry feaures about Richard Armitage joining Spooks (he was born and grew up in the East Midlands).

There's a full page feature on the front page of the Coventry Telegraph's 'WeekEnd' supplement (25th October). He was a student at Pattison’s Dancing Academy in Coventry (now Pattison College), so the article is advertised on the front page of the main paper as "Coventry's own Spook! Former city student joins top TV show".

And Birmingham's Sunday Mercury (26th October) also has a feature about his new role in Spooks.

Interviews in the national press - The TV magazines of the Daily Mirror (25th October), the Daily Star (25th October) and the Sunday People (26th October 2008) have short interviews with Richard Armitage. The Times's Knowledge magazine (18th October) also had an interview, as did the Daily Telegraph (23rd October). The Daily Express (18th October) and Sunday Express (19th October) have also run interviews.

Interviews in the regional press - Some regional newspapers have interviews, although they are mostly not original. One interview appears in both the Scunthorpe Telegraph and Bristol's Evening Post. A different interview is carried in the Eastern Daily Press, the Chester Chronicle, the Bromsgrove Advertiser and the Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News. The Manchester Evening News' Ian Wylie has an original interview. The Northern Echo also has a feature, as does the Irish paper, the Cork Evening Echo.

Interviews in the weekly magazines - Richard Armitage is interviewed about Spooks in many of the weekly TV and other magazines published on 21st October. They include the Radio Times, the TV Times, TV & Satellite Week (also on the cover), Total TV Guide, TV Quick, What's on TV, TV Choice, Inside Soap, Woman, Closer and Reveal.

Interviews at websites - The website of the satellite broadcaster Sky carries an interview with Richard, as does Digital Spy.

(See below for a full list of interviews.)

Recent interviews about Spooks - Richard Armitage has been interviewed by a number of newspapers and magazines recently about the new series of Spooks. Some interviews appear in more than one paper, and some are based only on press releases.

BBC Spooks interview - Richard Armitage was interviewed about his new role in the seventh series of Spooks in a feature released by the BBC Press Office.

He plays an MI5 officer, Lucas North, who has just returned from eight years in a Russian jail. Richard talked in this interview about the effect that his incarceration has had on Lucas, and about his efforts to be accepted back on the Grid at MI5.

Since Lucas is a fluent Russian speaker Richard had to learn to speak the language convincingly, although he said, "Learning to speak Russian was pretty impossible, really – I had to learn it phonetically."

Richard joins a cast that includes Peter Firth, Rupert-Penry Jones and Hermione Norris. The series was mostly shot in and around London earlier this year, although some filming took place in Moscow. For more information about the series, including some pictures of filming, see the Spooks page.

Richard Armitage on BBC Radio 1 - Richard Armitage spoke briefly about the future of Robin Hood during The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1 on 1st September. He doesn't yet know whether Guy of Gisborne will survive into series 4, nor has it been revealed to the cast how Robin will leave the show. (The BBC recently announced that Jonas Armstrong, who plays Robin, will leave the show at the end of series 3, but that it could still continue into a fourth series.) Listen to the audioclip...

Robin Hood series 3 - The BBC has announced that Jonas Armstrong, who plays Robin Hood, will be leaving the show at the end of the third series. According to both the BBC's press release and a report in the Daily Telegraph, this doesn't necessarily mean that the third series will be the last. This series, which won't be seen in the UK and the USA until 2009, was filmed in Budapest during 2008.

Richard Armitage will again be playing Guy of Gisborne. He recently revealed that two new characters are joining the show during this series - Guy of Gisborne's sister Isabella, played by newcomer Lara Pulver, and Prince John, played by Toby Stephens, who is said to be producing a series-stealing performance.

Also joining the show are David Harewood, who will play Brother Tuck, and Joanne Froggatt, playing Kate, a Locksley village girl who will join Robin's band of outlaws.

See the Robin Hood series 3 page for more information about the new series.

George Gently DVD in North America and the UK - A Region 1 DVD of George Gently has been released. It's available at Amazon USA and Amazon Canada. A Region 2 DVD can now be pre-ordered from Amazon UK, but the release date is given as 1st June 2009.

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Forthcoming work

Richard Armitage will next be seen in the third series of Robin Hood, in which he again plays Sir Guy of Gisborne. It's due for broadcast in the UK in spring 2009.

Also in spring 2009 will be an appearance in one of a series of five short dramas called Moving On, to be broadcast on BBC One Daytime.

In March 2009, he will begin filming the eighth series of Spooks, returning as MI5 officer Lucas North. It will be broadcast on the BBC later in the year.

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