History's Ultimate Spies

Season 1

2015 · 6 episodes

Episodes

1. 1

   1. Thomas Cromwell

   16 Oct 2015

   The wily characters from history who pulled strings in the shadows. Thomas Cromwell's cloak-and-dagger work helped steer Henry VIII through his troubles with Rome and several wives.

2. 2

   2. Sir Francis Walsingham

   23 Oct 2015

   History's scheming spymasters in profile. The six-part series focuses on the remarkable cunning of Francis Walsingham, whose spy network foiled many plots against Queen Elizabeth I.

3. 3

   3. Robert Cecil

   30 Oct 2015

   Robert Cecil was a formidable political operator, whose extraordinary web of informers helped to foil the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

4. 4

   4. Cardinal Richelieu

   6 Nov 2015

   Profiles of the super snoopers who blazed a trail in espionage. As Louis XIII's diabolical chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu was feared and hated thanks to his complex spy network.

5. 5

   5. Zofia Potocka and Mata Hari

   13 Nov 2015

   History's most notorious covert operatives. The astonishing tale of Zofia Potocka, the beautiful lover of Grigory Potemkin who ran a successful spy network in the Russo-Turkish War.

6. 6

   6. Elizabeth Van Leew

   20 Nov 2015

   The early innovators of intelligence. The American Civil War was notable for its female spymasters. Elizabeth van Lew's effective network even smuggled out messages in hollow eggs.