Armitage "freaked" at 'Spooks' role

Richard Armitage has admitted that he is nervous about following in the footsteps of Spooks leading men Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Penry-Jones.

The Robin Hood star, who will play an MI5 operative rescued from a Russian prison in the upcoming seventh season, revealed to DS that playing Spooks's leading man is a daunting prospect.

"I was pretty freaked by that idea because they're both actors I really admire," he said. "Rupert's done such a good job and has a big fanbase and I was worried about it. I still am a bit.

"The way that it's worked is the character hasn't directly replaced him. It's one character leaving and another arriving and a big re-shuffle goes on. All I can do is go in and do my best work and hope that the fans of the show like it."

Spooks returns Monday, October 27 at 9pm on BBC One.

> Click here for our full interview with Richard Armitage