From David Hare’s spy drama Page Eight, broadcast tonight on BBC2. A senior MI5 officer, Johnny Worricker, played by Bill Nighy, is investigating the sudden death of his close friend, and Director General of MI5, Benedict Baron [Michael Gambon]. In the aftermath of the death, a journalist, Rollo Maverley [Ewen Bremner], who is also an MI5 operative paid to release information into the public domain, arranges a meeting at an anonymous motorway diner. The following exchange takes place.
[Johnny Worricker]: ” A ‘Road House’? Rather a come-down isn’t it?
[Rollo Maverley]: “Isn’t this where you used to meet Gerry Adams?”
[Johnny Worricker]: “Is it, Rollo? You’d know better than me.”
[Rollo Maverley]: “So, who are you this time?”
[Johnny Worricker]: “My name’s Eliot. After the poet.”
Heh. Well, the current DG of MI5 does have experience in this area…