Ros Myers
Encyclopedia
Rosalind "Ros" Sarah Myers (1973–2009) was a fictional character
from the BBC
espionage
television series Spooks
, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism
division in MI5
. She is portrayed by British actress Hermione Norris
. The character was a former MI6 officer who works with MI5 in the fifth series. She was promoted to Chief of Section D in the seventh series. At the end of the eighth series, Ros is killed in a hotel explosion.
officer working under Michael Collingwood. In the same episode, Section D learns that Collingwood is plotting a conspiracy to overrule the Prime Minister
, and launch measures to combat terrorism
, at the cost of several civil liberties
. In the second episode, Ros learns that her father, Sir Jocylen Myers, is funding the conspiracy, and she persuades him out of it, as the rest of the team stop Collingwood. At the end of the episode, Adam Carter
(Rupert Penry-Jones
) offers her a position in Section D, which she takes. In the fourth episode, she is angered to learn that despite Harry Pearce
's (Peter Firth
) promise of going easy on her father, he is instead sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
In the first episode of the sixth series, fellow officer Zafar Younis
(Raza Jaffrey
) is kidnapped by mercenaries
. When she hears that French Intelligence have a lead on his whereabouts, Adam gives her 24 hours. However, it is revealed the lead was a ruse and she is kidnapped by a shadow organisation known as Yalta. They torture her as a way of recruiting her; they also convince her that the United States
government
is manipulating the United Kingdom
during peace deals with Iran
. Towards the end of the series, Section D and the CIA
are made aware of Yalta. In the eighth episode, CIA liaison Bob Hogan
(Matthew Marsh
) begins to systematically kill known members. Ros reveals herself as a member to Section D, but wants to help them in stopping Yalta's plans, which is revealed to be setting off a logic bomb
against the American defense satellite network. Though Adam and Malcolm Wynn-Jones
(Hugh Simon
) stop the attack, one of Yalta's high ranking members, Juliet Shaw
(Anna Chancellor
) supposedly kills Ros for her betrayal by injecting her with poison. During her funeral however, Adam revives her and reveals he switched the poison with a sedative to fake her death beforehand. In the end of the episode, Ros walks away with a new identity to protect herself from further Yalta retribution.
In the seventh series, which takes place six months after series six, Ros is revealed to be working in Moscow
as "Range Finder", to bring intelligence back to London
which reveals a planned attack during a Remembrance Day
ceremony. Adam finds a car rigged to explode and drives it to an unpopulated zone, but dies as he exits the exploding car. In the next episode, Harry promotes Ros to succeed Adam as Chief of Section D. In later episodes of the series, Ros works to uncover an FSB mole within the section, who is attempting to sabotage "Sugar Horse", a top secret MI5 operation involving the recruitment of Russia
ns into top government
positions, and therefore, become aware of Russia's intentions towards the United Kingdom. Ros and the team later discover the mole is Connie James
(Gemma Jones
), and she is arrested. However, in the finale, she and Lucas North
(Richard Armitage
) are forced to use her help when they discover "Tiresius", Russia's equivalent of Sugar Horse, has planted a nuclear bomb in London. After finding the bomb, Connie disarms it, but dies in the process.
In episode three of the eighth series, following a hostage situation, Ros kills a terrorist before he can detonate a bomb. However, because Jo Portman
(Miranda Raison
) held on to the terrorist, the bullet passed through him and entered her chest, killing Jo as well. Ros has since been affected by it. In the fifth episode, she is contacted by Jack Colville, her recruiter into MI6. Later in the episode, Colville finds a way to hack into MI5's records through Ros; account to kill every officer responsible for the death of Mina, his love in Bosnia
several years before. To stop Colville, Ros has her name planted as the one who ordered Mina's death. Jack pursues Ros and, as he is about to kill her, she reveals the truth. Realizing that it was not the agents, but the system that was wrong, he kills himself. In the series finale
, a multinational shadow organisation, Nightingale, attempts to cause a nuclear war
between India
and Pakistan
. To put a stop to it, Ros and Lucas attempt to rescue a paralysed Pakistani President
Mudasser and Home Secretary
Andrew Lawrence
(Tobias Menzies
) from a hotel rigged to explode. As Lucas rescues Mudasser, Ros struggles to pull Lawrence to safety, and is still inside as the hotel explodes, resulting in their deaths. In the first episode of the ninth series it is revealed that former Home Secretary Nicholas Blake
ordered the bombing; in revenge, Harry travels to his home in Scotland
and kills him by poisoning his whisky
.
She was succeeded as Chief of Section D by Lucas North
who had previously served as Chief of Section D in the late 90s before Tom Quinn
journalist Gareth McLean wrote during the broadcast of Spooks seventh series that "Not only is Ros Myers the best character that Spooks has ever had [...] she's also the best female character currently on television." On the website of The Stage
, Scott Matthewman concurred with McLean, writing, "She is indeed one of the hottest female characters on television at the moment."
For her part in the series, Hermione Norris won the Best Actress award at the inaugural Crime Thriller Awards in 2008. She was nominated in the same category the next year.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
television series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
division in MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
. She is portrayed by British actress Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris is an English actress.Norris attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet...
. The character was a former MI6 officer who works with MI5 in the fifth series. She was promoted to Chief of Section D in the seventh series. At the end of the eighth series, Ros is killed in a hotel explosion.
Role in Spooks
Ros Myers was born in the year 1973. She is introduced in the first episode of the fifth series as an MI6Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
officer working under Michael Collingwood. In the same episode, Section D learns that Collingwood is plotting a conspiracy to overrule the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, and launch measures to combat terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, at the cost of several civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
. In the second episode, Ros learns that her father, Sir Jocylen Myers, is funding the conspiracy, and she persuades him out of it, as the rest of the team stop Collingwood. At the end of the episode, Adam Carter
Adam Carter
Adam Henry Carter is a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. He is portrayed by British actor Rupert Penry-Jones...
(Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
) offers her a position in Section D, which she takes. In the fourth episode, she is angered to learn that despite Harry Pearce
Harry Pearce
Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce KBE is the fictional head of the Counter-Terrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks...
's (Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
) promise of going easy on her father, he is instead sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
In the first episode of the sixth series, fellow officer Zafar Younis
Zafar Younis
Zafar Younis is a fictional character in the popular BBC espionage drama Spooks, known in the United States as MI-5. The show follows the exploits of MI5's counter-terrorism group, Section D. The character is played by British actor Raza Jaffrey. Zafar is introduced in the last episode of series...
(Raza Jaffrey
Raza Jaffrey
Raza Jaffrey is a British actor, most notable for playing the character of Zafar Younis in the BBC1 television spy drama Spooks / MI-5.-Early life:...
) is kidnapped by mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
. When she hears that French Intelligence have a lead on his whereabouts, Adam gives her 24 hours. However, it is revealed the lead was a ruse and she is kidnapped by a shadow organisation known as Yalta. They torture her as a way of recruiting her; they also convince her that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
is manipulating the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during peace deals with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Towards the end of the series, Section D and the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
are made aware of Yalta. In the eighth episode, CIA liaison Bob Hogan
Bob Hogan
Bob Hogan is a fictional character in the British television series Spooks. Bob is a high ranking CIA agent in Britain working from Grosvenor House, the US embassy. Hogan is an ally or enemy of the team at times, however he normally will work with his counterpart Harry Pearce. Hogan was introduced...
(Matthew Marsh
Matthew Marsh (actor)
Matthew Marsh is an English actor. Matthew Marsh is the older brother of Jon Marsh of English dance band The Beloved. He has appeared in the films Alambrado, Spy Game, An American Haunting, Hawking and Bad Company, and guest-starred in the sixth series of the spy drama Spooks in 2007 and the...
) begins to systematically kill known members. Ros reveals herself as a member to Section D, but wants to help them in stopping Yalta's plans, which is revealed to be setting off a logic bomb
Logic bomb
A logic bomb is a piece of code intentionally inserted into a software system that will set off a malicious function when specified conditions are met...
against the American defense satellite network. Though Adam and Malcolm Wynn-Jones
Malcolm Wynn-Jones
Malcolm Wynn-Jones was the fictional MI5 analyst, featured in the British television series Spooks, also known as MI5 in the United States. Malcolm was played by Hugh Simon from the start of Spooks in 2002 until the character was retired at the start of Series 8 in 2009...
(Hugh Simon
Hugh Simon
Hugh Simon is a British actor, best known for his portrayal of the character Malcolm Wynn-Jones in the television series Spooks. His other TV credits include Shackleton, Attachments, Cold Feet, North Square, Big Bad World, and "Unusual Suspects" .He has also appeared onstage, as in the 2005 London...
) stop the attack, one of Yalta's high ranking members, Juliet Shaw
Juliet Shaw
Juliet Shaw is a fictional character in the British TV show Spooks, portrayed by British actress Anna Chancellor. She rose fast as a spy, achieving the position of National Security Coordinator, at the Cabinet Office...
(Anna Chancellor
Anna Chancellor
-Family:Chancellor was born in Richmond, London, England, the daughter of the Hon. Mary Alice Jolliffe and John Paget Chancellor. Through her mother's mother, Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, Chancellor is the great-granddaughter of The Hon. Raymond Aquith and the great-great-granddaughter of Prime...
) supposedly kills Ros for her betrayal by injecting her with poison. During her funeral however, Adam revives her and reveals he switched the poison with a sedative to fake her death beforehand. In the end of the episode, Ros walks away with a new identity to protect herself from further Yalta retribution.
In the seventh series, which takes place six months after series six, Ros is revealed to be working in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as "Range Finder", to bring intelligence back to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which reveals a planned attack during a Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
ceremony. Adam finds a car rigged to explode and drives it to an unpopulated zone, but dies as he exits the exploding car. In the next episode, Harry promotes Ros to succeed Adam as Chief of Section D. In later episodes of the series, Ros works to uncover an FSB mole within the section, who is attempting to sabotage "Sugar Horse", a top secret MI5 operation involving the recruitment of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns into top government
Government of Russia
The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister , the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers...
positions, and therefore, become aware of Russia's intentions towards the United Kingdom. Ros and the team later discover the mole is Connie James
Connie James
Connie James played by Gemma Jones is a fictional British MI5 spy in the BBC television series Spooks.-Introduction to the Team:According the BBC website, Connie joined MI5 as a secretary when she was 19 in 1963. She was first seen in episode 2 of Series 6, brought in as a regular female lead...
(Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
), and she is arrested. However, in the finale, she and Lucas North
Lucas North
Lucas North, formerly known as John Bateman, is a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks , which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. North is portrayed by British actor Richard Armitage...
(Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
) are forced to use her help when they discover "Tiresius", Russia's equivalent of Sugar Horse, has planted a nuclear bomb in London. After finding the bomb, Connie disarms it, but dies in the process.
In episode three of the eighth series, following a hostage situation, Ros kills a terrorist before he can detonate a bomb. However, because Jo Portman
Jo Portman
Joanna "Jo" Portman was a fictional Field Operative in the Counter-Terrorism department at MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks, also known as MI5 in the United States. She was played by Miranda Raison...
(Miranda Raison
Miranda Raison
-Early life:Born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, her father Nick Raison is a jazz pianist and artist, while her mother Caroline read the news for Anglia Television. She has two brothers and two sisters: Ed , Rosie, Sam and May. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, and her father remarried...
) held on to the terrorist, the bullet passed through him and entered her chest, killing Jo as well. Ros has since been affected by it. In the fifth episode, she is contacted by Jack Colville, her recruiter into MI6. Later in the episode, Colville finds a way to hack into MI5's records through Ros; account to kill every officer responsible for the death of Mina, his love in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
several years before. To stop Colville, Ros has her name planted as the one who ordered Mina's death. Jack pursues Ros and, as he is about to kill her, she reveals the truth. Realizing that it was not the agents, but the system that was wrong, he kills himself. In the series finale
Series 8, Episode 8 (Spooks)
The series eight finale of the British espionage television series Spooks was originally broadcast on BBC One on 23 December 2009, and is the 72nd episode in the overall series. The episode was written by Ben Richards and directed by Alrick Riley. The episode continues the "Nightingale" story-arc,...
, a multinational shadow organisation, Nightingale, attempts to cause a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
between India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. To put a stop to it, Ros and Lucas attempt to rescue a paralysed Pakistani President
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
Mudasser and Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Andrew Lawrence
Andrew Lawrence (Spooks)
Andrew Lawrence MP is a Home Secretary in the BBC television drama Spooks. He was appointed during the events of Series 8, Episode 7 after the resignation of his predecessor Nicholas Blake who was implicated in a faked scandal by covert organization Nightingale.-Series 8:Lawrence is a young...
(Tobias Menzies
Tobias Menzies
Tobias Menzies is an English stage, television, and film actor, best known for his role as Brutus in the 2005/2007 TV series Rome.-Early years:...
) from a hotel rigged to explode. As Lucas rescues Mudasser, Ros struggles to pull Lawrence to safety, and is still inside as the hotel explodes, resulting in their deaths. In the first episode of the ninth series it is revealed that former Home Secretary Nicholas Blake
Nicholas Blake (Spooks)
Nicholas Blake MP is a fictional character in the British TV series Spooks, portrayed by British actor Robert Glenister. Blake was Home Secretary in the British government. He was regularly in contact with Harry Pearce, regarding National Security....
ordered the bombing; in revenge, Harry travels to his home in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and kills him by poisoning his whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
.
She was succeeded as Chief of Section D by Lucas North
Lucas North
Lucas North, formerly known as John Bateman, is a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks , which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. North is portrayed by British actor Richard Armitage...
who had previously served as Chief of Section D in the late 90s before Tom Quinn
Reception
The character has been well-received by critics; GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
journalist Gareth McLean wrote during the broadcast of Spooks seventh series that "Not only is Ros Myers the best character that Spooks has ever had [...] she's also the best female character currently on television." On the website of The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
, Scott Matthewman concurred with McLean, writing, "She is indeed one of the hottest female characters on television at the moment."
For her part in the series, Hermione Norris won the Best Actress award at the inaugural Crime Thriller Awards in 2008. She was nominated in the same category the next year.