Marriage breakdowns and spy dramas: two staples of British television, and now, thanks to ITV’s latest four-part series Betrayal, they’re colliding in a story that’s as much about secrets at home as it is about secrets of state. Premiering on ITV1 and ITVX and reviewed by The Independent on February 9, 2026, Betrayal brings together an impressive cast—fronted by Shaun Evans and Zahra Ahmadi—to explore what happens when personal and professional trust erode at the highest levels of British intelligence.
Shaun Evans, well-known for his role as young Morse in Endeavour, steps into the shoes of John Hughes, a British Intelligence operative whose reputation for maverick behavior precedes him. As his MI5 handler Simone (Nikki Amuka-Bird) puts it, “We all know your gut is good, but we have to prioritise using our resources carefully.” John’s tendency to go off-script lands him not just in hot water, but right in the middle of a brutal murder scene—an event that puts his career on the chopping block, with voluntary redundancy looming over his head.
But John’s story is more than just a tale of professional peril. As The Independent points out, his personal life is equally fraught. His marriage to Claire (Romola Garai) is hanging by a thread, still reeling from the aftershocks of John’s previous affair with a colleague. When John teams up with Mehreen Askari-Evans, a British-Iranian agent played by Zahra Ahmadi, to investigate a looming mass-casualty terror threat—possibly orchestrated by the Iranian military—the professional and personal lines blur dangerously. As John and Mehreen grow closer, the gulf between John and Claire widens, turning the show’s title into a double entendre: betrayal at home, betrayal at work, and maybe even betrayal of country.
According to The Mirror, Zahra Ahmadi’s role as Mehreen marks a return to the spotlight for the Plymouth-born actor with Persian heritage. Ahmadi, who first became a household name as the original Shabnam Masood in EastEnders from 2007 to 2008, brings depth to Mehreen, a character whose own loyalties and vulnerabilities are tested as she’s assigned to assume John’s responsibilities. The Mirror reports that Mehreen becomes an unexpected confidante for John, adding yet another layer to the show’s web of trust and deception.
The action isn’t just confined to MI5’s shadowy corridors. Betrayal features a criminal gang in Stockport, hired by an Iranian general (played by Omid Djalili), tasked with surveilling, threatening, and even attempting to assassinate a dissident. The plot’s geopolitical edge—British agents, Iranian military, and criminal gangs—gives the show a sense of urgency that’s all too familiar in a world where international intrigue is never far from the headlines.
Yet, as The Independent observes, the show’s ambition sometimes gets tangled in the conventions of primetime ITV drama. The review notes that while the premise—a marriage drama masquerading as a spy thriller—is intriguing, the execution often slips into formula. “Betrayal starts with an interesting idea … but quickly reverts to something more familiar,” the review states. John’s rogue antics—bribing witnesses, bugging suspects, and engaging in shootouts—propel the plot, but the emotional stakes, ironically, become less compelling as the national security threat escalates.
Still, the performances help anchor the series. Evans delivers a “pleasingly unusual” take on John, infusing the character with a certain brashness that makes him stand out from the parade of brooding TV spies. Garai, a two-time Olivier nominee, lends gravitas to Claire, even if, as The Independent notes, she sometimes seems to be “phoning it in.” The chemistry between Evans and Ahmadi is palpable, giving the show’s central partnership a sense of authenticity—even as the world around them grows increasingly perilous.
For Ahmadi, Betrayal is the latest chapter in a varied career that’s seen her tackle everything from soap opera to high-stakes drama. Born in 1982, Ahmadi left EastEnders to pursue new challenges, telling the press at the time, “I’ve made the tough decision to leave as I’m still young and I want to try other roles. But I’m really happy the door has been left open for me to return as it has been a great experience.” She’s since appeared in Count Arthur Strong, Innocent, The Bay, and, notably, as Daisy Anderson in an episode of Death in Paradise—a role that saw her playing a murder victim involved in an affair. Filming in Guadeloupe for that show, Ahmadi confessed to a “hard time” thanks to her fear of insects, including a memorable encounter with a venomous centipede: “All of a sudden, someone said, ‘Get up, get up, get up!’ So I kind of stood up and I had this dress on, and 10 people descended on me, shaking it out, brushing down my legs … it was a scolopendra—quite a poisonous centipede and it was on me and they have quite nasty bites and can give you quite a bad allergic reaction.”
Back in the world of Betrayal, the show’s structure is classic ITV: four episodes, each designed to keep viewers hooked for a week and then, perhaps, forgotten in time for the next big thing. As The Independent puts it, “It is the dramatic equivalent of a microwave dinner. Sustaining, but not nourishing. Even an intriguing, sophisticated idea—lasagna al forno—becomes edible, inoffensive mush under these demands. Betrayal might have been actively good, but, instead, it becomes defiantly okay.”
That’s not to say the show is without merit. Its attempt to fuse the personal with the political, the domestic with the dangerous, is timely in an era where the boundaries between private and public are blurrier than ever. The depiction of a British-Iranian agent at the center of the action, played by an actor of Persian heritage, also feels like a step forward in terms of representation—something The Mirror highlights by tracing Ahmadi’s career back to her roots in Plymouth and her early days on British television.
For viewers who relish the familiar rhythms of British drama—complicated marriages, compromised spies, and the ever-present specter of betrayal—Betrayal offers a well-oiled, if not revolutionary, ride. It’s a show that knows its audience, delivers the requisite twists and turns, and showcases a cast that, at its best, elevates the material above its formulaic trappings.
As the credits roll each night, one can’t help but wonder: in a world where trust is currency and betrayal is always lurking, can anyone—on screen or off—truly keep their secrets safe?