Directed by:
John IrvinCinematography:
Tony Pierce-RobertsComposer:
Geoffrey BurgonCast:
Alec Guinness, Michael Jayston, Anthony Bate, Ian Richardson, Hywel Bennett, Patrick Stewart, Siân Phillips, George Pravda, Ian Bannen, Joss Ackland (more)VOD (1)
Episodes(7)
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Return to the Circus (E01)
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Tarr Tells His Story (E02)
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Smiley Tracks the Mole (E03)
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How It All Fits Together (E04)
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Tinker Tailor (E05)
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Smiley Sets a Trap (E06)
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Flushing out the Mole (E07)
Plots(1)
In BAFTA-winner Sir Alec Guinness’s first major TV role he plays George Smiley, a retired agent who is secretly brought into ‘the Circus’ (the code name for British Secret Intelligence Service) to root out a top-level mole. Gradually piecing together the story, the weary but determined Smiley trawls through the murky waters of Cold War espionage and his own past. (BBC)
(more)Cast
![Alec Guinness](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/234/164234597_fa4283.jpg)
Alec Guinness
UK
Best series:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Smiley's People (1982) (series)
5 Second Movies (2007) (series) - a.f.
![Michael Jayston](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/079/161079276_f7e8c3.jpg)
Michael Jayston
UK
Best series:
Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) (series)
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991) (series)
Doctor Who (1963) (series)
![Anthony Bate](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/673/158673947_d18d23.jpg)
Anthony Bate
UK
Best series:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Smiley's People (1982) (series)
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) (series)
![Ian Richardson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/269/269363_402234.jpg)
Ian Richardson
UK
Best series:
To Play the King (1993) (series)
House of Cards (1990) (series)
The Final Cut (1995) (series)
![Hywel Bennett](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/997/161997847_b3926a.jpg)
Hywel Bennett
UK
Best series:
Doctor Who (1963) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Smiley's People (1982) (series)
![Patrick Stewart](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/316/166316127_255934.jpg)
Patrick Stewart
UK
Best series:
The Simpsons (1989) (series)
Futurama (1999) (series)
I, Claudius (1976) (series)
![Siân Phillips](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270592_07bf33.jpg)
Siân Phillips
UK
Best series:
I, Claudius (1976) (series)
Doctor Who (2005) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
![George Pravda](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/276/276264_8caadb.jpg)
George Pravda
Austria-Hungary
Best series:
I, Claudius (1976) (series)
Doctor Who (1963) (series)
The Prisoner (1967) (series)
![Ian Bannen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270764_9cb143.jpg)
Ian Bannen
UK
Best series:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Original Sin (1997) (series)
![Joss Ackland](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/037/165037480_961244.jpg)
Joss Ackland
UK
Best series:
The Persuaders! (1971) (series)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984) (series)
Shroud for a Nightingale (1984) (series)
![Warren Clarke](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272474_d309a3.jpg)
Warren Clarke
UK
Best series:
All Creatures Great and Small (1978) (series)
The Jewel in the Crown (1984) (series)
Blackadder (1983) (series)
![Thorley Walters](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/307/158307322_92b3f5.jpg)
Thorley Walters
UK
Best series:
The Persuaders! (1971) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Tales of the Unexpected (1979) (series)
![Alexander Knox](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/441/164441529_babe8a.jpg)
Alexander Knox
Canada
Best series:
The Last Place on Earth (1985) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
The Saint (1962) (series)
![Eugene Lipinski](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/188/158188384_c6f231.jpg)
Eugene Lipinski
UK
Best series:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Smiley's People (1982) (series)
Hilary Minster
UK
Best series:
'Allo 'Allo! (1982) (series)
Doctor Who (1963) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
![John Standing](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/416/416797_b986df.jpg)
John Standing
UK
Best series:
Game of Thrones (2011) (series)
The Crown (2016) (series)
Patrick Melrose (2018) (series)
![Beryl Reid](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/416/416799_5e49d0.jpg)
Beryl Reid
UK
Best series:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Smiley's People (1982) (series)
Cracker (1993) (series)
![Terence Rigby](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/875/160875398_54e32e.gif)
Terence Rigby
UK
Best series:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
The Saint (1962) (series)
Travelling Man (1984) (series)
![Nigel Stock](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/382/161382440_6ab49c.jpg)
Nigel Stock
Malta
Best series:
Yes, Minister (1980) (series)
Doctor Who (1963) (series)
The Prisoner (1967) (series)
![George Sewell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/399/161399040_233751.jpg)
George Sewell
UK
Best series:
Doctor Who (1963) (series)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) (series)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969) (series)