Doctor Maya Lahan is a fictional character from the British espionage television series Spooks, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division in MI5.

[2] When John became stuck in Dakar, he worked with Vaughn Edwards (Iain Glen) as a courier in order to get back home, but Maya remained unaware of his activities.

[4] However, after he was involved in the bombing of a British Embassy in 1995, John was forced to leave Maya and murder friend Lucas North, and since started masquerading as him.

[1] Fifteen years later, in the first episode of the ninth series, Vaughn visits Lucas and leaves him with several mementos of his former life,[5] including pictures of him and Maya.

However, over the course of the series, Vaughn has been manipulating Lucas, by giving him Maya back into his life, in order to get his hands on an MI5 file named "Albany", which contain blueprints for a genetic weapon.

[3] Having confessed his past crimes to his MI5 superior, Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), Lucas intends to flee the country with Maya, and agrees to give the Chinese Albany in exchange for money, and new identities for the couple.

However, when Beth Bailey (Sophia Myles) and Dimitri Levendis (Max Brown) arrive, Lucas takes Maya to his car and evades them.

It's got a great cast as well, so I'm chuffed to be on it.In March 2010, it was announced that Laila Rouass has joined the cast of the ninth series of Spooks, along with Max Brown and Sophia Myles, however at the time Sarah Brandist from the BBC refused to reveal details of the character, including the name, citing "we don't want to give too much away as intrigue and betrayal are at the heart of the storylines.

"[12] Later in May of the same year, co-star Richard Armitage announced Rouass would play a character named Maya, described as "an old flame of Lucas's, possibly his first love.

Due to her limited appearance, the actress was available to perform other projects, including The Sarah Jane Adventures and Conan the Barbarian, as well as spending the free time with her daughter.

'"[9] Rouass liked working with Armitage during her duration on the series, having met him in Los Angeles a few years prior,[8][9] as well as Iain Glen, who plays Vaughn Edwards, although she was worried that should "Maya let anything happen to [Lucas] I'll be one of the most hated women in the country.

[16] Vicky Frost of The Guardian had mixed reactions towards the character, writing "let's hope that Maya turns out to be more than just a device for us to find out about Lucas' past," but adds that she is not "holding my breath.