It consists of ten episodes which continue to follow the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of the British Security Service (MI5).

In addition to Macfadyen, Hawes and Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones, Nicola Walker, Hugh Simon, Shauna Macdonald and Rory MacGregor are listed as the main cast.

A change from the girlfriend/boyfriend storyline for Tom and Ellie Simm in the first series, the producers noted it is common for secret service officers to be in a relationship with others in the same field of work.

McInnerny was better known as a comedic actor, particularly for his role in Blackadder, but the producers felt that quality made Mace a more menacing character.

Oyelowo stated that Kher had an "instant quality of likeness," which can make the audience sympathise with Danny after Harakat is killed in the episode.

[27] There were five directors, each directing two episodes; Jonny Campbell, Cilla Ware, Justin Chadwick, Bill Anderson, and Alrick Riley.

Simon Chaudoir, Jake Polonsky, Kieran McGuigan, Sue Gibson and Baz Irvine were the directors of photography.

[25] Mark Doman designed the on-screen computer graphics, films surveillance shots and television footage from the series' point of view.

[31] Tom's exit allowed the writers to pull the focus on the other characters, namely Danny and Zoe, to give the show more of an ensemble feel.

The writers initially wanted to expand on the potential Danny and Sam Buxton relationship which began in the second series, but the idea was dropped in favour of his affection towards Zoe, as the producers believed that was delivering more.

[33] When Hawes announced she wanted to leave, Richards decided to write a "big episode" to give Zoe a decent send off.

[17] There were other instances of the main character going through great lengths to solve the case, including Adam's interrogation methods, brinking on torture, in "Frequently Asked Questions".

[19] The producers wanted to use world events that Britain and America were directly or indirectly responsible for, where the consequences of an operation are worse than the problems they were intended to resolve, known as blowback.

[18] Brenton modelled Fred Roberts in "The Sleeper" on the weapons scientist David Kelly, who committed suicide in July 2003 after he was outed as the source of BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan's story alleging the British government "sexed up" the September Dossier about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

[33] The producers learned from an ex-MI5 officer that it is common for intelligence gatherers who spend most of their work listening in to other people to fall in love with civilians through just their voices.

Walters realised that torture is counterproductive as the suspects can say anything the interrogators want to hear, but rationalises that Adam is an expert in that field.

In response to this, Kudos director Stephen Garrett stated "Spooks is really well researched and sometimes we look like we're ahead of the game.

[38] Scheduling was often tight throughout the shoot; sometimes the production crew had to "double up" on locations,[17] and the cast often had to learn six pages of dialogue a day.

", where Mace and Khordad meet in Hebron, was filmed on a roof garden in below zero temperatures; however, McInnerny and Paul Bhattacharjee wore summer clothes.

This included a church in Smithfield and the Natural History Museum; in the latter's case, Campbell believed the location was "harking back" to traditional spy films.

[15][17] Several exterior shots where Harry meets with government officials and his officers were filmed on walkways outside the Houses of Parliament.

The sequence was considered for rescheduling due to snowfall before filming it, but the producers felt the icy road would become an advantage, and went ahead with it anyway.

[21] The alcohol used in the series were made from non-alcoholic drinks; the production crew used fruit juices as wine,[17] ginger ale as brandy, and cold tea as beer.

[51] Contender have once again delivered a fine package for Spooks' third season, and if this collection of episodes is not quite up to the level of those that preceded it, the quality of the presentation and exhaustive nature of the bonus materials almost make up for this.The third series received generally favourable reviews.

), and in the final episode, it becomes abundantly clear that, in the next season, Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey) will be taking Danny's place while ensuring that the "minority" checkbox remains ticked.

"[52] In terms of the storylines, the reviewer stated "Spooks' third season […] is something of a step down from both its predecessors," although the series "has a number of fine moments.

Danny receives great moments as he is brought into the spotlight from his feelings for Zoe to his conflicted feelings about things he does in the name of Queen and Country, but Danny doesn't break and let his emotions become a crutch like Tom did (when Tom wanted a sleeper agent not to do the job MI-5 wanted the sleeper to do).

[55][56] The interactive service, which provided Spooks viewers with an "extra dimension to the television experience" by allowing users to go through mock training sessions via remote control, also won an International iTV Awards.

In addition there are numerous interviews with the cast and crew of the series, including separate featurettes on Adam and Fiona Carter, as well as their portrayers.

In the United Kingdom, the box set was released with a "15" British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certificate (unsuitable for viewers under the age of 15 years).