A previously overlooked spy thriller featuring Dame Judi Dench is set to air on BBC Two. Red Joan, first released in 2019, showcases the legendary actress in the role of Joan Stanley. In the year 2000, Joan’s peaceful retirement is disrupted when she is arrested by MI5, accused of supplying intelligence to Communist Russia.

The film incorporates flashbacks from 1983, a time when Joan was a Cambridge physicist and fell for Leo Galich (Tom Hughes), a young communist. It transpires that Joan (portrayed by Sophie Cookson in the flashbacks) was faced with the decision of either protecting her country and loved ones or betraying them. Joining Judi and Sophie in the cast are Stephen Campbell Moore, Ben Miles, Nina Sosanya, Tereza Srbova and Laurence Spellman.

Dame Judi Dench in Red Joan

Dame Judi Dench as Joan in Red Joan (Image: Lionsgate)

The synopsis states: “Following the story of Joan Stanley, a Cambridge science graduate who stole British nuclear secrets and passed them to the Soviet Union after WWII. Joan’s espionage activities remained unknown for decades, until her cover was blown and MI5 finally caught up with her in her 80s.”

Red Joan will be broadcast on BBC Two on Friday, 28 March at 11.05pm, and will subsequently be available to stream on BBC iPlayer. The film can also be viewed via Amazon Prime Video, reports Surrey Live.

Red Joan is adapted from the book of the same name by author Jennie Rooney, which drew inspiration from the life of Melita Norwood, a British civil servant and KGB spy.

Back in the 1930s, Melita Norwood passed atomic secrets to the Soviet Union while serving as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association.

Red Joan - Judi Dench

The film was initially released in 2019 (Image: Lionsgate)

Her espionage activities were only unearthed in 1999 when she was 87, showing no remorse for her actions. Although exposed, Melita evaded prosecution on account of her advanced age and died peacefully in 2005 at 93.

The producer of Red Joan, David Parfitt, opened up to the the i Paper, saying: “If you’d just read the notes on the back of the book, you might think it’s a spy thriller. But it’s a story about a moral dilemma.

“It’s a character-led piece. It’s a female-led piece. It’s about how an incredibly smart woman managed to operate in a very particular way in a man’s world.”