Gary Oldman TV spy drama Slow Horses returns for season 3

Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, is back on Apple TV+ next month.

Some scenes from series two were shot in Oxford at the Blavatnik School of Government in Jericho.

READ MORE: School makes pupils eat lunch outside 

The series features a team of MI5 rejects - known as Slow Horses - who have all been exiled from MI5 for various failings.

Fans will be able to watch the first two episodes on Friday, December 1 on Apple TV+, with subsequent episodes airing weekly until Friday, December 29.

The new season will be based on the third novel in Mr Herron's Slough House series, Real Tigers, which features a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatening to expose a buried MI5 secret in London.

READ MORE: Music legend joins line-up for Blenheim Palace concert

The synopsis says: "When Jackson Lamb and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight, they find themselves caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not just of Slough House but of MI5 itself."

Returning to the cast alongside Mr Oldman, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar and Christopher Chung are Kristin Scott Thomas, Freddie Fox, Chris Reilly, Samuel West, Sophie Okonedo, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan and Jonathan Pryce.

Mr Herron told The Sunday Times that he had never knowingly met a spy.

He added: "When I was at Cheltenham for the literature festival this year, I did ask who in the audience might know more about this than I do, and there was a lot of muttering and shuffling of feet and people avoiding my gaze.

"One question I seem to get asked more than any other at public events is 'do I have an endgame in mind?'

READ MORE: Pupils shift to walking and cycling

"I've always said no because that has always been the truth.

"The last time I was asked it I thought, you know what, that's a good idea.

"I don't have any plans as such it's just this idea is now taking root."

The author said he would not want the story of his characters to be left hanging around when he was no longer around.

But he did not say how long it would be before the series came to an end.

Mr Herron is part of the writers' room for the TV series, led by the showrunner Will Smith.

Each book is dissected and then rebuilt for a six-part series.

The series has been praised for its faithfulness to Mr Herron's books but there are numerous adaptations.

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe 

As a digital subscriber you will get: 

• Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website 
• Advert-light access 
• Reader rewards 
• Full access to our app 

About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.