Down the Line: a Secret Army podcast

Available Episodes

5 of 31

Series 3, Episode 3: Lucky Piece
When a Polish scientist needs to be operated on and rescued from Belgium, his handler, a British agent called Bradley encounters Lifeline. When he discovers that Natalie is being tailed by the Germans he elects to intervene... This month AJ and Andy review Juliet Hammond's favourite episode, the Natalie-centric Lucky Piece, in which we first meet maverick secret agent Nick Bradley played by Paul Shelley. The pair debate the episode's potential chauvinism, how Natalie is depicted, and the directorial choices made by Viktors Ritelis. Elsewhere, Andy is excited to share a new location find, while AJ debates if Bradley is a cat person or not. We also hear from Andy's partner, Ryan; Alex Wilcock; and our end credits guest: Dr Madeleine Jowett. The book that AJ mentions is 'London 1945' by Maureen Waller. If you would like to contact us then please email us on, or send a voicenote to: [email protected] or send us a message on Bluesky: AJ is on secretarmypod.bsky.social while Andy can be found at andypodding.bsky.social. AJ is also still on Twitter at @secretarmypod. We'd love to hear from you, especially your takes on the Series 2 episodes Scorpion and Weekend which are in preparation. Thank you! Next Time: Trapped (with special guest Joe Lidster)
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1:50:45
Interview with Constantine Gregory (Ivan in Russian Roulette)
This month we take a short break from the second series for an interview which AJ conducted with actor Constantine Gregory who played one of the two Russians in Russian Roulette: Ivan Ilyich Kusnetsov. American-born Constantine shares details of his Russian ancestry, his friendship with Richard Marner, and highlights from his career as both an actor and as a dialogue coach on films such as The Last Emperor and Conspiracy with Kenneth Branagh. We are grateful to Constantine for sharing his memories wth us. If you enjoyed the interview and would like to show your appreciation for his contribution, then please consider donating to his chosen charity: Turning Tides: https://www.turning-tides.org.uk/ which seeks to end local homelessness in the UK. If you would like to contact us then please email us on, or send a voicenote to: [email protected] or send us a message on Bluesky: AJ is on secretarmypod.bsky.social while Andy can be found at andypodding.bsky.social. AJ is also still on Twitter at @secretarmypod. We'd love to hear from you, especially your takes on the Series 2 episodes Not According to Plan and Scorpion which are currently in preparation. Thank you! Next Time: Lucky Piece
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37:59
Series 2, Episode 2: Russian Roulette
'That megalomaniac upstart is rapidly degenerating into a latter-day Caligula!' Our review of Secret Army's gripping second series continues with John Brason's Russian Roulette: soon after hearing about the death of their leader Lisa, Lifeline have to contend with two Russian evaders, Brandt is asked to join a plot against Hitler, and Albert accepts Kessler's invite to a sinister garden party... While AJ realises just how much of the episode they had forgotten, Andy disagrees with himself from the past about both locations and musical instruments. The pair agree that the episode could also be called 'Natalie's Very Bad Day' and consider issues as diverse as: Alain's family and his share of the Muny farm; why everyone is suddenly and inexplicably calling Lisa, Yvette; the meaning of European hand gestures; and the decision not to subtitle the episode's plentiful Russian dialogue. There's also Ryan's reaction on first viewing, Alex Wilcock considering both the episode's title and Kessler's return invitation to Albert, and Joanna from Australia who first watched the series at ten-years-old. The book that AJ mentions is The Nine by Gwen Strauss about a band of daring resistance women who escaped from Nazi Germany. If you would like to contact us then please email us on, or send a voicenote to: [email protected] or send us a message on Bluesky: AJ is on secretarmypod.bsky.social while Andy can be found at andypodding.bsky.social. AJ is also still on Twitter at @secretarmypod. We'd love to hear from you, especially your takes on the Series 2 episodes Trapped and Not According to Plan which are in preparation. Thank you! Next Time: Lucky Piece
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1:39:35
Interview with Jan Francis
In this special episode of Down the Line, AJ Interviews none other than Jan Francis who played Lisa Colbert: codename Yvette, in Secret Army. As well as her memories of being cast in the show, Jan recalls its creator and producer Gerry Glaister, and the learning curve she and her fellow cast members went on as they found out about the historical reality behind the series. Having recently watched the series again on Talking Pictures, Jan also reflects on whether Secret Army still stands up today. She also reveals some surprisingly relevant stories of her own father's wartime exploits. We are incredibly grateful to Jan for giving up her time for this interview and for sharing so generously. If you would like to show your appreciation, then please consider donating to Jan's chosen charity: SSAFA (The Armed Forces Charity) at: https://www.ssafa.org.uk/ (and mention this Secret Army podcast when you donate so that contributions relating to this interview can be grouped together). As ever, we'd love to hear from you. We will shortly be recording our thoughts on the Series 2 episodes: 'Trapped' and 'Not According to Plan' - if you have anything to say about either then our email is: [email protected] You can also send us a message on Bluesky: AJ is on secretarmypod.bsky.social while Andy can be found at andypodding.bsky.social. AJ is also still on Twitter at @secretarmypod Thank you for listening! AJ & Andy x Next Time: Russian Roulette
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53:58
Series 2, Episode 1: The Hostage
AJ and Andy finally arrive at Series 2 and its fair to say they're excited to be here. They discuss the big changes between seasons as Lifeline takes up its new centre of operations in the high-class Restaurant Candide in the Grand Place and Albert, Monique and Natalie begin to rub shoulders with the enemy on a daily basis. Along the way your hosts also discuss the off-screen departure of Jacques Bol, the Birthday Paradox and this episode's terribly misjudged instrumental music. As ever the historical reality behind the episode is also explored and Andy's partner Ryan shares what he thinks after his first time watch. We also hear from regular contributor Alex Wilcock and there's a special musical Easter Egg from 2006. Spoiler Alert: Although this episode is from 1978 we feel duty bound to issue a spoiler warning relating to the death of one of Lifeline's regular characters. Do watch the episode in advance of listening. If you would like to contact us then please email us on, or send a voicenote to: [email protected] or send us a message on Bluesky: AJ is on secretarmypod.bsky.social while Andy can be found at andypodding.bsky.social. AJ is also still on Twitter at @secretarmypod. We'd love to hear from you, especially your takes on the Series 2 episodes Lucky Piece and Trapped which we have yet to record. Thank you! Next Time: Interview with Jan Francis (in two weeks time)
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1:55:15