60 Facts About Harry Pearce

Harry Pearce was played by Peter Firth during the whole run of the series from 2002 to 2011, and reprised for the 2015 film, Spooks: The Greater Good.

Harry Pearce's first assignment at the service was to A Section, in Northern Ireland, where he was an agent handler during the Provisional IRA's campaign against the British state, until his close colleague Bill Crombie was kidnapped and killed in August 1978.

Harry Pearce was then seconded to the Secret Intelligence Service, where he was stationed in Paris, under Juliet Shaw.

On his return to MI5, Harry Pearce was assigned to Section D, the counter-terrorism department, where he was a junior field officer.

Harry Pearce was promoted to senior field officer between October 1986 and December 1988, and appointed to his current role in January 1994.

In Episode 3 of Series 7, Harry Pearce learned from Lucas North that Russian intelligence interrogated him about an operation called Sugarhorse.

In Episode 1 of Series 8, Harry Pearce is being held by a group of Russians who plan to sell him to a group of rogue elements of the Indian Secret Service, of the CIA and of MI6.

The Russians are killed by the rogue officers and Harry Pearce is apparently killed.

Harry Pearce is interrogated by the officers about uranium weapons that he stole from them in Baghdad.

The plan was to use these weapons to justify the war in Iraq, but Harry Pearce went rogue to stop them.

Harry Pearce hid the uranium and told only one officer at MI5 about the uranium's location: Ruth Evershed.

Harry Pearce is the only person who really knows where the uranium is.

In Episode 2 of Series 8, Nicholas Blake, the Home Secretary, comes to Harry Pearce and tells him that he was informed of a secret meeting in Basel between rogue elements of Western and Eastern intelligence services, including the CIA and MI6.

Harry Pearce meets with Samuel Walker, the head of the CIA in London, to discuss this threat.

Harry Pearce is forced to resign, leaving Section D alone to fight Nightingale.

Lucas manages to save the President and Harry Pearce makes him appear before the TV crew to show Nightingale that they failed.

Harry Pearce's forced resignation was a smoke screen so that he wouldn't be suspected of being a part of Nightingale.

Furious at the betrayal of the man he thought of as a friend, Harry Pearce goes to his home in Scotland and poisons him.

In Series 3, Harry Pearce was revealed to be divorced, with two children.

Harry Pearce met his wife, Jane, an English teacher, during their studies at Oxford.

In Series 9 episode 8, Harry Pearce calls Catherine and leaves a message.

Harry Pearce is, in fact, on his way to a rendezvous with rogue agent Lucas North and expecting that he will die.

In Series 10 Episode 1, Harry Pearce explained to Ruth that during the time he was stationed in Berlin during the Cold War he had an affair with Elena Gavrik, the wife of former KGB officer and now Russian Minister Ilya Gavrik.

Harry Pearce had an ongoing relationship with Ruth Evershed, another one of the main characters.

Ruth finally returns to the UK in series eight after she and her new family are targeted over information only she and Harry Pearce were privy to.

In Series 9 Episode 1, Harry Pearce asked Ruth to marry him after Ros's funeral service.

In Series 9 Episode 8, after the revelation about Lucas North, Lucas proceeded to kidnap Ruth and threatened to kill her unless Harry Pearce delivers "Albany" a deadly State secret.

Harry Pearce is then told by the Home Secretary that an investigation was to take place into his entire career and is asked to prepare for life after MI5.

Harry Pearce defends his decision to trade Albany for Ruth's life as it wasn't a threat to national security and that Ruth was more valuable to the nation than a worthless piece of technology.

Harry Pearce has prepared a report on Ruth which catches the attention of Home Secretary William Towers.

Harry Pearce tells his team about Elena's involvement as an MI5 asset during the Cold War.

Harry Pearce tells Ruth, who agrees to help him in revealing who has been posing as him.

Harry Pearce manages to contact Elena, asking for them to meet in private.

In Episode 3 Harry Pearce asks Ruth to meet with former lover Elena Gavrik to collect the messages sent to her by his impersonator.

Harry Pearce tells her she knows the important things which she answers with "People don't love each other on a need to know basis".

Harry Pearce asks him if there are any more secrets, he tells her the truth admitting there are many more things in his past the remain a secret from her.

Harry Pearce urges her to go, and to leave straight away, not because he wants her to leave but because he doesn't want her involved in what's coming.

Harry Pearce though determined to prove Jim is impersonating him and attacking the Gavriks and MI5 proceeds to interrogate Coaver despite Ruth's concerns.

Harry Pearce outwardly refuses to believe him and they discuss their past, when he had attempted to extract both her and Sasha from Berlin at Treptower Park, before Coaver had stopped him.

Later Harry Pearce meets Ruth, they discuss Jim Coaver's death and Harry Pearce explains to her that he does not feel love for Elena but instead feels guilt.

Harry Pearce warns Ruth guilt can look like love which later leads to her questioning him if all he feels for her is guilt as well, but makes it clear that he is no longer in love with Elena.

Harry Pearce explains that he tried to extract Elena and Sasha from Berlin and he feels guilty mostly towards Sasha.

Harry Pearce then admits the reason he didn't tell Ruth about Elena was through shame of his own cowardice and Ruth indirectly admits in return that she was jealous of his relationship with Elena.

Harry Pearce accepts the terms of the CIA and prepares to be extradited but will leave on the condition that the deal with Russia be brought forward to that afternoon to avoid more deaths.

Harry Pearce encourages her that she'll keep trying and to do as much as she can to cling on to the idea of a normal life.

Harry Pearce says her that they can pretend this isn't the end for them.

In episode 6 Harry Pearce is still in the custody of the CIA when Elena Gavrik informs Ruth she has intel about an attack planned on the UK.

When Harry Pearce asks she tells him that she lied to him and that Sasha is not his son but is Ilya Gavriks.

Harry Pearce pushes Elena to break when he attacks Sasha, and Elena is left to make a choice between her son and her country.

Sasha out of revenge, goes out after Ruth and Harry Pearce realising that one of them had given Ilya the key.

Sasha then appears with a shard of glass Harry Pearce tells Ruth to move aside and return to the bunker.

Harry Pearce refuses and instead stands in front of him to protect him trying to convince Sasha that she had given Ilya the key to Elena's cell.

Harry Pearce tells his team to get help while he is left with Ruth dying in his arms.

Harry Pearce tells him she couldn't imagine living in Suffolk alone, but only ever living there with him.

Harry Pearce tries to comfort her, telling her they will have a life there but before Dimitri, Erin and Calum can to her she's already gone, Dimitri tries to save her but it's too late.

Calum asks Dimitri and Erin allow Harry Pearce to be alone with Ruth leaving Harry Pearce grieving, holding her.

In Series 6, Episode 3, Harry Pearce received a letter from 10 Downing Street, informing him that The Queen wished to bestow a knighthood upon him.

Harry Pearce already held a CBE, the honour immediately below that of the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire he now holds.

Harry Pearce has thus far survived four cliffhangers where it appears he is about to be killed and the tenth series is a plotline that revolves around Harry; his past and his relationship with Ruth.

Harry Pearce was the only character to have appeared in every single episode in the show.