Experts say success of shows such as The Night Agent and Prime Target reflects growing public distrust of the state

If television dramas are a reflection of society, then it is safe to say we are feeling extremely suspicious right now. It does not take an intelligence operative to spot the number of spy thrillers that have infiltrated TV streaming services, in what has been hailed as a golden age for the genre.

This week, season two of The Night Agent climbed to the top of Netflix’s chart, while Prime Target, an espionage thriller starring Leo Woodall, became Apple TV’s most watched show. Other series such as Black Doves, The Diplomat (both Netflix), Slow Horses (Apple TV+), The Day of the Jackal (Sky Atlantic) and The Agency (Paramount Plus) have also been huge hits.

The paranormal has hit prime time, with scary stories on podcasts and TV shows more popular than ever. We head to UncannyCon to meet fans and creators to understand the thrill of the chill

A Sunday afternoon in early December and London’s Southbank Centre draws its usual eclectic crowd: tourists, young families, culture lovers, out-of-towners. But as I move through the people, a pattern starts to emerge. The cavernous space is dotted with people wearing the same black T-shirts printed with bold white lettering. Many read “Team Sceptic”, even more say “Team Believer”. Some, curiously, bear the phrase “Bloody Hell, Ken!”

If you’re into the paranormal – ghosts, UFOs, demons, witchcraft, Bigfoot, etc – you’ll recognise them as slogans from the lexicon of Uncanny, a hit BBC podcast that first aired in late 2021 and has since snowballed into a many-pronged behemoth of ghoulish entertainment, replete with a TV show, a mammoth live tour and a bestselling book. (Ken, by the way, was the protagonist of the first ever episode, recounting his experience at the hands of a poltergeist in his student halls of residence.)

You might think Dame Sheila Hancock would be taking life a little easy – no chance. She talks about her working-class roots, being lucky in love, the frustration of being passed over for serious roles – and why she’s fed up
with feeling anxious

These last few weeks, Sheila Hancock has surrendered. “I’m addicted, really,” she’s confessing. “I just can’t stop myself. I’m at it every night, without fail.” She halts, shakes her head, looks troubled, momentarily. “And everyone is fucking crying all the time. I can’t understand why for the life of me.” She leans forward, blue eyes piercing. Clocking my confusion, she grins wryly. “I’m talking about that television show, darling. What’s it called? No, don’t tell me. I’ll get there.”

Her old pal Gyles Brandreth, Hancock informs me, always makes her find the word she’s searching for when it escapes her. “He won’t chip in. ‘You must remember it yourself,’ he says, ‘because not doing so makes you forget.’ So I do, when forced.”

For the Beyond Paradise actor, happy Sundays are all about the plot

What’s an average Sunday? I share an allotment with my friend, which is wonderful. We grow turnips, parsnips and tromboncinos, which are in the squash family and a bit phallic. It’s a really peaceful thing to do and it calms me.

Is it hard to get an allotment? You have to go on a waiting list. One of my big regrets is that I didn’t do it with my kids. Now they’re grown up, they look at me as if I’m a mad woman when I say I’m going down to the allotment. But it’s full of young couples with young children, digging.

Is there allotment envy? Yes. There’s always someone better than you. There’s a lady who does French squashes in the most extraordinary shapes, and someone else who has a magical bottomless pit of potatoes. My friend Caroline sorts out our logistics. She’s always getting gets me to build structures and hang nets to stop the birds eating all the cavolo nero.

Have you got a shed? We share a shed. There’s a lot of diplomacy. If a rake slips slightly on to someone else’s side, I become nervous and I push it back. Shed etiquette is very important.

Is it a happy place? Yes. As an actor, you have to use your brain and nerves. It’s wonderful on a Sunday morning to unlock the gate to the secret garden and see the wonder of what’s growing. (Why hasn’t anyone written a sitcom about an allotment? I might one day.) On the way home I like to steal into different churches.

Such as? On Christmas Day I went into the Russian Orthodox Church up the road. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life. I like travelling on the bus on a Sunday, because it’s slow and I can watch people. I might go to a choral evensong, or I might just have my mates round and we’ll get all horrendously drunk. It’s not PC here at all.