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.

Harriet Walter’s acclaimed portrayal is the latest of many screen versions. So how do you create the Thatcher persona?

Harriet Walter has become the ­latest in a line of actors, from Meryl Streep and Gillian Anderson to Fenella Woolgar and Jennifer Saunders, to accept the challenge of becoming Margaret Thatcher on screen. How do you play a woman who, 45 years on from her ascension, exists almost as a national caricature?

Walter plays the part in Brian and Maggie, Channel 4’s two-part drama tracing Thatcher’s relationship with Labour MP turned journalist Brian Walden, which culminated in a fraught TV interview in October 1989, as Thatcher’s fortune began to fail. The series, written by Sherwood creator James Graham, directed by Stephen Frears and co-starring Steve Coogan, digs into the former prime minister’s private persona.