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You’ll never wheel your suitcase through an airport in the same way again. Hit techno-conspiracy drama The Capture makes its long-awaited comeback with a chilling, thrilling opening sequence at Heathrow Terminal 5. When a hostile Russian asset lands in the UK, he hacks CCTV cameras and uses real-time image manipulation to bypass border controls and passport checks. He’s travelling under a deepfake avatar – and let’s just say he’s not in London to visit M&M’s World or see the Paddington musical.
Written and created by former documentary-maker Ben Chanan, The Capture’s ripped-from-the-headlines mix of government AI usage, state-sponsored cyber-attacks, dark web data analytics and deepfake doppelgangers will make you fear for the future. The show’s star Holliday Grainger compares it to “a longform Black Mirror”.
“Each series explores technology that feels just one step ahead of reality,” says the Manchester-born 37-year-old. “In the era of AI, it feels more and more timely. Ben does a lot of research and we have advisers who inform us about the latest developments. Not just from the Met and counter-terror but military consultants as well. They’re banks of information and a lot more open than you’d expect because it’s all off the record. The chill is the bluntness with which they say it. They’re not revealing their most classified secrets, just their run-of-the mill, day-to-day work. That’s the scariest bit. You think, if this is the stuff you’re allowed to tell me – about weapons of mass destruction or averting world war three – what are the real secrets?”
With the White House routinely posting AI images on social media, fact is now as outlandish as fiction. “When the first series aired, some of the audience thought it was far-fetched,” says Grainger. “It’s really not. Things are developing at such an astonishing speed that it surprises people. If things are happening before you can even imagine them, how are they ever going to be regulated? It’s the pace of progress and lack of guardrails that makes it so sinister. It’s terrifying what TikTok or Insta can do every day. Of course, if used right, AI could be brilliant. But there’s a wealth and breadth of misinformation out there which AI could be learning from and spreading further. That makes me nervous.”
Atmospherically scored by Blur’s Dave Rowntree, the third series is an addictive, adrenalised rollercoaster of shootouts and shock plot twists. There’s also a seemingly invisible, invincible assassin and an eye-watering torture scene involving cattle prods. Has making such a paranoid, post-truth show affected Grainger’s own worldview? “It’s completely reframed the way in which I read and watch the news,” she says. “I’m more sceptical about global events in general. Instead of just questioning what I see, I’m like: ‘Well, this is happening already and we’re doomed.’ I’ve realised that if you’re going to have a smartphone, you’re fucked anyway. You might as well say yes to accepting all the cookies.”
She’s equally alert to AI’s potential to decimate the creative industries. “Even during the Writers Guild strikes, I was a bit naive as to how quickly AI could change what we do. Already friends of mine are refusing to sign contracts and losing jobs because they won’t give away the rights to their performance to be manipulated and used again. That’s another threat of AI. Will it put an end to human artistry? It’s amazing technology but we keep hearing about misuses of it. Humans always fuck it up, don’t we?”
As The Capture returns, Grainger’s character – DCI Rachel Carey, nicknamed “fast-track princess” – is now acting commander of the Metropolitan police’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC). “It’s tough at the top,” says Grainger. “You know when politicians become prime minister and suddenly age 20 years? You can see the weight of all the heavy secrets they’ve just learned. That’s what this series is for Carey. Everybody thinks they’re Barry Big Bollocks. They go into a job with strong morals, thinking they’ll do it differently. But when it comes to it, it’s actually just hard work and compromise.”
Grainger’s preparation for series one included shadowing homicide officers and fast-track detectives. This time round, she undertook firearms training. “Carey carries a gun in the field for the first time, so I did a two-day course. It’s always fun learning new skills. We were taught the differences between how military and police hold their guns, how they might check it’s loaded in slightly different ways. I’ve done bits and bobs of weapons training before but this time, it really sunk in. I’m fully prepared for our dystopian future now!”
Does she do her own stunts? “Kind of. It’s mainly running, ducking, diving and hiding. They’re not going to get a stunt double in for that. Although there’s a one-shot sequence of me inside a van. It was literally me and the camera guy rolling around in this van for 10 minutes. Giving chase, taking phone calls, having a collision. That took some proper stuntwork, trying to sell the bangs, crashes and spins. I only got one little injury from it. I love the physicality of action scenes. The show is very cerebral, so it adds a different energy. They’re some of my favourite days.”
When Carey isn’t barking orders or spouting spy jargon in the hi-tech CTC ops room, she’s striding purposefully down corridors and across streets in a flowing coat, while pouting pensively. “She’s got a baller walk, hasn’t she?” laughs Grainger. “It’s partly my own walk and partly the coat. There’s a bit of a swagger in it.”
Speaking of that trademark coat, Grainger says real-life cops’ clothes are a case of life imitating art. “It’s funny how we all watch police shows and go: ‘Why are they running around in high heels?’ When I was shadowing at Hendon [the Met’s principal training centre], women wore stilettos. Female DCIs were discussing Gillian Anderson’s outfits in The Fall. A male officer had a picture of Luther on his desk. I was like: ‘Oh, so you’re dressing like the cops on the telly?’ I do get asked a lot about where Carey’s coat is from.” What’s the answer? “It’s tailor-made. Can’t buy it, sorry. It’s couture, darling!”
There’s often an expectation for female leads to be likable and relatable. Carey is spiky and plain-speaking, which Grainger finds a breath of fresh air: “She’s not someone who needs to be liked, which is quite refreshing. We don’t delve deep into her backstory, which is what makes a lot of onscreen detectives sympathetic. Carey struggles socially and doesn’t seem to have many mates. It’s all about the work for her. She’s sacrificed a lot for the job.”
It’s not just the use of tech where The Capture proves topical. There are prescient plotlines about small boats and anti-immigration activists. Intelligence bigwigs discuss the threat from Russia and the need to “avoid another Salisbury”.
“Ben has an uncanny knack,” says Grainger. “He somehow sees where things are about to go.”
We’re speaking in the week of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest and Peter Mandelson’s downfall for their involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. One conversation between Carey and veteran spook Gemma Garland (Lia Williams) about “the establishment boys’ club closing ranks” feels even more resonant. “Agreed,” nods Grainger. “These are solid, deeply embedded institutions which have been around for generations. You can’t sweep that away with one MeToo movement. There won’t be major societal shift overnight because it involves generations of learning. Change is a work in progress. It’s a long game.”
The Capture’s debut series in 2019 revolved round doctored CCTV evidence of murder by a British soldier, played by Callum Turner – currently tipped to be the next 007. (“He’d make a great Bond!” grins Grainger.) “The producers should just watch The Capture season one.” The new run sees the return of series two’s hotshot politician Isaac Turner (Paapa Essiedu) and the arrival of enigmatic Met golden boy Noah Pierson (Killian Scott). Carey also resumes her frenemy relationship with BBC News presenter Khadija Khan (Indira Varma). “Move over Emily Maitlis!” Grainger says. “I think Indira’s wasted in the acting world. She pulls off Newsnight host so brilliantly. We filmed on the actual Newsnight set last series and that was a treat. The show’s themes feels oddly close to home when you’re actually in the BBC.”
Grainger’s other major TV role, of course, is private investigator Robin Ellacott in Strike, the BBC’s hit adaptation of the crime novels by Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling). She’s currently wrapping shooting on the seventh instalment, The Running Grave, which sees Robin go undercover in a religious cult. “I’ve got three different hairstyles going on this season,” says Grainger. “That’s the game everyone can play – guess which one’s my own hair and which are wigs.”
Yet ask for Grainger’s career highlights and you get a surprising answer. She names underrated 2009 film The Scouting Book for Boys (“It was written by the mighty Jack Thorne and is still probably my favourite ever job”) and children’s comedy Roger and the Rottentrolls. “I did it when I was nine and it was like the original Mighty Boosh!”
After The Capture and Strike, what’s her next move? “Your career has stages. I played lots of northern parts when I was younger, although I think my Mancunian accent has crept away without me noticing. Then I did lots of corseted, period princesses. Now I’m in my detective era. I’ve got my gunplay down, so maybe my action era is next. Or give me a romcom! Romcomaction – is that a genre? I’d be well up for that.”
The Capture returns to BBC One at 9pm on 8 March. Episodes will be available from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
