The Lost Women Spies
2025– · Sky History · 65 min · 1 season
S01E06 · Cover-Up
Wed, 19 Feb, 11:00 am
How the capture of a key Nazi uncovered shocking realities. Amid demands for accountability, spymistress Vera Atkins and her team had to navigate murky waters to confront uncomfortable truths.
About
In 2000, boxes containing top-secret files were found in a garden shed in Cornwall. They detailed the lives and code names of Britain's first female agents sent to the front line during the war. The British spymistress, Vera Atkins, had committed treason by keeping the papers, but she had a reason for doing so. During the war, Prime Minister Churchill desperately needed foreign agents, and though women were not allowed to fight on the front line, they could be sent behind enemy lines as spies. Vera was put in charge of the female spies, and when many of them went missing during the war, never to return, she was determined to find out their fate – in defiance of the British authorities. Vera's files were kept sealed until after she died, but the story of the female spies and the spymistress who led them, which has remained secret for over 50 years, can now be revealed.
Episodes
- E01
The Kensington Lady
Wed, 15 Jan· 65 minThe story of Britain's first female agents sent to the front line during the Second World War and spymistress Vera Atkins, who led them. In the tumult of the conflict, French Resistance fighters sought aid from Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) against Nazi occupation. Led by Romanian-born Atkins, SOE enlisted female agents including Odette Sansom and Noor Inayat Khan to take the fight to the Germans. As tensions soared, Noor navigated occupied France, while Atkins grappled with tough decisions. She and her team raced against time to safeguard SOE's mission, braving sacrifices for victory.
- E02
Circuit Faults
Wed, 22 Jan· 65 minThe story of Britain's first female agents sent to the front line during the Second World War and spymistress Vera Atkins, who led them. In the face of danger, Vera ramped up her recruitment of female agents. Chaos ensued as the Prosper circuit in Paris neared collapse. Meanwhile, Noor, deep in Parisian resistance, struggled to maintain cover. Vera enlisted agents like Violette Szabo and Yvonne Baseden, but uncertainty shrouds their upcoming missions.
- E03
The Missing
Wed, 29 Jan· 65 minAmid the chaos of D-Day, alarming wireless messages revealed Special Operations Executive (SOE) disloyalty. While concerns escalated, Allied troops advanced and Paris was liberated. SOE operations subsequently dwindled, prompting Second World War spymistress Vera Atkins to confront the harm done to her agents.
- E04
The SAS
Wed, 5 Feb· 65 minWhile Europe rejoiced over victory in the Second World War, Odette Hallowes' struggle at Ravensbrück revealed telling information about other agents in prison. Spymistress Vera Atkins' investigation intensified in Karlsruhe prison and Ravensbrück, focusing on espionage agent Noor Inayat Khan's fate.
- E05
The Trials
Wed, 12 Feb· 65 minAssigned to the British War Crime Investigation Unit in post-war Germany, British intelligence officer Vera Atkins pursued her agents' fate at Natzweiler and Ravensbrück. Piecing together testimonies, she insisted on obtaining official records to substantiate her findings for upcoming trials. While Vera sought justice for her girls, a letter challenged her verdicts on Noor's fate. Suspicions of double agents led Vera to hunt down a Nazi mastermind. She was still to determine whether any agents had escapeed, and if not who had betrayed them.
- E06
Cover-Up
Wed, 19 Feb· 65 minHow the capture of a key Nazi uncovered shocking realities. Amid demands for accountability, spymistress Vera Atkins and her team had to navigate murky waters to confront uncomfortable truths.