Bill Haydon Updated 2025-07-16
Figure 1.
Bill Haydon played by Ian Richardson in the 1979 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)
Figure 2.
Bill Haydon played by Colin Firth in the 2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film)
Smiley's People (TV series) Updated 2025-07-16
This is perhaps slightly worse than the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but still amazing.
Some difficult points:
  • how did the general deduce that the old woman's daughter had a link to Karla? It must be linked to the fact that the Russian agent who made the offer was a Karla-man.
  • some things are hard to understand without having seen the previous Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, e.g. they say nothing clearly who Toby Esterhase is, he now works on art sales
  • but others are inconsistent, e.g. they changed the actor for Peter Guillam...
Video 1.
Smiley's letter to Karla scene from Smiley's People 1982 BBC miniseries John le Carré adaptation EP6o
. Source. Fan-uplod by Ciro Santilli, one of the greatest television scenes ever. Blocked in the UK.
The best television series Updated 2025-07-16
The BBC 1979-1982 adaptations of John Le Carré's novels are the best miniseries ever made:They are the most realistic depiction of spycraft ever made.
Some honorable mentions: