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The Lost Women Spies S01E01 Ranked
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00:02The second world war. France is under Nazi control. The French resistance fight back
00:10against the German invaders. But they can't do it alone. British secret agency, the SOE,
00:22send arms, explosives and agents to help them set Nazi Europe ablaze.
00:31But when the Gestapo cracked down on male agents,
00:36Winston Churchill concocts an audacious solution.
00:40He illegally sends certain agents who are banned from the front line. Women.
00:46Vera, this business of women agents, you understand it must be kept secret at all times.
00:53Most secret. Our eyes only.
00:56Spymaster Vera Atkins is charged with finding women.
01:00Are you prepared to take the fight to the Nazis? Behind enemy lines? In occupied France?
01:07As a spy?
01:10Training them.
01:12Good shot.
01:14Yes, sir.
01:15And sending these agents behind enemy lines.
01:19Are you ready?
01:22The Nazis won't know what hit them.
01:30But after the war, many are missing.
01:37I'll send them off as long as I can. Go!
01:40Having sent these women to war, Vera makes it her life's mission to find them.
01:46A mission that takes her deep into Germany.
01:48Arthur!
01:49And the horrors of the Nazi regime.
01:53What happened to her?
01:54All three were taken to the crematorium building.
01:57How do you know?
01:59I watched.
02:01But it's only after her death that Vera reveals the secrets.
02:06Behind her lost women spies.
02:24In the early 1960s, Tanya Sabo pays a surprise visit to a woman who was once her mother's boss.
02:34A woman who, during the Second World War,
02:37was in charge of Britain's first ever female secret agents sent into combat.
02:45Many of whom wouldn't return.
02:49I was in my twenties and I was looking forward very much to meeting Vera Hadkins.
02:57A little trembling as well, because she was known to be fierce.
03:04This very severe lady, the Kensington lady.
03:12Vera would not have been at all concerned about how I felt.
03:21And certainly, in no way whatsoever,
03:25did I resent Vera sending my mother off to such dangerous places on her secret missions.
03:39A woman who was in charge of Britain.
03:40When war is there, you do what you have to do.
03:47Your mother, when I met her, was 22.
03:53Recently bereaved.
04:01She wanted action.
04:07She wanted some sort of revenge.
04:11Vera did not easily open up to anybody.
04:15I was very aware of her decided coldness at times.
04:23And then there would be these little chinks and she would open up.
04:30I always drove them to the aerodromes.
04:36Always seemed to be a summer's day.
04:40I saw them off.
04:46When the war ended,
04:49and they didn't come back,
04:52I went looking for them all.
04:59Missing presumed dead.
05:03Such a terrible epitaph for anyone.
05:08The admission is surprising.
05:12Very few people outside of Vera Atkins' inner circle
05:16knew that after the war, she'd gone looking for her missing agents.
05:27Excuse me.
05:31For Vera, the most important thing that she could do was to find out exactly what had happened to her
05:39agents.
05:41Long after the war ends, Vera still keeps hold of files on her former agents.
05:48Locked away, like all her secrets.
05:57In later life, she moves from Kensington to Winchelsea in Sussex.
06:02Taking her closely guarded files with her.
06:07On the 24th of June 2000, Vera Atkins dies.
06:13She announces, through her sister-in-law, that her treasured and secret files have all moved to her sister-in
06:20-law's shed in Cornwall.
06:25Journalists begin investigating the files.
06:29What is quite clear is that after the war, when SOE was being closed down, basically everything that had happened,
06:36that SOE had been involved in, was going to be just completely hidden.
06:41The British government destroyed many files relating to their women agents.
06:47But Vera's survive.
06:50I mean, to be honest with you, she shouldn't have kept them.
06:53That was illegal, even then, to keep official documents, especially secret ones.
06:59But she wanted the story to be told by someone at some point.
07:06The files contain the revelation that, after the war, Vera went looking for all her lost women spies.
07:16She definitely felt responsibility to her female agents.
07:20And that must have completely haunted Vera for the rest of her life.
07:27In the files are page after page detailing the lives and code names of Britain's first ever female agents sent
07:36to the front line.
07:38One agent, in particular, catches the eye.
07:42Noor Enyat Khan's training record is terrible.
07:46She was not seen as a competent agent at all.
07:49And as a result, she was not recommended to go to France by her instructors.
07:54But Vera Atkins sent her anyway.
07:58Why did Vera send Noor behind enemy lines, against the advice of others?
08:05All Vera's private files suddenly become available.
08:11Private files that reveal the true story of Britain's lost women spies.
08:20But also the shocking story of the one woman whose job it was to send them into battle.
08:26Vera Atkins.
08:33It's a story that begins in France in 1940.
08:44Nazi Germany has invaded and taken over the north of the country.
08:52And Hitler has set his sights on Britain as the next target for Nazi invasion.
09:03In France, an underground force of French fighters called the Resistance tried to stop the Nazis at any point they
09:10can.
09:12They commit acts of sabotage.
09:15They attack soldiers.
09:17And to do this, they need help.
09:20They need organisational skills.
09:23They need weapons and they need money.
09:26They need all the help they can get to stop the Nazi threat.
09:31This support is provided by a British secret agency known as the Special Operations Executive or SOE.
09:42SOE was sanctioned by Prime Minister Winston Churchill as early as 1940.
09:49It was unofficially known as the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
09:57And the whole idea was literally to set Europe ablaze and disrupt the Nazi war machine.
10:09Churchill wants to frustrate the Nazis in France.
10:13And also help the resistance to launch mass sabotage attacks against the Germans ahead of D-Day.
10:22Whenever the Allied invasion of France will take place.
10:32The department responsible for this is SOE's France, or F, section.
10:41Head of F section is Maurice Buckmaster.
10:46He's an unlikely choice for a top job at SOE.
10:51Buckmaster served in military intelligence, but he knows nothing about sabotage.
10:59Sir.
11:00He had no experience whatsoever in training people for guerrilla warfare.
11:06Churchill, a supply drop to acrobat for the 22nd.
11:10Yes, sir.
11:13Thank you. That will be all.
11:17But Buckmaster, or Bucks as he was known, actually spent his earlier career as the head of marketing, effectively, for
11:26the Ford Motor Company, based in France.
11:29He understood French culture, he spoke French perfectly.
11:33It's this knowledge of France that gets him the job in F section.
11:38Buckmaster's team is run out of Baker Street in central London, and coordinates resistance operations in France.
11:51France was divided into circuits, circuits of agents and operatives behind enemy lines, and they were largely kept separate.
12:02Just in case one was compromised, they wouldn't all go down.
12:06In the French capital, Paris is the largest and most important SOE circuit.
12:13The Prosper circuit.
12:16Each circuit is led on the ground by an organiser.
12:20Now they're in charge of contacting London to send over all the vital equipment for the acts of sabotage for
12:27the resistance and the agents on the ground in France.
12:29And the need for more agents to feed the circuits is always growing.
12:38Especially wireless operators.
12:43Sir.
12:49Message from Prosper requesting another wireless operator.
12:54But it is dangerous work.
12:57And by the beginning of 1942, it's the most dangerous it's ever been.
13:10In France, the Nazis go into overdrive to break the networks.
13:15They very much believe that resistance was all male.
13:18So men of military age wandering around the streets would be stopped, their papers would be checked, and they may
13:27be taken away for questioning or interrogation.
13:32Wireless operators who communicate with SOE from bulky transmitters are especially in danger.
13:41It's really one of the most dangerous areas in the field.
13:44The German listening devices can tune in and they hear the tap tap.
13:50They can hear these going out on the radio waves.
13:52Within minutes, they can trace where this signal is being sent out from.
13:57The average life expectancy was six weeks.
14:02The circuits are in crisis.
14:06So head of SOE, Brigadier Conan Gubbins, the man in charge of all SOE sections, proposes a controversial idea.
14:17Deploying women agents.
14:20Women could blend more easily into French life because women were still very much out there in society, whereas men
14:28are pretty much disappearing off the streets.
14:30But there's a problem.
14:34Sending women agents to war in combat roles is illegal under British law.
14:41And unlike men, these women would have no protection under international law.
14:47In April 1942, at a meeting of the British War Cabinet, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, secretly nods through Gubbins'
14:57suggestion.
14:59Any woman sent into combat goes unclassified and without legal cover.
15:06Buckmaster works with his second-in-command, Nicholas Boddington, to get a plan into action.
15:14All we have on our books are men.
15:18I know.
15:20I know.
15:20Boddington is 38 years old.
15:23He's formerly worked for Reuters newspaper, so he's travelled across Europe.
15:29He's a little bit unorthodox in himself, a bit of a hustler.
15:33But he was a kind of man who could get things done and get things moving as quickly as possible.
15:40Just the kind of man he needs, especially as the female agents are required immediately.
15:47But there's another challenge.
15:51If it had come out that women were being sent, then there could have been a huge public uproar and
15:56they'd have been accused of sending young women out to their death.
16:00Their necks were on the line, too.
16:03So, from that point of view, it was very important that they kept it quiet.
16:09Even within the SOE itself, very few people are allowed to know that women are being deployed.
16:16Of course, Buckmaster knows it.
16:18And one of the other people who knows it is Vera Atkins.
16:22Here. Vera's file. How about Vera to handle the whole thing?
16:29Vera Atkins is Buckmaster's former secretary and knows full well the pressure he, and the resistance, are under.
16:38Vera. Vera Atkins.
16:43She's volunteered.
16:44Vera Atkins was born in Romania, and this makes her position very difficult,
16:50because Romania is an ally of Nazi Germany.
16:53This makes her an enemy alien, and she has to keep this secret.
16:57The only other person who knows about her national heritage is Buckmaster himself.
17:06Buck, she's your secretary.
17:09Junior staff officer now, point.
17:12She's not one of us.
17:16There are certain things omitted from her file.
17:22Work she's done before the war, for MI6, work on the continent.
17:28During the 1930s, Vera had actually worked undercover in Romania, in the Palace Oil Company,
17:37as an interpreter, a role which saw her travel across Europe.
17:43At this time, she's actually passing information to MI6.
17:48But Vera is incredibly mysterious about her past.
17:52She is, after all, an enemy alien.
17:55How far can they trust her?
17:58Please, come in.
18:00Yes, sir.
18:02Nicholas.
18:04Vera, I hear you volunteered for a promotion.
18:09I just want to do my bit, where I am useful.
18:13Taking charge of a new Division of F Section.
18:16You'll be a busy girl.
18:19You think you're qualified?
18:20I do have some experience, before the war in Europe.
18:28As an interpreter?
18:30For an oil company, based in Romania.
18:34Romania.
18:36Allied to the Nazis?
18:40I was employed to do a little more than interpreting.
18:43Besides, it would hardly be a new division, Nicholas.
18:46I would just be helping to share the load with some of you overburdened men.
18:54Now, now, Boddings.
18:57Vera, this business of women agents.
19:02Do you understand what you volunteered?
19:05Yes, sir, I do.
19:06And you understand it must be kept secret at all times?
19:09Most secret. Our eyes only.
19:14Very good.
19:17Then you'll handle deploying these women to France.
19:22But, sir, I shall need to find them.
19:26Indeed.
19:30Little does Vera know that this one decision will change the course of her life.
19:36And she will have to live the rest of her days with the consequences of this secret policy
19:42to send Britain's first unit of women spies into combat.
19:53SOE desperately need women agents in the field, particularly couriers and wireless operators.
20:02In London, Vera interviews a new candidate.
20:07Noor Inayat Khan.
20:11Yes, ma'am?
20:12Please, call me Miss Atkins.
20:15Yes, Miss Atkins.
20:17Noor Inayat Khan has a very exotic background.
20:20She's born in Moscow to an Indian father and an American mother.
20:24And then they moved to France.
20:26And that is where she grows up.
20:29Noor is descended from royalty in India.
20:32Her father is a Sufi and he's a Sufi preacher.
20:37And Sufism is a branch of Islam that believes in music and meditation.
20:43So they grow up in this very open house, which is full of people.
20:47And he taught Noor that you never tell a lie.
20:51You were educated at the Sorbonne in Paris?
20:55Yes, Miss Atkins.
20:59And afterwards became an author?
21:03Yes. I write short stories for children.
21:08I see.
21:11You arrived in England in 1940.
21:17Yes. After the Nazis invaded, we...
21:21My family left France.
21:23We escaped here.
21:26I see you joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
21:28Yes, but I want to work in intelligence.
21:34And you currently serve as a wireless operator?
21:38Yes, Miss Atkins.
21:40Vera knows that the Prosper Circuit is especially pushing for another
21:45to join its ranks.
21:48Noor is a trained wireless operator, uh, who is very good at it.
21:53The other thing, of course, is that she speaks fluent French.
21:57Now, the SOE were looking out for people with language skills,
22:00so they could infiltrate them into occupied areas.
22:04Noor fits the bill perfectly.
22:07Noor, do you want to make a difference in this war?
22:13Yes, Miss Atkins.
22:15Are you prepared to take the fight to the Nazis?
22:18Yes.
22:20Behind enemy lines in occupied France?
22:25As a spy?
22:29Yes, Miss Atkins.
22:34There are certain dangers.
22:37As a woman, you wouldn't be covered by the Geneva Convention.
22:41If you're caught, the chances of survival are slim.
22:47Do you understand?
22:52Yes, I do, Miss Atkins.
22:57You will need to sign the Official Secrets Act,
23:01and your training will begin shortly.
23:04Welcome to SOE.
23:06From now on, I'll be looking after you.
23:14In the Surrey and Hampshire countryside,
23:17Noor, and the latest new recruits,
23:19begin a crash course in spycraft.
23:23Their days start with an early morning run,
23:26followed by lessons designed to teach the new recruits
23:29how to blend in to occupied France.
23:34Agents were taught how to live in the country
23:37that they were going to, and they were taught tiny intricacies.
23:41So, in a cafe, put the milk in the tea last and not first,
23:46which is the opposite of what you would do in England, for example.
23:50Basic things, like when you cross the street,
23:52you know, an English person is going to look that way first, you know.
23:55Make sure that you look left first when you're in France,
23:57otherwise it's a dead giveaway.
24:00Any slip-up could identify them as English and blow their cover.
24:06Agents learned things like silent killing,
24:08which was how to kill with your bare hands,
24:10close combat using a variety of knives and daggers,
24:14and they also learned shooting.
24:16Some of the agents fared very well,
24:19but Noor found this stuff really unnatural.
24:21It didn't come easily to her,
24:23and her report actually said that she was terrified of the weapons.
24:32And was very uncomfortable using them.
24:36Next, Noor is given an extensive course on wireless operating,
24:42training how to transmit messages in Morse code over the bulky radio set.
24:49Noor was already a good radio operator.
24:52A little more training would make her even better at sending Morse code.
24:57But it wasn't just plain Morse code.
24:59There was a code added on top of it, which was difficult to crack,
25:03but also very difficult to learn.
25:06So she would have spent hour after hour after hour learning this Morse code.
25:13Another challenge is that, as the child of Sufis,
25:18Noor had been brought up never to lie.
25:21This becomes clear on training exercises in the English countryside,
25:27where the mission is to drop secret messages in safe houses, known as letter boxes,
25:36on a street patrolled by the local police.
25:40Hey, you! What are you doing?
25:45I'm training to be a secret agent.
25:48What?
25:49Here's my radio. Would you like to see it?
25:52Noor will need to learn to lie to survive.
26:03Noor will need to be a secret agent.
26:03Miss Atkins, have you seen this?
26:05What is it?
26:07Noor Inayat Khan's latest training report.
26:15If this girl's an agent, I am Winston Churchill.
26:19What do they know? Those idiot instructors. Buffoons, all of them.
26:27Here it says that Noor is progressing well in her wireless operating.
26:33And a wireless operator is what they need more than anything.
26:44Idiot instructors.
26:47And Vera has caused to trust her spies' intuition once in the field.
26:53One of her agents, already operating in the south of France, is excelling.
27:02Odette Sansom, a 30-year-old French woman, is assigned to the spindle circuit,
27:07operating near Annecy, at the foot of the Alps.
27:12She is absolutely determined to free her country, France, from Nazi occupation.
27:21Odette plays a crucial role, acting as an SOE courier.
27:26You sure?
27:27Yes.
27:28For the circuit organiser, Peter Churchill.
27:31This is a hugely dangerous position to be in.
27:35She is transporting the most important messages across the circuit.
27:41She is pivotal in the whole operation.
27:44So she goes in person and passes messages from place to place in broad daylight under the noses of the
27:53Germans.
27:55She's always at risk of being caught by the Nazis.
27:59But so far, undetected.
28:03Good luck.
28:04In April 1943, Peter Churchill's call back to London on a secret flight for debriefing.
28:12And in his absence, Odette is approached by a man named Hugo Bleicher.
28:19Hugo Bleicher is working for the Abwehr for German military intelligence.
28:25And he says to Odette that he'd like to defect to come and work for the Allies.
28:32He wants Odette's help getting him out of Nazi France to Britain.
28:37Turning a high-ranking German intelligence officer could be a major coup for SOE.
28:45Radio London.
28:47Update them on the situation and ask them how best they would like us to proceed.
29:03Sir, a message from Odette.
29:07Spindle's circuit had been approached by a German colonel.
29:12What?
29:14The man, an intelligence officer, is requesting an extraction to London.
29:22The request raises alarm bells at F section.
29:25A directive from the very founding of SOE states how agents should respond in situations like this.
29:33If an agent was approached by an enemy who wanted to defect, not only were they to be completely ignored,
29:43they were actually meant to be liquidated.
29:46Odette could be compromised.
29:49And if the Abwehr begins making arrests, they could destroy the entire circuit.
29:56Send a reply, Colonel, highly dangerous.
30:01Odette is to cut ties with Spindle, relocate and go into hiding.
30:06Arrange drop zone for Churchill's return.
30:09The SOE decided to send Peter Churchill back to France to try and figure out what's going on and try
30:15and rescue the situation as much as possible.
30:23Spindle circuit organiser Peter Churchill is infiltrated back behind enemy lines.
30:37Before leaving Britain, F section warns Peter Churchill that Odette is likely compromised and that he shouldn't have anything to
30:46do with her until they've sorted the situation out.
30:49But out of the darkness, he sees her.
30:55Come on.
30:56And so, therefore, she can't be avoided.
31:00She takes Peter Churchill back to her safe house.
31:05The same safe house she'd been ordered to abandon by F section.
31:15Oh, don't worry.
31:17The German asked us to plan our flights back for the 18th.
31:20There's still three more days till he's back.
31:22It's time to move.
31:31What if the German changed his plan?
31:37Hands up.
31:38Turn around.
31:39Face the wall.
31:43Keep those hands up.
31:51No funny business.
31:57Out.
31:58Move.
31:59Move.
32:13Sir, it's urgent.
32:19Odette and Peter Churchill have been captured.
32:22What?
32:28The report says they're being held at Friend Prison in Paris.
32:33Their interrogation will start soon.
32:36If they haven't started already.
32:40If she cracks and they find out that she's a British agent,
32:44she's not under the protection of the Geneva Convention.
32:47She can be executed immediately.
32:51How long can she hold out against the Gestapo?
32:54No?
33:07Come on.
33:09No.
33:26Who are you?
33:30Why are you in France?
33:34One of the most infamous parts of SOE training was the mock interrogation.
33:39The Gestapo-style interrogation would ensue.
33:42Bright lights in the eyes, sleep deprivation, being doused in cold water.
33:46We know you're SOE!
33:49What is your mission?
33:51Please, please!
33:54Now, the idea behind this was to try not only to see if an agent was Ofe with their cover
34:00story,
34:01but also to see how easy it would be to break them, to get them to speak.
34:08Noor is trembling.
34:12Even though at the back of her head, it must have struck her that this is a mock interrogation.
34:18But she was absolutely terrified.
34:24We didn't even go hard on her.
34:28Noor's latest training reports are in.
34:32They aren't encouraging.
34:35Here.
34:35Her training officer said he found Noor's interrogations almost unbearable.
34:41Apparently she was terrified by the bright light, saying it hurt her.
34:46She came out trembling and quite blanched.
34:51Nonsense.
34:58All of her instructors say things like, she can run very well, but otherwise clumsy.
35:04In her field craft, she can't help but being clumsy.
35:07In her explosive and demolitions work, she tries hard, but her natural clumsiness just gets in the way.
35:14Noor's training officer also reported back that Noor was becoming despondent.
35:19You know, she was clearly suffering under a gloom.
35:22She was troubled and probably worried about deploying.
35:25Look, not overburdened with brains.
35:29It is very doubtful whether she is really suited to work in the field.
35:33We don't want them overburdened with brains.
35:35What do these instructors know?
35:37Sat behind a desk in a training camp.
35:40Makes me cross.
35:42Buckmaster knows that we need female agents behind enemy lines.
35:47It's absolutely crucial.
35:50The Prosper Circuit is the largest that's operating in France.
35:54It's going to have an absolutely crucial role ahead of D-Day when the resistance mountain uprising in Paris.
36:04But Francis Huttall, who is the agent in charge of that circuit, needs a wireless operator.
36:12It's one of the most dangerous jobs for an SOE agent.
36:17Sir, Noor's wireless training reports.
36:21They are excellent.
36:33Prosper desperately require a wireless operator.
36:38But Noor hasn't finished training yet.
36:42I see something in this girl, sir.
36:44Think she's as ready as she's going to be?
36:47At this point in the war, the SOE have no choice.
36:51Beggars cannot be choosers and they need a wireless operator.
36:56Well, Miss Atkins, let's give them a wireless operator.
37:02Noor is pulled out of SOE training early.
37:06She'll join Suttle's Prosper Circuit.
37:16But Vera has reservations about one thing mentioned during Noor's training.
37:21That lately she's become despondent about deploying.
37:28Come in.
37:35Miss Atkins, you wanted to see me?
37:38Oh, yes.
37:40Noor, please, sir.
37:41Come in.
37:42Take a seat.
37:45She has to be certain that Noor is up to the job.
37:54I need to clear something up.
37:58Your training reports.
38:00They say that lately you've fallen into a gloom.
38:05No.
38:06And that you're worried about being deployed to France.
38:10No.
38:11Miss Atkins, who said that?
38:15You know, Noor, deploying to France is a very serious business.
38:21If you are worried, if you have concerns, it's not too late to back out.
38:29If you're not sure you're the right person,
38:33if you aren't certain that you want to go,
38:38you can tell me.
38:40We can transfer you out.
38:42Miss Atkins.
38:44Noor.
38:46The most important thing in this business is trust.
38:49Trust in your fellow agents and their trust in you.
38:55That is life and death.
38:58The worst thing you can do is go out there and let them down.
39:03Miss Atkins, I'm the right person for the job.
39:06You can trust me on that.
39:08I want to go.
39:13Well, then, why this report of a gloom?
39:21My mother.
39:23She's not been well.
39:26If I go missing out there,
39:29I don't know how she'll take it.
39:32Oh, I see.
39:36If I do go missing,
39:41please, can you bother her as little as possible?
39:45Of course.
39:48While you're out there,
39:49I will be sure to send her a good newsletter every now and then.
39:56Thank you, Miss Atkins.
40:01Very good, Noor.
40:03And that is,
40:05here is your cover story.
40:09So she'll be working in France as a children's nurse.
40:13Her alias will be Madeleine.
40:15But her code name as a wireless operator is simply nurse.
40:27Noor's time has come.
40:30This evening, you will depart for your mission.
40:33You will be flown by moonlight to the Loire Valley,
40:37southwest of Paris.
40:39Once landed,
40:40you will be met by SOE agent Henri Derricourt.
40:45Henri Derricourt is a mysterious figure in many ways.
40:50He was a pilot for Air France.
40:52He was a smuggler before the war as well.
40:54And so he's got that sense of flying by the seat of his pants,
40:59of getting out of difficult situations,
41:01of understanding where you can land and where you can't.
41:03And so he's a perfect choice for the F section.
41:07Derricourt will hand you a package to be flown back to England.
41:11It is crucial that this makes it onto the plane.
41:15Cannot fall into German hands.
41:18One of his other tasks is to bring back uncoded,
41:21letters from agents based in the Prosper Circuit to London.
41:26It's enormously dangerous if the Germans get a hold of this material,
41:30because this means that they've got personal information
41:33about people in that circuit.
41:36The security implications could be severe for SOE
41:40if that uncoded correspondence falls into enemy hands.
41:48Derricourt will then arrange getting you
41:51from the landing zone to your handler near Paris.
41:55Any questions?
42:00Good.
42:01Now, Vera carries out one final security check,
42:06and that is to check the clothing of the women.
42:11She checks that there are no labels inside
42:13or anything with English writing, railway tickets,
42:17or even cigarette packets.
42:21Everything just needed to look as French as possible.
42:25Gone is any hint of Noor's gloom.
42:28She's relaxed and almost elated
42:31at the thought of finally being deployed.
42:35Can't believe my time has finally come.
42:38It's been such a whirlwind.
42:42And yet the adventure's just about to start.
42:47Remember what they've told you, Noor?
42:50Yes, Miss Atkins.
42:57There, you're clean.
43:01You're so smart, Miss Atkins.
43:04You always wear the nicest things.
43:10Here.
43:11It's yours.
43:15May it bring you luck.
43:23Thank you, Miss Atkins.
43:25Are you ready?
43:29Yes, Miss Atkins.
43:33Very good.
43:39With checks finished
43:40and the plane ready,
43:42Noor sets off
43:43for her mission behind enemy lines.
43:46In Nazi-controlled France.
44:14By the light of the full moon,
44:16on a field 12 kilometres north-east of Angers,
44:20in the Loire Valley,
44:21Noor's plane touches down.
44:26While other women agents
44:28had been infiltrated before,
44:30Noor's arrival has an added significance.
44:34Don't worry.
44:35You'll be safe with me.
44:37The importance of Noor's mission
44:40The importance of Noor's mission
44:41can't be underestimated.
44:43She is the first female wireless operator
44:47that's infiltrated into France.
44:50It's an incredibly important moment
44:53for Vera and SOE.
44:57Noor's mission of Noor's mission
44:58Come on.
45:07Sir?
45:09At F-Section,
45:11Vera and Buckmaster
45:12await news on Noor.
45:15On the 24th of June, 1943,
45:18F-Section receives a message
45:20from Francis Suttle,
45:21the organiser of the Prosper Circuit.
45:26F-Sectioner of Noor's mission
45:29On Suttle,
45:30about Noor.
45:32What?
45:33What is it?
45:34Noor was almost arrested
45:35at a letterbox.
45:36Suttle claims was blown.
45:38He says if Noor had gone there yesterday,
45:40she'd have been met by the Gestapo
45:42searching a safe house.
45:44But how could they have...
45:50Noor says he hasn't slept in days.
45:54Something's gone wrong.
45:58He's cancelling all letterboxes and passwords
46:00until London can confirm
46:02that the village postman has recovered.
46:05That meant that he pretty much cancels everything.
46:08So the letterboxes,
46:10the safe houses,
46:12even the infiltration of agents
46:13into Paris.
46:15He has to shut everything down.
46:17He can't trust anybody.
46:19Anybody could be a double agent.
46:22Everybody is in danger.
46:24If you aren't willing to accept my recommendation,
46:28please file this report
46:29under the death of the Prosper Circuit.
46:33The bloody hell is going on.
46:36Noor has been dropped into the eye of a storm.
46:39Did the Nazis simply get a lucky break?
46:41Or is there a double agent?
46:43What is going on?
46:45And until they work it out,
46:47no-one is safe.
46:51In Paris,
46:53Noor lays low in a safe house,
46:55trying her best to update London
46:57on the situation.
47:00But after only eight days in France,
47:03the Prosper Circuit is in chaos.
47:10The Gestapo are making a rest.
47:12Safe houses are being raided.
47:15Are they coming for us?
47:17You have to move.
47:41Noor is safe.
47:43Nope.
48:07I have to move.