Shaun Evans stars in 'gripping' new ITV thriller filmed in Liverpool - release date confirmed

The release date for ITV’s gripping new espionage thriller, starring Shaun Evans, has been revealed.

Written by award-winning playwright and screenwriter David Eldridge and directed by BAFTA and Emmy nominee Julian Jarrold, the four-part series titled Betrayal is set against the backdrop of MI5. It explores “the fragile, tangled web of human relationships, where loyalty and deception collide”.

Shaun Evans leads the series as M15 officer John Hughes, with filming and production taking place on home turf in Liverpool and Manchester.

The actor, best known for starring in Endeavour and Vigil, described filming Betrayal as “a very special time in my life”. He said: “I spend a lot of time in Liverpool because my family are all there, so to be up north was brilliant.

“They were a really funny, hard-working crew, and to be seeing parts of Liverpool in a way that I hadn’t seen them, having access to certain parts of the city, that was just amazing.”

Evans is currently in Liverpool filming season two of This City Is Ours, the BBC’s hit series starring James Nelson-Joyce. Camera crews have been spotted on Lark Lane, Hope Street, Chinatown and on the Wirral in recent weeks.

ITV Betrayal plot

Regarded by his colleagues as out of touch with the times, John joined MI5 during the war on terror and was at the forefront of averting the biggest terrorist plots on UK soil. Now in his 40s, he must navigate a world of secrets and surveillance while also confronting the unravelling of his personal life — exposing the emotional cost of a profession where loyalty is fragile and betrayal can strike from any direction.

On a hunch John meets Ehsan, a British Iranian man with links to the Manchester gangland who claims he has intelligence about a plot on UK soil. Before he can share intel, Ehsan is executed by a lone gunman, and John impulsively kills the assassin in retaliation.

This triggers a chain of events which puts John in direct collision with his superiors who are furious that he appears to have got involved in a Manchester gang turf war. John thinks there's more to it than that and starts digging into Ehsan’s past.

He knows he’ll have to redeem himself if he’s to save his career and reputation, all the while struggling with his own mental health after having killed a man.

John’s efforts to save his career and his marriage are also tested by Mehreen, an intelligence operative who is brought in to take over John’s duties on the Iran desk. Their connection is electric, and John must wrestle with temptations his younger self would readily have surrendered to.

Struggling with his own demons, his love for his family and his complicated loyalty to the institution he’s been part of for over 20 years, John sets out to find the truth of the explosive security threat to the UK before it's too late.

Joining Shaun is acclaimed film, television and theatre actress Romola Garai, who was nominated for two 2025 Olivier Awards, winning for The Years. Romola plays John’s partner, Claire, whose trust in him is strained by the secrecy and demands of his work.

ITV Betrayal cast

• Shaun Evans
• Romola Garai
• Zahra Ahmadi
• Nikki Amuka-Bird
• Gamba Cole
• Omid Djalili
• Matthew Tennyson
• Hayley Tamaddon

• Anthony Flanagan
• Paddy Rowan
• Waj Ali
• Karim Kadjar
• Emma Cunniffe
• Georgina Rylance
• Ben Lambert
• Julia Watson
• Julian Wadham
• Elham Karimpour
• Aidan Rivers
• Corin Silva
• Eliza Agrosoaie

How to watch ITV Betrayal

Betrayal will premiere on Sunday, February 8 at 9.00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.