Slow Horses writer explains biggest challenge with upcoming season 5
"That is brilliant. We cannot do that in the show."
Will Smith has been adapting Mick Herron's Slough House books for the screen in Slow Horses for some time now, but each new novel still brings up surprises and, occasionally, challenges.
Smith revealed as much when speaking exclusively, alongside Herron, with Radio Times, ahead of their appearance together at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, which is running from 17th to 20th July.
Smith was speaking about the upcoming season of the show, which is set to arrive in September and which adapts Herron's novel London Rules.
He said: "In season 5, the challenge we had with that was Mick does a brilliant thing at the beginning where there's an attack, and he writes it, and you think you're somewhere in the Middle East, and then you reveal it’s Derbyshire, and that is brilliant. We cannot do that in the show."
Herron responded, saying: "That was pretty much just the vocabulary, I just picked words. And I had 'sand coloured' in the first sentence, so that gives a certain kind of impression for the reader.
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"But I have found that in the books that I've written since the show was up and running - it might have been my subconscious at work - I've always included stuff that would be impossible to film."
"Thank you very much," Smith responded jokingly.
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Elsewhere in the conversation, Smith spoke about the plot of season 5, saying that it is "sadly topical" and that it "comments on contemporary British politics".
The new season will also see a bigger role for Christopher Chung's Roddy Ho, who is seen to have a glamorous new girlfriend - making everyone suspicious.
Slow Horses season 5 releases on 25th September 2025 on Apple TV+ – sign up to Apple TV+ now.
Mick Herron & Will Smith are appearing at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (17th-20th July) at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
