“The edge that you feel on-screen was definitely there on set” - Tony Virgo looks back on the filming of ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’
It's 11 November 2025, and I'm heading to a rendezvous with a producer/director who worked on some of the biggest shows on British television for over 25 years. As I leave Piccadilly Circus and turn into Jermyn Street, I can't resist walking in Control's footsteps. Sadly, the Bates Hat Shop and the Eyrie Mansion Hotel are no longer there but Rowley's Restaurant, on the other side of the street is still very much in business.
I have booked Jim Prideaux's old table by the window and when I am joined by Tony Virgo, our waiter is intrigued to know what the interview is all about. To his amazement, we explain that Tony was last in this restaurant 47 years and two days ago, for the filming of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Our discussion unfolds over a splendid meal...
Tony Virgo at Rowley's Restaurant, November 2025 and insert, Ian Bannen, November 1978
Tony Virgo (TV): I went to a secondary modern school in Burghfield Common, which is near Reading. I just loved television and I tried to go to recordings of shows, just to watch how it was all done. I didn't go to university, and the BBC was very much full of graduates.
I applied for a job at BBC Caversham Park, which was the headquarters for all BBC records over the years and also the listening out station. I didn't get it but the woman who interviewed me said, “I can see you really want to do this - come and see me at Broadcasting House".
So I did and she told me, “I’ll get you in, and the rest is up to you”. And that's how I started. Now, the BBC had wonderful attachments, and with these opportunities you could progress up the line. I remember I did something for schools and there was a particular director I got on with, and he said, “We're going to Brazil. Would you come and be my assistant?” And I said, “I would really love to come to Brazil.” At that same time, I got an attachment as an AFM (Assistant Floor Manager), and I had to choose because they wouldn't let me do both. So I went for the AFM, and then just gradually worked my way up through the system. I worked with some wonderful people - Tony Garnett, was one. I met him on a show I was trailing, The Gangster Show: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.
My job was to hold the words on big boards for Nicol Williamson because the part was so wordy and, because he was cast at the last minute, there was too much for him to retain. At the end of that, Tony said, "I think you should get a job and I will see if I can give some influence". And he did. I went in for an attachment to be First Assistant Director and I never heard whether I got it or not. Other people had either got it or hadn't got it, so I asked what had happened to my application.
They said, "really sorry, but we mislaid it", in typical BBC fashion. They said, "don't worry, there's always another chance another year". I wasn't going to accept that so I told them "you’ve lost my application, you do something about it". Eventually, Graeme MacDonald held a special board and I remember thinking I'm not going to get this because I've made a real fuss about it. Amazingly, I got it, and things just went on from there really.
JM: Do you think it was your persistence they admired?
TV: Bloody mindedness, more like!
JM: Before you became a producer, you worked as a production assistant on a number of series. One of the first was the second series of Survivors in 1976. What was that like?
TV: Terence Dudley was the producer - he also wrote the Doctor Who episode I directed later on, The King's Demons. Season 2 of Survivors was set at Whitecroft Farm and the series was settling into a routine. It was mostly shot on portable outside broadcast equipment - Ikegami cameras I believe.
They weren’t huge but we still had quite big cables I remember. The lighting engineer used to put the light on a white screen and bounce it to create a much softer light, I think he won an award for that. I remember doing a couple of episodes of Survivors.
TV: Yes, Gerard Glaister produced that series. I really enjoyed working on Secret Army. Paul Annett directed one of my episodes. I remember we drove to Brussels in this Peugeot 6 seater and we filmed in the Grand-Place. When we were outside a restaurant in the centre of Brussels I put down my schedule for the six weeks and somebody whipped it. There was so much information in it. I could remember most of it but I was really annoyed about that.
We used facilities at BRT (now VRT) in Brussels. This is typical of Brits abroad, but we used their canteen and our crew never took their plates back and put them on the trolly - they just left them and walked away. Someone came up to me and said, “Excuse me, we don't do that here.” It was good fun though and the Belgians were absolutely brilliant. It was a great series to work on and, of course, this was still at a time when many people could remember the war.
I think music and credits are so important. I was watching Secret Army the other day and I love how the camera moves in during the opening credits and pulls back for the closing ones. When I hear the music now I still get a chill, it is so atmospheric.
TV: That’s right, it was an episode in the first series called Duel. It was directed by Douglas Camfield and there were quite a few things I learned from Duggie. He did things for American television and Doctor Who as well. He had very specific ideas and he wanted to film the actors in a particular type of tree, so I went trolling down to the New Forest. I could have gone to Hampstead Heath I suppose but I went to the New Forest and I saw lots of trees! I eventually found an oak tree that was perfect. The real difficulty was finding the bloody thing again when we came back!
They stuck poor Gareth Thomas up in this tree - I mean, there were no health and safety considerations back then. “Just get up there, Gareth, you’ll be fine.”
JM: The other series you did before you became a producer, was a well remembered episode of Shoestring entitled Find the Lady. Can you share your memories of that?
TV: This was the one with Toyah Willcox in and it was directed by Marek Kanievska (pictured below).
Marek began directing in Australia and he was an extraordinary man. I really liked him and he was very specific about what he wanted. We shot a lot of it on a pier in Weston-super-Mare and we had Mick Jagger's brother, Chris Jagger, and Christopher Biggins as guest stars.
JM: Christopher Biggins is great as the villain isn’t he, very sinister.
TV: He was very, very good. And obviously Toyah as well, was excellent. She's very natural. I thought it was a really good series. Trevor Eve is perfect in the lead but he did rather think he was the sexiest thing on legs. John Baker was the cameraman on this. I remember John very well - he was a bit old school but he was a very clever man. He would see a picture and he would light it like a postcard. I saw him 10 years ago and he fondly remembered working with Marek.
Marek used to wear this RAF jump suit and run around all over the place. He would get right down on the ground and go, “John, I just see this shot here, and then we could sort of go up a little and go over to there. What do you think?” John's a big guy and he was in his mid-50s then but he used to throw himself to the ground like Marek. It was the funniest thing you've ever seen in your life.
JM: How were you selected for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?
TV: I don't know, actually. I believe there was someone they had that couldn't do it for some reason, and I think Marcia Wheeler found me. I was a little bit green and starry eyed at that point but I met Jonathan Powell, and I got the job, along with Christabel Albery and Jeremy Silberston. I don't know where we got Jeremy from but that was a relationship made in heaven, I tell you. He became one of my best friends. He was very generous and very gentle in many ways. Tragically, he died far too young.
JM: Everyone I have interviewed speaks very highly of Jeremy as a person and as a professional. Am I right in thinking he opened a lot of doors for the production?
TV: He was very good at finding locations and building relationships. He found the Circus in Cork Street for us. John le Carré was pretty amazed because he said it was actually one of the buildings that the security services had used in the past.
JM: In terms of working on the project, did it feel like it was a very big deal at the time?
TV: It is obviously considered a classic today. At the time, because Alec was in it, it was unusual and it felt special. It was a brilliant cast and it certainly wasn't a normal drama. It was also one of the first things we had done entirely on film, which did attract quite a lot of interest. I think RTÉ actually came over to see how we were doing it. We were on 16mm, not 35mm, which the Americans would have wished for, but we couldn’t afford it.
JM: What was it like working with John Irvin?
TV: I think John Irvin is a very strong director. I’d love to meet him again because I thought the world of him to be honest. He was very testing. He was like a Lieutenant Colonel walking around. John would never go for a take unless he was completely ready and there was quite a nervous feeling on set. People weren’t relaxed - everything was very still and you were swallowing a lot. The stillness, the edge that you feel on screen was definitely there on set, I remember noticing that my shoulders were so tight. I will always remember the tension on set when John called ‘Action’.
In Tinker Tailor, there is so much in the words but there is also a lot that is not said. John captured that as well because there were times where he just allowed the camera to linger on a character that bit longer.
JM: It’s also beautifully shot by Tony Pierce-Roberts.
TV: It was but, understandably, Tony took a long time to light everything. This was sometimes frustrating because it led to us calling the actors too early. Alec did not want to sit on the set. He wanted to come on to the set, have his make up and then do the scene but if we were still lighting, that wasn’t good for anyone. Guinness was very professional though. He’d understand if there was a problem and he certainly wasn’t a prima donna, he just wanted things to be done correctly.
I was thinking of a scene that we filmed in the City Golf Club where Smiley meets Westerby. When Alec arrived on set, we'd lit it for about 3 hours. Alec came over and said, “Can I have a word, John”. He told Irvin that this wasn’t the best place to shoot and suggested they do it in the corner by the bar…and Alec won the day.
There was a lot of respect between the two men. Alec trusted John to get the right shot and John trusted Alec to get the right sense of the scene.
I was always slightly on edge with John as he’s such a big character. I was making conversation with him one day and I asked if he was nervous about working with Alec and he said, “of course I fucking am”.
JM: What was Guinness like?
TV: What was brilliant about Alec is that he gave off this great aura. When Alec was on the set everyone was absolutely on edge and ready to do it.
He was very generous and affable but he was also very naughty - he knew who was involved with who and who fancied who! This was interesting when it came to a meal that he treated us to in one of his favourite restaurants in Oxford. The men had to change places for every course and he’d paired everyone up specifically - he knew exactly what he was doing! Alec would never get involved in anything like that - he just stood back and observed.
JM: You were filming this during the winter of discontent and there was strike action everywhere that was affecting the production. How hard was it to manage these challenges?
TV: I learned a lot. I had to think very quickly on my feet all the time about what we were going to do. I leaned the importance of always having a backup, or an alternative and to do proper research. These were great life lessons, let alone for filming.
JM: You and Peter Grimwade were working together. So you presumably divided up your responsibilities because you didn't go to Portugal, did you?
TV: No, I wanted too, of course, but Peter was senior and he decided I would do Scotland instead - thanks, Peter! It was a logistical nightmare to film up there because it was freezing and we had so much rain but the Glasgow stuff works brilliantly. That old store we filmed in was amazing (Watt Brothers). They had one of those vacuum systems where they put the payment in a little container and it would be sucked through the pipes to the cash office and sent back with a receipt.
We also did some filming in the Govan district on derelict land where Prideaux dumps his car. Unbeknown to me, it turned out this land was a kind of rallying point for locals. So there were all these people there and we needed to get rid of them. What I did in the end was hand out £10 notes to get people to fuck off - “Excuse me, would you go someplace else" - and it worked. I don't remember what I spent but it was probably £300 - £400. I got called in by senior management at Broadcasting House about that. They said I had no right to do it and I had to argue my way out of it.
JM: That's so funny. Are there any particular locations that stand out for you?
TV: Bywater Street stands out. I remember walking down Bywater Street during the recce, which is a single street and lots of well known people live there. John wanted to track along the road and crane up when Smiley walked up the steps to the house and he asked Peter if this would be possible and Peter wasn’t too sure. I piped up, “Yes, we can do that”. Everyone turned around and I can remember Peter looking at me and John said, “Are you sure?” and I said, “Yep”. Peter came over to me afterwards and said, “Be it on your head mate - there’s a load of parked cars there”.
On the night we were filming I can remember Jeremy Silberston and myself knocking on all these doors to move the cars. We still had a Mercedes that we needed to move and we knocked on the door of this house and Britt Eckland answered. She was seeing one of the Bay City Rollers at the time and I remember he came downstairs in his boxer shorts.
We explained why we needed her to move her car and she said, “I love Alec. I love him. I would do anything for Alec”. Then she went on to say, “But I want to see him. I want to meet him. I want an introduction.”
I went back to Sir Alec and reluctantly asked if he would mind saying hello to Britt Eckland. His response was unprintable so I’m keeping it to myself!
Jonathan Powell recalls this event in the Production Notes on the US Blu-ray release of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: "I was there the night they were doing this tracking shot going down Bywater Street. We had a tea break at 12 o'clock - of course, it was a night shoot - and we suddenly had a little message from Britt Ekland. She was staying opposite, and was very, very keen to meet Alec. He had to go over on his break and have a little cup of tea with Britt. I, of course, was about 32 at the time and was very, very keen to go over there. Alec wasn't quite so keen as far as I remember, but I think he went with very good grace. It was just funny, actually, sitting in this tiny house with Alec Guinness and Britt Ekland, which is not really a natural pairing!"
JM: There is another Bywater Street story isn't there?
TV: Yes, the tracking shot we were filming of Haydon and Smiley walking and taking was tricky. It took forever. Ian Richardson kept missing his mark and after a few takes I remember Alec saying to him, "Ian, can I suggest you take 15 steps instead of 14 and see how that works". And he was quite right, it worked perfectly!
JM: Did you have much contact with John le Carré?
TV: I didn’t have too much to do with him but he was on the set a lot, particularly when we were in London. There is a wonderful interview with John le Carré and Malcolm Muggeridge and what you get from that is what John le Carré was really like. Malcolm Muggeridge pushed him and it is quite an intellectual conversation but it is clear John respected Malcolm Muggeridge and said more to him than he would to another interviewer.
There is a famous story about that first scene in the Circus where all the suspects come in and sit at the table. When Ian Richardson comes in he’s carrying a cup of tea. In the first take he was carrying it normally but it was le Carré who said he wouldn’t carry it like that. He said he should carry it with the saucer on top to keep the tea warm.
JM: All of those scenes were shot at Clarebell House in Cork Street and the production team were there for a long period of time. What was it like being based there?
TV: It felt quite claustrophobic. There were lots of rooms but I think we were all keen to finish filming there. Obviously, it was a great location and it was very atmospheric. That lift was fantastic - one of the few lifts in London still with a grill. It paid its way because we did a lot of scenes in there but we did fall behind and filming continued on the other side of the Christmas break. I think we had to extend many of the artists contracts. In addition to the scenes near the entrance we made use of the first, third and fourth floors. I kept the plans of how we used the rooms for filming and I’m sure they will be of interest.
JM: We have them in front of us now and they answer a lot of questions about the filming at Clarebell House. In addition to all the Circus locations on the first floor, we can see that the Paris Cypher Room scene with Hywel Bennett from the end of episode six was also filmed here.
JM: You had a few instances, notably Connie’s flat and Prideaux’s briefing with Control, where you had to go back and re-shoot for technical reasons. What was the impact of that?
TV: Those scenes were out of focus when they were originally filmed. This was back in the days when you needed a tape to measure the distance from the camera to the subject. In a way we got very lucky here because the Guinness/Reid scenes were much better when we did them again. Beryl Reid was very nervous when they filmed the first time and Guinness didn’t put her at ease at all. I don’t think he admired her, I think he had dismissed her as a comedy actress. I thought she was brilliant and she was such a wonderful lady. I remember to this day going back to the pub with her. She was so nice and such a warm person - she enjoyed a brandy!
JM: What are your memories of the other actors in the series?
TV: I was in awe of all of them really. Michael Jayston was a lovely guy. He was very relaxed on the set and would never mind if we were delayed setting up. He’d just go and get himself a coffee. Michael and Hywel Bennett got on like a house on fire. They would go off and get pissed and talk to each other for hours. When we went across the channel we had to be certain we’d got all the scenes we needed because we knew they’d go and get hammered somewhere. Hywel, he was just something else.
I’d worked with Terence Rigby on Softly, Softly and he’s not at all outgoing to know. He was very quiet and a great thinker. When Terence is with Alec on Primrose Hill, I took a photo of them from behind the camera and had it blown up - it is on my wall to this day.
JM: What memories do you have of your other colleagues on the production team?
TV: I remember Austen Spriggs getting arrested abroad. He was taking photos of border posts and measuring them! Not surprisingly, they thought he was a spy - he looked like a spy as well. Austen didn’t like filming in the studio much - he loved working on Tinker Tailor. Liz Rowell I remember being very calm and she was close to Sir Alec Guinness.
I knew Betty Willingale very well. She was generous and very good at what she did. She knew actors well and was very much part of the success of the series.
Marcia Wheeler has an extraordinary brain, in terms of scheduling and planning, which I don’t have. As I got more experienced I found the confidence to say to her, “No, we’re not doing that” and she would go off and think of something else but sometimes she would tell me, “Yes, you are doing it - tell me what the problem is.” We had a strong relationship. We worked on The Borgias together and I can tell you that experience was like being pulled through a hedge backwards.
JM: Besides your paperwork, did you keep any souvenirs from the production?
TV: I have one memento - the Lock Gardens street sign. I must have held on to it after the PBS segments were filmed and it’s still in my garage.
JM: Looking back on your experience of making Tinker Tailor, what are your thoughts on the production all these years later?
TV: It was quite a long shoot and it needed a lot of energy. I didn’t have a social life at all because it was 24/7. It was all quite challenging and we were pushing the envelope a bit but it still holds in my view. It is slow and the camera doesn’t move a lot but the performances are something else. It’s very well lit and it looks period because it is on 16mm. I also love the music, it’s such a great score. Those Russian dolls and the opening theme gave it such a good beginning.
It’s a fine book but I think it’s a better series, so let’s say ‘thank you’ to Arthur Hopcraft for that. I think there was always a question about how we were going to end it because the book fizzles out a bit. There were various endings that were suggested to be honest with you but I think Arthur came up with the perfect combination of the Prideaux scene at the school and then allowing us to meet Ann. It’s quite a sad ending to be honest, as Smiley is confronted with the fact that his marriage won’t work.
JM: Tinker Tailor was one of the last series you worked on as a Production Assistant, wasn’t it?
TV: It was. By that time I had got on the director's course, through Graeme MacDonald - I have to say, he was brilliant to me. I then got to direct Doctor Who and Angels for Julia Smith but after that you have to go out and freelance. It's a big move, because suddenly you haven't got that regular income anymore. You have to take a gamble.
JM: I’m conscious we have obviously spent a long time talking about the very early part of your working life and you went on to have a hugely successful career as a director and producer. You worked on some of the biggest series on British television including EastEnders, The Bill and Peak Practice to name just a few. What have been the highlights for you?
TV: Well I look back in wonderment really. There are so many bits that I’ve enjoyed and so many funny stories, particularly with Julia Smith on EastEnders. I’d just gone freelance and it was Jonathan Powell who offered me a job as Julia’s assistant on EastEnders. Tony Holland, who was the script editor, a very clever man, was keen for there to be gay characters in EastEnders and he wanted there to be a kiss. This was groundbreaking at the time. When we got outside of the meeting Julia said, “how the hell are we going to do this”.
On the night of the recording Julia said to me, “you can do that one, I’ve got other things to do.” I remember sitting in the gallery thinking, thanks Julia, if this all goes wrong it’s going to be on me. Anyway, we filmed the scene and Michael Cashman and Nicholas Donovan really went for it! I immediately said, “stop, stop recording”. I said, “we can do a kiss, but we can’t do that”. So we did it again and it was all good and we put it out. It was a big moment.
I specifically remember when I got the commission to do The Vet, which unfortunately was not a great success, I sat by the fountain that didn’t work at Television Centre and thought, I can’t believe I started as a junior clerk and now I’ve got the biggest commission so far. It was an odd feeling. I think I have been so lucky to work with such great people and to work in Television Centre which was like a magic factory. I’m so sad that it's gone.
JM: Me too. Thank you so much for your time Tony, for sharing your memories and allowing us to use your Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy production notes as we continue to research the series.
TV: It's been great talking with you and the food has been lovely.
JM: Yes, our thanks to Rowley's Restaurant for looking after us today.
Screen captures for Survivors, Secret Army, Blake's 7, Shoestring, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and EastEnders (c) BBC
Clarebell House, Cork Street plans courtesy of Tony Virgo
Both Clarebell House and the former Watt Brothers building have recently been in the news. Click on the highlighted links to see more.
For those with an interest in Secret Army, check out Andy Priestner's excellent book - The Complete Secret Army and the Down the Line podcast, where Andy and AJ discuss each episode in detail.
For a wealth of information on Survivors and Blake's 7, why not visit Survivors: A World Away and Blake's 7 Online.
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