Ben Macintyre’s The Siege to be adapted for TV by “Slow Horses” show runner

Ben Macintyre’s “definitive” history of the seizure of the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980 is to be adapted for the screen by “Slow Horses” show runner Will Smith.

Scheduled for publication on 12th September 2024 by Viking, The Siege: The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama tells the story of how, on 30th April 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate, overlooking Hyde Park, and took 26 hostages, including embassy staff, visitors and four British citizens.

The book draws on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS and testimonies from witnesses, hostages, negotiators, intelligence officers and the on-site psychiatrist, and documents the “remarkable story of what really happened on those fateful six days", and, states the publisher, is "the first full account of a moment that forever changed the way the nation thought about the SAS, and itself”.

For the TV adaptation, Smith is teaming with the “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” producer Patrick Spence and his partner Kat Pugsley at production company AC Chapter One. The team have already begun work on the adaptation and will be talking to buyers this autumn.

Daniel Crewe, publisher at Viking, said: “We couldn’t be happier that Ben’s fantastic account of this seminal moment in 20th-century history is in the brilliant hands of Will Smith, Patrick Spence and AC Chapter One. It’s the perfect match and will no doubt – just as it was in 1980 – be essential, gripping viewing.”

Macintyre said: “I am very happy Will Smith and Patrick Spence are coming together to write and produce ’The Siege’. Having worked with Patrick on the brilliant adaptation of A Spy Among Friends, and having watched, rapt, every minute of every episode of ‘Slow Horses’, I know that this book could not be in better hands.”

Smith added: “I have been a long-time fan of Ben Macintyre, who consistently unearths historical moments that are more gripping and thrilling than fiction. Ben has told the story, not just of the SAS, but of all the people caught up in the tragic events of that fateful week and I can’t wait to bring their stories to life on screen.”

Spence, m.d. of AC Chapter One said: “I can still remember the thrill and terror we all felt when watching the SAS storm the embassy. Being given the chance to adapt Ben’s definitive version of this story – and to get to do it with Will Smith – is the fulfilment of this producer’s dream.”