BBC Two · Ended

Summer of Rockets

Drama, Thriller, War · 2019 · Rated 7.6/10

Last aired: S1 E6, Episode 6 · 2019-06-26

Set in the UK during the Cold War period and tumultuous year of 1958, fear and excitement of the future permeates the lives of all. Samuel is a 40 something Russian Jewish émigré, inventor and designer of bespoke hearing aids, whose clients include former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The series follows Samuel and his family, wife Miriam and children Hannah and Sasha, as he is approached by MI5 to demonstrate his work. Yet it is not his inventions the operatives require - instead Samuel is tasked with the secret mission of obtaining information about his charming, newly acquired friends Kathleen and her husband Richard Shaw MP through whom Samuel also meets the impressive Lord Arthur Wallington. As Samuel's life becomes more and more intertwined with his mission, how far is he willing to let things unravel for his cause? And who can he truly trust?

Cast

Toby Stephens Samuel Petrukhin

Keeley Hawes Kathleen Shaw

Linus Roache Richard Shaw

Timothy Spall Lord Arthur Wallington

Lucy Cohu Miriam Petrukhin

Lily Sacofsky Hannah Petrukhin

Toby Woolf Sasha Petrukhin

Gary Beadle Courtney Johnson

Mark Bonnar Field

Peter Firth Tezler

Claire Bloom Aunt Mary

Ronald Pickup Walter

Matthew James Thomas Nicholas Halliday

Tony Maudsley Spearman

Adrian Edmondson Max Dennis

William Gaminara Dick Armstrong

James Faulkner Sir Reginald Maddox

Season 1

E1 Episode 1 2019-05-22 · 60 min In the UK during the tumultuous summer of 1958, Samuel Petrukhin, a Russian-born Jewish inventor and businessman, specialises in manufacturing hearing aids. Following the Soviets' launch of the first intercontinental ballistic missile, and the start of the Space Race, fear permeates the lives of all.

E2 Episode 2 2019-05-29 · 60 min Hannah arrives at Buckingham Palace, but is too late to be presented. Samuel meets two men from MI5 who are interested in his invention and he is sworn to secrecy.

E3 Episode 3 2019-06-05 · 60 min Samuel does not want the business of Mr Field and Denning if it means being blackmailed – but Courtney reveals the company is close to bankruptcy and must acquire more orders. Clutching at straws, Kathleen visits Sacha's school to see if she can glean any clues about her son Anthony's disappearance.

E4 Episode 4 2019-06-12 · 60 min Kathleen visits the boarding house in search of Anthony, but has no luck. Armstrong explains to Samuel that they have reason to believe that people connected with the Shaw family could be enemies of the state. Not knowing who to believe, Samuel confronts Mr Field.

E5 Episode 5 2019-06-19 · 60 min After the shooting, Field places the Petruhkin home and factory under protection. Samuel makes his own plans and goes into hiding where he meets Kathleen in secret.

E6 Episode 6 2019-06-26 · 60 min Samuel learns the truth about the Shaws and the MI5 men. His is invited to an extraordinary secret meeting, while Hannah becomes increasingly worried about her father's safety.

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