User reviews

I hope there will be another season. This is very interesting and I learned a lot about what might have occurred. A lot of the plot seems to be based on factual history. A twist on the typical reality series. Well done!

A highly informative and interesting program

I do not usually go in for these reality type shows but this series is different, it accurately tracks the incredibly demanding process of becoming an SOE agent.

I have renewed respect for the young men and women who became SOE agents, many of the unsung heroes.

So I am immensely grateful to the producers of this excellent series for giving us a unique view and perspective of what it was like to put your life on the line for freedom and democracy

I really enjoyed this show. It show much about what WW2 spies had to go through before going in to occupied europe. I would recommend to any spy or history buffs.

As a SOE living historian and a British Army veteran I found this series to be interesting and very informative. Frome the rat bomb to the unarmed combat it was following the SOE training manual. It is shame they couldn't have used the actual SOE Finishing School for the Finishing School and the Final Scheme but since that is now the National Motor Museum I suppose it would have caused too much disruption. I feel that it was left incomplete without the Parachute School

I wasn't quite sure I wanted to watch this, but once I got started, I'm happy I did. The historical links are solid and well-presented. Whether SOE was really as effective as the series hints at or not is a matter of conjecture, but there is absolutely no denying that the SOE training and missions had a significant effect not just on WWII, but on the development of the CIA para-military units, post-war SAS and the US Army Special Forces. It was very interesting to see a very varied group from today put through the SOE syllabus and training program, to include peer assessment and self-selection (drops) that are still an integral part of SOF selection today. I was only surprised by one of the non-selections and none of the selections.

I'm fond of espionage novels and films, especially World War II era. The concept here is brilliant: a group of modern women and men volunteer to undertake the same training program as British Special Operations Executive agents who were being prepared for intelligence-gathering, sabotage, support of local Resistance fighters, and covert communications in territories occupied by the Nazi enemy. This is reality television of a very high order. The participants, both volunteers and their instructors, are utterly convincing. The volunteers are exceptionally brave.

When I started watching this show I didn't know what to expect. I honestly thought it was going to be a typical documentary about World War II.

But I was wrong, it was actually much different from what I expected - and it was suprisingly enjoyable to watch. It's a mixture between a documentary and a reality show. Consisting of 14 civilian recruits coming from all sorts of backgrounds reenacting what it was like to become an SOE (Special Operations Executive) agent during World War II.

Normally I don't watch a great deal of reality, because I simply don't enjoy it. But this show was surprisingly well edited with enough content to keep me interested in it. I liked the instructors, as well as the participants, I think what also made it interesting was the fact that they had some unique backgrounds and varied personalities.

One of the downsides to the show is the fact that it's only 5 episodes long - even though it's well thought out, I don't think the format would be able to last more than 1 season. If you're interested in World War II history, I recommend this show. The process is quite fascinating.

One makes assumptions about who will make it and who won't, but people still surprise. Can't wait until season 2!!! Absolutely loved this show.

If you also enjoyed this production and want to see something which incorporates the secret agents in action, try Charlotte Gray. It is one of my favorites as well.

I found the show by accident skipping through the channels glad I did a fascinating series giving a glimpse of the training process for former SOE recruits , the training apparently is taken from declassified manuals its authentic as it can be , to the point you can no longer beat the recrutes or non are allowed to get killed during the training ,

There are a few stand out recruits. Lizzie Jeffreys. she looks the part , reminds me of. Honeysuckle Weeks. in Foyles War. , she has the same clipped posh voice small in stature ,but she is clearly a tough cookie

and Dan apparently a property developer , other reports say he's a model and an actor , well he had come dressed for the part , he looked like an extra from salad days , as fake as they come , most had worked him out day one

You see TV you can make reality shows if you try that make people think , lets see more of this

Reality TV show? not really it was more of an insight into how "ordinary" people from all sorts of backgrounds, men and women volunteered to put their lives on the line to win the war. I think it truly showed how those actually trainee agents of the time would have had failure and success, doubts and fears. It also shows just how much you can't judge a book by it's cover and that Hollywood portrait of what a spy should be is some way off the mark. So at the end of the training, would they have been completely confident to go on missions? probably not but would still go anyway.

This modern day reality show "Churchill's Secret Agent Selection: WW2" is excellent and can't be compared with any other reality shows I have ever seen. Really enjoyed the scenes from a UK historical view with real clips and descriptions of the secret missions of the actual secret agents of the time. The show, mixed with modern day candidates to participate in a competitive training program which mirrored what the real agents went through back then, make it unique. Candidates are interviewed and chosen on individual traits that each one possess and they are quite diverse. Who will make it and who will not? My personal favorite turned out to be Jeffreys, a very small short woman you would never expect to take down a grown highly trained man in a flash - you just can't judge people. Ea. Episode is a different kind of training. One thing it may have been lacking in training however is no mention of opposite sex trickery or getting involved with the wrong woman for example. I only say this because saw a different Netflix spy doc abt US spies that got caught and it seems approx. 90%+ it was because of falling for the wrong woman or getting stabbed in the back by double agents, etc. As innocent as this show seems with serious training lets face it - the opposite sexes are being paired together in the field in real life/death situations and temptations and jealousies come into play.

#ChurchillsSecretAgentSelection #SecretAgentSelection.

What paintball gun did David Main use for the cast?