Richard Armitage as Lucas North in Spooks

 Harry Pearce, Ross Myers and Lucas North

I never heard of the British TV series Spooks until I developed a huge crush on actor Richard Armitage.  After watching Richard in the BBC production of North & South I had to search the internet to find out what other work he had done.  In the States Spooks is called MI5 and can be streamed on Netflix and Amazon.

Shows like Spooks is not really my cup of tea.  I am not really a TV watcher to be begin with, but shows like Spooks are the last thing I will spend my time watching if I do watch TV.  I do not like shows that contain enormous amounts of violence of any kind.  Spooks is loaded with violence so I don't care for it     HOWEVER, since Richard is in several seasons of Spooks I made an exception about watching it just because he is in it.  The things we women do for love is amazing...hee hee haa haa 

Richard Armitage is a major character in seasons 7, 8 and 9 in Spooks.  Spooks ended after season 10.  I never watched any of the others seasons prior to Richard Armitage joining the show.  Despite the violence Spooks is actually a very interesting show.  The storylines did keep me engaged.  It is filled with lots of action and espionage.  

Richard joins Spooks as Lucas North.  Lucas spent eight years in a Russian prison and has just been released.

Richard Armitage had to lose weight for the role.  Lucas North is supposed to look malnourished after eight years of torture in a Russian prison.  This is the worst that I have ever seen Richard look.  I don't like it at all.  Richard looks almost skeletal, but you would be surprised how many women out there love this look on him and find it sexy.  To me that is  an indication of how warped society's idea of beauty and handsomeness is.  I think that Richard is handsome no matter what, but that skeletal look is not a healthy look and sure does not turn me on.      
 

Here is a photo of Richard on the set of Spooks trying to keep his pants up.  I just cannot relate to the idea that this is sexy.  Richard Armitage at 6 feet two and a half inches is very tall and not at his best weight here.  Remember that the camera "adds" weight to you, so if he looks this skinny in the photo you can just imagine how skinny he actually was in person.
     

Some women are in denial that Richard is too skinny in the beginning of his career on Spooks.  They call it the "defined" look. 
  

Richard is so handsome, but clearly underweight here.  His cheeks are sunken in and his jawline has a hard boney edge to it.  After the initial introduction of Lucas North Richard does put back on some weight.  Thank goodness!  

In season 7 after Lucas North is released he sees his ex-wife Elizabetta for the first time in years.
 

Lucas North obviously still cares for Elizabetta, but not enough to resume their relationship.  For Lucas North his job comes first and he makes the decision to let Elizabetta go.  The character is then permanently written out of the show.  It was sad to see Lucas dismiss Elizabetta from his life.  I was disappointed that Lucas was married to his job.  Actually, all of the Spooks agents are married to their job and many have issues sustaining relationships.

This is also Richard Armitage in season 7 of Spooks.  Somehow he does manage to look a bit muscular in the arms in these two photos. 

As time marches on Lucas North begins to shed the skeletal appearance.  His cheeks are not so sunken in here and his face is more rounded out as well.  In other words, Richard looks healthier.  

Look at this healthy and handsome face.  Who could resist it.  Richard's cheeks are not hallowed out and his jawbones are minus the hard edge.

What a gorgeous smirk.

After Elizabetta was written out of the storyline, the character Sarah Caulfield was written in as a love interest for Lucas North.  I have to be honest, I could not stand Sarah Caulfield.  She was a liar, a murderer and loyal only to herself.  I just could not accept that Lucas North would actually fall in love with someone like that, but he did.  Well, at least he did care for her deeply.  I never heard Lucas say that he loved her, but it was obvious that he cared for her.  There is a strong sexual attraction that is always in the air between them.  

   

Richard Armitage certainly knows how to do the "stare down" look of desire.  Does your main squeeze look at you like that?  Richard makes Lucas North look like a love struck puppy.  If only it was ME he was giving the "stare down" to. 

More Lucas North looks that says "I want you:"
 

Lucas North and Sara Caulfield spend a lot of time in bed together.

Richard knows how to do the look of sexual ecstasy for the cameras.  I know that I could never pull this off for a film crew.

I really love this film cap of Lucas North walking towards Sarah Caulfield and her boss because it shows how tall Richard Armitage is.  Shortly after this scene Sarah murders her boss.  The actor who plays her boss was also in the BBC North & South with Richard.

Lucas bends down to give Sarah a morning kiss and he does not yet know that she killed her boss.

 Sleeping beauty

Lucas North sure looks good just out of bed.  Lucas also looks healthy as opposed to the "defined" skeletal appearance when his character was first introduced. 

 

Hermoine Norris who played Ross Myers in Spooks had great chemistry with Richard Armitage.  At one point they were pretending to be a couple but it looked weird to me.  Ross Myers was always about the business and getting the "bad guys" so I did not see a romantic side to her character's personality.  Ross did lose someone that she was in love with but I just never could picture her in that way for Richard although many other women who watched the show could see it.  There was a very strong working bond between Lucas and Ross.  They respected and cared about one another.


For season 9, the writers shocked the viewers and even Richard Armitage by putting in a twist to the Lucas North Character.  All of a sudden Lucas was John Bateman.  It is a very dishonorable way to stage Richard's departure from the series.  It also made no sense what so ever but it is what it is.  

John Bateman is in love with a doctor named Maya.
 

John Bateman has a totally different personality.
 

 

I am really sorry that the writers saw fit to end Richard's time on the show like this but as I already said, it is what it is.  Anyway, once Richard Armitage was no longer on the show that ended my time watching it.  You can stream this TV series on Netflix and Amazon.  .  

One for the road...Richard Armitage as Lucas North

  

All photos are from Richard Armitage Net.