Shaun Evans has revealed the reason he maintained his Liverpool accent in his new ITV thriller, Betrayal. The series, which premieres this weekend, features the Endeavour and Vigil star as an MI5 officer alerted to an informant who could dismantle a criminal group in Stockport.
Unfortunately, the informant dies before revealing the information. When Evans’s character, John, kills the attacker to protect himself, he immediately becomes the subject of an internal investigation and faces questioning from his bosses.
John is finding it hard to stop obsessing over the case, and it’s causing problems in his marriage. He begins to suspect that the real danger might be coming from people he knows.
What to Read Next
Chris Evans recently explained his decision to use his natural accent for his character, John, noting that it helped emphasize the character’s background within British intelligence.
He told the Radio Times that while MI5 officers were traditionally expected to come from Oxford and Cambridge universities, that’s no longer true, as he thought about his own career path.
At the beginning of my career, I was drawn to roles that were very different from who I was, hoping to completely lose myself in a character and escape my personal issues.
He explained that it’s surprisingly more challenging to play a character with your natural accent. He likened it to the effort of putting on a heavy coat – you have to really work to transform and become someone else.
Evans has described his play, Betrayal, as being centered around a man experiencing a midlife crisis. He explained that the story focuses on a situation where things have fallen apart for the character John, and he’s searching for a path forward.
He’s experiencing difficulties in his personal relationship and is losing the professional respect he once had for being unconventional. His health is declining, and his overall influence is diminishing.
When you place that within the context of international spying, it creates a compelling story with two layers.
The series will feature talented actors including Romola Garai, known from Suffragette, Amuka-Bird from I, Jack Wright, Zahra Ahmadi of EastEnders, and Gamba Cole, who appears in The Outlaws.
Betrayal premieres on ITV1 on Sunday, 8 February at 9pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
The latest issue of Living Legends, a vibrant, full-color magazine dedicated to Taylor Swift, is now available! You can find it in newsagents or order it online for only £8.99. This special edition is 100 pages long.
Read More
- Heartopia Book Writing Guide: How to write and publish books
- UFL soft launch first impression: The competition eFootball and FC Mobile needed
- Gold Rate Forecast
- Robots That React: Teaching Machines to Hear and Act
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) February 2026 Hilda’s “Guardian Battalion” Starlight Pass Details
- UFL – Football Game 2026 makes its debut on the small screen, soft launches on Android in select regions
- Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews explains why he filters his pictures after images of what he really looks like baffled fans – as his ex continues to mock his matching proposals
- Arknights: Endfield Weapons Tier List
- Davina McCall showcases her gorgeous figure in a green leather jumpsuit as she puts on a love-up display with husband Michael Douglas at star-studded London Chamber Orchestra bash
- Olivia Wilde teases new romance with Ellie Goulding’s ex-husband Caspar Jopling at Sundance Film Festival
2026-02-04 16:53