Zoe Reynolds

Zoe Reynolds is a fictional case officer in the counterterrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks, also known as MI5 in the United States. The character was played by Keeley Hawes. Prior to starting her job, Zoe had studied for her degree at Oxford University; this is revealed to Danny Hunter when she is preparing to go undercover in the third episode of series two. One of her main talents was in linguistics, and she is shown translating Serbian dialogue in the first episode of series two.

Zoe was a junior case officer in Section D, which she joined shortly before September 1997, and was part of the original leading trio (along with Tom Quinn and Danny Hunter). At the end of the second episode of the show, she moved in with Danny and the two young spooks formed a very strong bond. She also formed strong relationships with Harry Pearce (her boss and someone whom she respected a lot), and Ruth Evershed. Zoe was brilliant at her job and had excellent instincts and charm, which made her particularly suited to undercover work. One of her undercover roles led to her dismissal from the service.

Throughout her career as a spook her confidence and morale took a big beating. She was distraught to find out that Tessa Phillips was corrupt, as she had admired Tessa greatly. This was made even worse by the fact that Zoe was very much involved in her downfall. She went through a similar hard time when Tom was alleged to have been a rogue officer. Her confidence took a bigger beating when she and the rest of the team managed to clear his name, only for him to be decommissioned in the next episode.

In series 3, Zoe got engaged to a photographer named Will, which led to tensions between her and Danny. In episode 6 of this series, Zoe was seen in court, charged with conspiracy to murder. When she was found guilty, Zoe was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was forced to abscond to Chile, without Will, to avoid being jailed. This led to a very emotional goodbye between her and Danny. Later on, Danny, seeing how Will was suffering, revealed Zoe's fate, and Will left to rejoin her in Chile. The two later sent Danny a postcard, with a picture hidden inside it of them together.

In the book Spooks: The Personnel Files, Zoe, accepting the fact she will never see Danny again, set up a PO box for him to write back, and finally expressed her feelings for him. In the meantime, Zoe continues her life with Will, and at the time of writing the message, is pregnant with the child Zoe has always wanted. Zoe uses a tourist she befriended abroad to sneak the message back to Britain hidden inside a utility bill.

Sadly, the postcard arrived ten days after Danny was shot dead, so he never knew the depth of Zoe's affections. The postcard was instead re-routed to Danny's mother, and was subsequently intercepted by Special Branch and referred to MI5.

The postcard, with certain details redacted, was added to Zoe's closed file, as her identity and whereabouts must still be protected. Harry notes the fact that Danny never knew the depth of Zoe's affections as a sad reminder of the price MI5 officers are required to suffer. The book Spooks: Harry's Diary confirms its existence, and both sources are considered canon to the storyline.