Two of the longest-serving residents of Slough House are opening up about what it takes to survive six seasons under Jackson Lamb's reluctant command. Christopher Chung, who plays tech specialist Roddy Ho, and Saskia Reeves, who portrays administrator Catherine Standish, are among only three actors who have remained with Apple TV's Slow Horses since its first season. In a pair of exclusive interviews, the performers reflected on their characters' unusual staying power and the subtle shifts that define the show's sixth season.
Chung described each season as a small turning point for Roddy, noting that the series favors incremental character growth over dramatic reinvention. He pointed to River Cartwright as the figure who undergoes the largest emotional journey across the show's run, while Roddy's changes are more internal. According to Chung, Season 6 includes set pieces that genuinely alter Ho's belief system, a development that becomes increasingly visible as the season progresses. He called the opportunity to explore that shift a welcome change after years of playing a character whose personality has remained remarkably consistent.
That consistency, Chung said, required him to build a detailed internal life for Roddy that he has largely kept private. When he first took the role, he avoided judging the character and instead interrogated why Roddy sees the world the way he does, considering his upbringing and personality. Chung suggested Roddy may be slightly on the spectrum, though he declined to elaborate on the specifics of his process. After six seasons, he said, those choices are now embedded in his instincts, allowing him to know exactly how Roddy would respond in any situation.
Asked where Roddy's loyalties lie, Chung answered with a laugh that they rest with himself, before offering a more nuanced view. He described an unspoken bond among the Slow Horses: despite their constant friction, they would put themselves at risk for one another. When one of them leaves or lands in danger, the group feels it in ways they do not openly express. Chung attributed that connection to their shared predicament as agents cast aside by the Park, which gives them a common ground that outsiders rarely see.
Chung also addressed a memorable moment from the second episode of Season 6, titled «Daddy Issues,» in which Lamb orders «Blake's Grave» for the first time since Season 1. Roddy responds faster than he ever has to an order. Chung explained that the speed comes from the order itself as much as from Lamb, because the phrase signals to trained spies that the stakes have risen sharply and anyone could be in danger. He welcomed the chance to show Roddy setting aside his nonchalant, obnoxious manner and operating as the professional spy the situation demands.
For his preparation, Chung read all of Mick Herron's novels, the source material behind the series. He called the books a blueprint for the show's world and said Herron's writing is especially useful because Roddy's perspective unfolds through internal monologue, offering direct insight into the character's worldview. Chung read the first four books when he landed the role and has continued through the series as seasons progressed, deliberately avoiding reading ahead so he would not pre-empt later developments.
Reeves, who plays Catherine Standish, is the other legacy cast member alongside Chung and Gary Oldman. Her character has served as the administrative anchor of Slough House, a steady presence among agents whose careers have stalled. The interviews underscore how the series has built its following on the slow accumulation of small character moments rather than sweeping transformations, a approach that has kept viewers returning across six seasons.
With Season 6 underway, the show continues to balance the workplace comedy of a dysfunctional intelligence outpost with the genuine danger its inhabitants face. For Chung, the season represents a chance to push Roddy beyond the persona audiences know, revealing a character capable of responding when the code words demand it. For the actors who have inhabited Slough House since the beginning, the reward lies in those minute shifts, the ones that keep the story alive long after the Park has written these agents off.