Bad Spy

On a busy London station concourse, a stranger in a cap startles commuter Steven Dobson by telling him exactly which train he needs for a secret lunchtime meeting in Durham. When Steven plays dumb, the man reveals that he is an MI5 officer who has spent three months watching Steven as a suspected recruit of Chinese intelligence, and that the job has become unbearable. Throwing away his career on the spot, the spy unloads a catalogue of Steven's petty failings, from handling bakery pastries without tongs to a painfully slow parking manoeuvre and muscling in on the birthday flowers his sister sent their mother. A private investigator hired by Steven's wife to watch his affair then steps forward to agree, and the two watchers happily compare notes on how awful he is until Steven storms off, only to be told he is heading for the wrong train.

Big Talk Studios posted this sketch online as Bad Spy, while British Comedy Guide lists the clip as How not to be a spy. The episode was released with the full series on Channel 4 streaming on 5 September 2025 and first broadcast on Channel 4 on 19 September 2025.