BBC Radio 4 drama Central Intelligence is returning for a second season on 20 June.

Starring A Spy Among Friends‘ Stephen Kunken and Sex and the City legend Kim Cattrall, Central Intelligence will take listeners ‘into the heart of the tumultuous 1960’s from the Bay of Pigs disaster to the assassination of President John F Kennedy’.

Cattrall is back as CIA operative Eloise Page who joined the intelligence organisation on its first day in 1947 and rose through the ranks to become one of its most powerful women.

Kunken stars as Ed Lansdale, described in the series as ‘the CIA’s maverick lone-wolf super-hero.’

Speaking ahead of the second season, Kunken shared what drew him to the role of Lansdale, who was a pioneer in psychological warfare.

stephen kunken

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“I love playing characters on the fringes,” Kunken said. “One of the great privileges of being an actor is getting to step into characters from the past to understand our present and future.

“If artists were to step into the Office of Strategic Services and Intelligence…I imagine we’d function with the same out-of-the-box energy as Ed.”

Describing how Landsdale’s story is relevant in 2025, Kunken added: “At its core, the story of operators like Landsdale reminds us that ordinary people, armed with ingenuity and conviction, can shape the fate of nations.”

kim cattrall wearing a black blouse and metallic blazer, smiling on the red carpet at the 2023 tribeca festival

Jamie McCarthy//Getty Images

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Central Intelligence is part of the BBC’s Limelight strand of drama serials. Season two begins on BBC Radio 4 at 2.15pm on Friday 20 June.

It will also be available on BBC Sounds where you can also catch up on the first season now.

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