‘Tears rolled down my face as I read the finale’: Slow Horses star reacts to their character’s tragic death

Warning: this article contains major spoilers for the finale of Slow Horses season four

The latest series of espionage thriller Slow Horses slammed to a close today (9 October), and fans have been left reeling by the death of a major and much-loved character: Kadiff Kirwan’s Marcus Longridge.

Did Marcus die after breathing too closely to Gary Oldman’s flatulent Jackson Lamb? No. Was it the cold, hard stare of Kristin Scott Thomas’s Diana Taverner that polished him off? Nope, not that either. Instead, he died in the line of duty – shot dead by a terrifying assassin called Patrice. (OK, he looks a lot scarier than that name would suggest.)

So, how did it come to this? Well, it all took place while River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) was busy having a face-off with his evil father Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving) in King’s Cross.

Cartwright’s half-brother, Patrice – trained to be a murdering machine by their father practically since birth – came to Slough House to track down River’s grandfather, David (Jonathan Pryce) and kill him, to appease his father’s ruthless client.

Cue a shoot-out in the tinsel-covered, crumbling offices of Slough House, as the gang of reject spies tried to protect themselves (and David) but ended up essentially being sitting ducks in Lamb’s office.

Marcus managed to deliver Shirley Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) – the sniff to his scratch – to safety, but he couldn’t save himself. As he turned at the top of the stairs, a gunshot rang out. When Patrice staggered over to Lamb’s offices afterwards, we knew Marcus was the one who received the bullet. Seconds later, Lamb appeared and chucked a gun at Patrice’s head, and the assassin ended up handcuffed to a radiator.

Speaking ahead of the finale hitting screens, Kirwan told The Independent he wept when he first read the script for his last ever episode. “There were many, many tears rolling down my face as I was reading that finale,” he said.

“When I initially got the script, I had been very anxious to read it, because I knew what was going to happen. But when I started reading, and I saw the care and precision and just how action-packed and tense the whole finale was, I was just so happy that I was getting to be a part of this epic episode in a really important way.”

Reflecting on Marcus’s last moments with Shirley, he said they were “completely and utterly heartbreaking”.

But it was fun to shoot. “It was so exciting,” he said. “Sort of like an action film. And having to be the person that was going up against the assassin was pretty amazing…

“In between takes, we were having such a laugh, all of us, and getting to slowly destroy Slough House was also amazing.”

Kirwan said he will forever miss being a part of Slow Horses. “It’s been, up to now, one of the career highlights of my life,” he said. “I’m slowly petitioning them to bring Marcus back in another form. Perhaps he has a twin brother who’s completely identical to him who was also in the service? You never know.

“But for real, it’s been an absolute joy, and I’m also looking forward to becoming a fan of the show now, along with so many people worldwide.”

He signed off with a final tribute to his character. “Marcus Longridge. Gone but not forgotten!”

Slow Horses season four is available in full on Apple TV+. A fifth season is on the way.