The Sandbaggers - Cast

Cast

The Sandbaggers stars Roy Marsden as Neil D. Burnside, who is the Director of Special Operations (D-Ops) of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6). Himself a former Sandbagger and a former Marine, Burnside has been D-Ops for only a short time at the start of the series. He is arrogant and regularly finds himself at odds with his superiors.

Starring alongside Marsden for the series' first two series is Richard Vernon in the role of Sir James Greenley, code-named "C" and head of SIS. Because of Greenley's diplomat background, Burnside is initially wary of him, but over the course of the show, they develop a friendly relationship. In the third season, he is replaced as "C" by John Tower Gibbs (Dennis Burgess), who openly disapproves of Burnside and his method of operating.

Similarly, Matthew Peele (Jerome Willis), Deputy Head of SIS, often mistrusts Burnside. Burnside's demeanour towards his superior is insubordinate and sometimes even hostile. Peele is generally considered a nuisance by most characters, although he is temporarily considered for the position of "C" in lieu of Gibbs.

Burnside's personal and professional life come together in Sir Geoffrey Wellingham (Alan MacNaughtan), who is both Burnside's former father-in-law and the Permanent Undersecretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that oversees SIS. They share an informal but sometimes antagonistic relationship but also maintain an unspoken fondness for each other.

Ray Lonnen portrays Willie Caine, "Sandbagger One" and head of the Special Operations Section. He shares a bond of friendship and trust with Burnside, although they are occasionally at odds with each other. Burnside refers to Willie as "the best operative currently operating anywhere in the world". He is the only Sandbagger to appear from the series' beginning to end.

In the beginning of the series, there are two other Sandbaggers, Jake Landy (David Glyder) and Alan Denson (Steven Grives). They are both killed and replaced for the first series by Laura Dickens (Diane Keen), the only female Sandbagger, killed at the end of the first series. The second series opens with two new Sandbaggers: Tom Elliot (David Beames), who is soon killed, and Mike Wallace (Michael Cashman), who survives as of the end of the third series. Another recurring character is Edward Tyler (Peter Laird), the SIS Director of Intelligence (D-Int), who dies early in the third series.

Serving as Head of the London Station of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is Jeff Ross (Bob Sherman), who rescued Burnside from death in the 1975 fall of Saigon. The relationship between the CIA and SIS (in which the CIA has more resources, but the SIS has more freedom of action) is considered a special one and serves as the subject of multiple episodes. Ross and Burnside are friends, but are forced to work against one another on occasion; in one episode, Ross sends his wife, a former CIA field agent, to seduce a British official. During the second series Ross is assisted by Karen Milner (Jana Shelden), a CIA field officer who works with SIS from time to time and is romantically interested in Burnside.

Burnside's personal assistant Diane Lawler (Elizabeth Bennett) has regular clashes with her boss but is fiercely loyal to him. She retires at the end of the second series, hand-picking her replacement, Marianne Straker (Sue Holderness).