Slough House Relocation

Lore & Background

Slough House is not a relocation of an existing unit but the original and only setting for the disgraced MI5 agents. The source describes it as a banishment room for service rejects who have failed a task but not badly enough to be sacked. Those consigned there are called "slow horses", a pun on the name Slough House and an expression for slow thinking and action. The agents are expected to endure dull, routine tasks and verbal abuse from their boss, Jackson Lamb, who hopes they will leave out of boredom or frustration. Despite this, the Slow Horses get involved in investigating cases that endanger Britain.

In Their Own Story

Jackson Lamb, the head of Slough House, is unkempt, flatulent, and rude with a sour wit, all disguising a tactical sharpness and firm loyalty to his agents, who he refers to affectionately as "Joes". The team includes River Cartwright, an up-and-coming MI5 agent shunted to Slough House after a public training-exercise blunder; Catherine Standish, the office administrator and a recovering alcoholic; Louisa Guy, assigned after a tail operation went badly wrong; Roddy Ho, an arrogant computer nerd and former hacktivist; and Shirley Dander, a physically capable agent undone by drug and anger issues. The source does not describe any relocation of Slough House.

Reader's Guide

The source provides no information about a relocation of Slough House. It describes the setting as a single, consistent banishment room for MI5 rejects. The series has adapted the novels Slow Horses, Dead Lions, Real Tigers, Spook Street, and London Rules across its first five series, with a sixth series set to premiere on 16 September 2026 based on Joe Country and Slough House, and a seventh series based on Bad Actors.

Did You Know?

• Slough House is a banishment room for MI5 service rejects who have seriously failed a task but not badly enough to get sacked.
• Those consigned there are known as 'slow horses', a play on the name Slough House and an expression for people who are slow at thinking and action.
• The series premiered on Apple TV+ on 1 April 2022.
• The first five series have adapted the novels Slow Horses, Dead Lions, Real Tigers, Spook Street, and London Rules, respectively.
• The sixth series is set to premiere on 16 September 2026.