Diana Taverner

**Diana Taverner** is a main character played by Kristin Scott Thomas in Season 1 and Season 2 of Apple TV+'s *Slow Horses*.

## History

### Season 1

Lamb calls Diana and tells her that they have Hobden's laptop files. Diana says that she would not be sending a courier, but tells him to send one of his "donkeys" instead. She asks him to send Sid who was the "least shit". Lamb tells her that she owes him.

Diana walks into a meeting room, where she says that the hostage is Hassan Ahmed and goes to Leeds University. She says he is law-abiding and the kidnappers call themselves Sons of Albion and they have 17 similar groups under their radar at the moment.

Diana meets with Mr. Moody at a stadium, wanting to know how he had found out about what she had told Lamb. He says that there is a bug since he never believed in that lazy bastard since he is never given anything relevant to do. She tells him that he would do a few things for her off the record. She hands him a bug, saying that Slough House may be a dead end, but it is still part of the service. She says that if it gets out it has been compromised, his former chums in the Dogs will tear him apart. She tells him that Lamb is a burnout for a reason and that when he was in the field, he had more to worry about than screwups like him.

Diana gets back to MI5, where an agent tells her that it appeared the man is being held in London since the background has London brick and have it limited to certain areas.

Lamb asks Catherine to get him Taverner on the phone, however, Diana does not pickup. He tells her that he wants to tell her about the results to her test. He asks when Cartwright had left and is told that about two hours ago. He invites Catherine for a drink, but she does not want it.

Diana gets a call from one of her officers, saying that Cartwright is gone, so she tells him to find them.

Diana meets Lamb at a discreet location. She asks if he is alone, but he simply says that he does not know why they never clean the canals. She asks him what he is playing at, to which he responds that it's choice considering he had lent her an agent and now she has a bullet in her head. He She says that the brief was not for her to be on Hobden 24/7 and he says that the brief was to be on Cartwright 24/7, which now makes him think that Sid was her agent all along. He tells her that Sid had been shot outside of Hobden's house by Jed Moody, another one of her recruits, so he turns the question around and asks her what she is playing at. She tells him that he runs Slough House, but she is Second Desk, head of ops, which means directing all personnel. Lamb wonders what to do with the body on his staircase, which surprises Diana. She asks who took him down and Lamb says that the funny thing is that he forgot to tie his shoelaces, which makes him laugh. Diana says that it would not be so funny in front of Limitations. He asks her if they should call in the Dogs since it is a death and he says he could call the police, but the odd thing is that the only phone number on it is hers. He lights up a cigarette and tells her that she has until he finishes it for him to start making calls. She tells him that she was talking to his brother at the Frontline Club, where she mentioned that they are developing operations to neutralize the nationalists. Lamb finds this unbelievable, but Diana says that her plan is not half-assed since she saw Hobden in the booth behind them at the bar and she says that it is bad tradecraft on her part.

Lamb tells Diana that she seems pretty calm for someone who setup a false operation to behead an innocent kid in a few hours. She says that they would not do it, but Lamb says that their core messaging suggests that they are. Diana says that their agent told them that they did not need a beheading, just that they could if they were pushed. Lamb says that he does not fancy her odds, but she says that the kid was chosen carefully - Mahmud Gul's nephew. Lamb says that he knows Mahmud Gu is number two in Pakistan's military intelligence. Diana says that they would rescue his nephew, which she hopes would get them 10% more cooperation with the Pakistanis. Lamb cannot believe it, telling her that that was not a sactioned service op, it is off the books and they have Hobden around.

Lamb tells Diana that if the Sons got wind of what she is up to, both her man and the kid are dead. He tells her to bring the Dogs early, but she says it is not possible. Diana tells him that he would help her, but he says that he would not and his agents would not help her either. Diana says that Hassan is being held in a house on their side of the river, so all he would need to do is literally knock on the door. She says that his face would be the signal, since he is a legend in the service. Lamb says that he has other things he could do, but Diana simply asks if Moody was alone when he died, saying that if he had company, it might come under intense scrutiny. He tells her to call the Dogs and after they ripped her apart, they might stil have enough strength to pick at the rest of what had happened, saying that either way, he does not care. She asks if that would be the case even if it was Standish, which he finds surprising. She says a lot of things could happen if the case was reopened, but he says that that is not a can of worms she wants to open, which she agrees with. She says that like it or not, Slough House was a part of what was happening and Standish should not find out. He says that he would knock on the door, but wanted the Standish file. He adds that he does not want Slough House to be her playground anymore, Moody gone, Baker a victim of street crime, and anyone with him that night fireproof. He says that she is also in his debt until she is old. She realizes that he really cares about his agents, but he says that he does not and thinks that they are a bunch of losers, but they are his losers.

Diana makes it back to the office, where she is told that they had less than four hours to rescue Hassan. She calls a man, telling him to proceed with the plan after Lamb knocked on the door. The Dogs start moving after that.

Diana looks on as MI5 works on finding Hassan. She gets a call from the Dogs who tell her that the victim was Adam Black, but Lamb was gone and the Slow Horses had huddled. She takes a call from First Desk, telling Ingrid that everything was fine, but Lamb had gone AWOL, also blaming Cartwright for what happened to Sid. Ingrid instructs her to gather the Slow House and orders her to fix everything swiftly.

Diana asks about Hassan and is told by Duffy that multiple vehicles were being trapped. The Dog asks what is going on, and Diana says that the head of Slow Horse was panicking because a Slow Horse op had gone south. She tells him not to tell anyone, but instructs the Dogs to get them, adding that she would like him to hurt Lamb.

Webb and Duffy see that Lamb had been in the store and see he had purchased a flight to Istambul. However, Webb, sees that he had also booked flights from Heathrow, Stansted, London, Manchester, and Birmingham. However, Diana knows where he is going.

Diana gets called and told that Loy was downstairs, so she visits him in an interrogation room. She tells him that things are relentless for her at the moment. Loy says that he had never been to that part of the Park and she says that she does not want anyone to know he is there. He says that he has not told his wife he does not work there anymore and she says that it had been a year. He asks what that is about and admits that he lied to investigators when he panicked and had sent an email, where he makes fun of Tearney's outfit at a press conference, saying that the head of MI5 was part of ISIS. She tells him that in order to bring him back to the Park, she needs to know that he learned his lesson and he says that he has. She tells him that she could not promise anything and reminds him that nobody had gone from the Slough House to the Park. He mentions not having seen any unusual activity at the Slough House and Diana offers him to be part of the solution to the Slough House's problems.

In the interrogation room, Diana hands Loy a picture of Alan, who he recognizes. He says that he had not seen him since he had left Slough House and had not seen him with Lamb either. Diana says that that makes him just another problem.

Diana gets a call from Duffy, who tells her that both he and Webb had caught Lamb and Catherine. Lamb asks to be interrogated in a room with a window as Diana removes Loy from his chair, telling him that Catherine would be coming in. When Diana tells Loy that she would be telling his family that he was linked to Black's murder, says that he definitely remembers Black and Lamb together.

Duffy tells Diana about what happened with Catherine and Lamb, which surprises her. However, her attention is drawn towards a woman who found information on Curly, Zeppo and Larry, who they are currently tracking.

Diana tells Lamb that Alan Black's body had been found and he pretends to not know who she is talking about. She tells him he was involved in capturing Ahmed and Lamb says that he remembers her telling him that she had a man on the inside. She tells him that she has a statement from someone who saw him and Black meeting after he had left Slough House. He wonders if Struan's word stacked up against his, but she says that Standish would show and turn when she knew why he is at Slough House. She tells him that Sid is dead and tells him that she would make him an offer, which he says make sense because she needs to have everything wrapped up before Tearney lands and he could blow the whistle on her, which she says he does not have. He says that he is not sure her career would survive the death of Ahmed and tells her to make her pitch. She tells him to sign a statement that matched Loy's and that would be the end of it, but Lamb knows it would be the end of him. However, she tells him that he would be fired, but with no charges and a good enough pension. Lamb asks when Tearny would get back because he would love to run all that by her, but she says that they could also just wait for the Slow Horses to walk in and accept a job back at the Park while he festers in the basement. He says that the deal sounds wonderful and asks for her to print the statement, but suddenly remembers that he was going to tell her that the car he brought in has a bomb. Diana moves and tells Duffy to take a look.

Diana walks into her office and hands Lamb his fake bomb, also saying that Duffy and his men were sweeping the building, thinking it is probably Cartwright who was smuggled in. However, he says that it is to test her security because her guys are not very good. Diana gets a call and asks for someone to be put in the basement next to Loy. Lamb says that if his men were as good as hers, they would be hers. She offers to have him sign the confession while he asks who she had sent to the basement as River walks into the office. He tells her not to call anyone and hands her the Fiasco file. She tells them that she could have a dozen guns pointed at their heads in seconds, but Lamb knows she would not do that because she would not want anyone to see her with Alan Black. He tells her that he now has evidence and hands her the confession, saying that it now had her name. She says that meeting with an ex-agent means nothing, so River says that she probably would not mind if they sent the photos to Tearney, everyone else at the Park, and River suggests that they could even send it to Hobden, but Lamb says that news desks would be better. Diana asks them what they want and Lamb says that he wants Ahmed found and alive, but thinks her attention has been split between finding the boy and burning him. Diana tells Lamb that there were three cars they were targeting, and they had lost all three. Lamb says that she could do more, since it turns out that Hobden had called someone when it all went to shit, so he tells her to pay that person a visit.

Peter is awoken, told that Diana Taverner is downstairs waiting for him. In a car, River looks towards Peter's house, wondering what the others were up to. However, Lamb is not listening since he is asleep.

Peter walks downstairs, saying that he has no idea why she is there, but she says that she thinks he does, or he would be asking questions. She tells him that they know Hobden called him the day before repeatedly. He says that he has not seen Hobden in years, but she says that she also knows that after Hobden's visit, calls were made by him or someone close to certain individuals with links to the people who kidnapped Ahmed. She says that she could look through his phone records and check the calls made to the mothers of children Peter's wife is not aware of, saying that an agent of hers had been killed and Ahmed was missing because of a call he had made. However, Peter denies that he made the call, so Diana tells him he has minutes before she turns his life inside out.

Peter tells Diana that their discussion is not about whether he had made a call or if Hobden was there, knowing she is on the clock and needs something, so he tells her to ask. She tells him that she wants him to use his contacts in the far right to connect with the head of the Sons of Albion and find out where his boys would go if they wanted to leave the country. Peter says he does not know Simmonds, but Diana knows he had gone golfing with him before. She tells him that both of them have five minutes to cooperate or they would end up in a holding cell. Peter tells her that he knows about the Frontline Club and what Hobden had heard her overtell her brother. She asks if he wants to play his one card at that moment, adding that if she would go down, she could take him to the Park at that very moment. However, he tells her that they both share a connection to the unsavories through one man, so she tells him to start making calls.

Ho and Catherine reach Lamb and River, saying that they must have the photographs, which River confirms. Catherine tells them that Ho had worked out a way to track the kidnappers, so Min and Louisa had gone to look for them, which Lamb does not agree with, saying that he hopes they only get themselves killed and do not set an orphanage on fire. When Diana leaves Peter's house, Lamb tells her that they are headed to Harwich, knowing this thanks to Ho. He tells Diana that he would be going to bed and leaves Ho and Catherine behind. Ho hands Diana the van's plate number and the theft locator's ID. Catherine refuses to work with Diana unless she tells him about Partner's death, but she tells her that the ship had sailed when she pulled a gun on the Dogs.

Diana says she wants Ahmed's parents in London ahead of a successful outcome when Ingrid shows up. Diana tells her that the kidnappers were headed to Harwich and the Dogs were en route. Ingrid asks if the Slow Horses were in the building, but Diana says that they had been cleared since it appears Alan Black had been operating alone. Ingrid says that she prefers if Alan's story died with him and wants no witnesses.

Larry drives the van to a pier, laughing in relief, but he is approached by Dogs and surrounded. He gets down on his knees and feels a wound, which Duffy mistakes for him reaching for a gun, so he orders his men to shoot him. However, when they reach the van, they find it is empty. Diana tells Duffy to retrace the route.

Diana watches as the Dogs move on a helicopter, ready to shoot on sight.

Duffy and the Dogs reach Hassan's location, where River, Min, and Louisa were waiting. Ingrid asks who they are and Diana confirms they are the Slow Horses. Duffy confirms the kill order, which Hassan says is wrong because he should go on trial. Min runs over to Curly and gives Duffy the finger, saying that the murderer is now unarmed. Louisa asks him what he is doing because he would get himself killed. River also runs over to Curly and they drag him away from the helicopter, covering him. Duffy asks for orders, and Diana tells them to stand down.

Ingrid leaves and tells Diana that the Slow Horses had screwed the entire service because the boy and the surviving kidnapper both knew that they had an agent on the inside. Diana says that she would handle that, which makes Ingrid wonder if she would handle it like she had handled everything before. Diana tells Ingrid that Black had been cleared from their records and they would make sure Hassan says nothing.

Lamb waits for Diana, who greets him. He congratulates her for managing to keep the name Alan Black out of the headlines. She tells him that he never existed and corrects him, calling him Dermot Radcliffe, a Son of Albion. Lamb hands her the bag and she hands him an envelope. Lamb wonders if Hassan had heard anything strange, which she says is possible, but his student debts had been cleared and his comedy club would receive a large donation. He tells her that what he does not like is that she won, but she simply asks him what he would tell Standish about what was in that file and the photographs on Cartwright's phone. He tells her that the photos were deleted and she also asks if he wants Struan back. He tells her that she put him in a difficult position because she had offered him a return to the Park, but they both agree that he could be let go. After that, Diana asks about Cartwright, which Lamb does not answer.

### Season 2

In From Upshott with Love, Jackson Lamb and Diana have another one of their casual canal meet-ups. Diana is curious to hear what Slough House wants with Nikolai. Lamb explains the debriefing from twenty years ago. They then chat about Richard Bough and his note about cicadas. Diana calls it all nonsense, yet Lamb thinks they have a match on Popov’s goon and Richard’s killer. He asks for approval on a silent operation, to dig deeper into the Russian conspiracy, demanding funds in return for Webb poaching two of his team members. Diana begrudgingly agrees. Later, Webb elaborates on his plans to Diana. He wants to use the Slow Horses to help eventually set up a meeting with oligarch Ilya Nevsky, who could be Russia’s future President. Webb is meeting with Pashkin first to make things official. Diana threatens to send Webb to Slough House if he screws this up, but she wants updates in the meantime.

In Drinking Games, Diana and her team are busy preparing for the anti-capitalist march in London, which is predicted to include over ten thousand protesters. Slimy Home Secretary Peter Judd, who the protesters hate, has decided to give a speech on the very same day. Diana and Duffy are to organize Judd’s security. Webb appears with news of Min Harper’s death. Of course, Diana is already aware of this ‘minor hiccup’ in Webb’s plan, but she is happy for the operation to continue if Min’s death is considered clean. Webb is then knocked down a peg or two by his boss, who warns him not to trust Lamb or any of the other Slough House employees. Later, Judd asks for Diana to ride alongside him instead of Duffy and she unwillingly accepts his invitation.

In Boardroom Politics, Diana’s car picks up Judd, ready to escort him to his speech that is located in the middle of the march. Judd believes he’s now Diana’s boss and purposely makes her wait. In the car, he tells her he’ll be running for Prime Minister and wants her to back him. Later, Diana is informed of the terrorist threat and is placed in contact with River Cartwright immediately. He confirms the threat; a small plane packed with explosives is headed directly for the Glass House. Diana makes the appropriate calls and tells Judd the news. The politician laughs it off at first until he notices how serious she is. They escape in a car before the protesters are evacuated.

In Old Scores, after River calls up Diana and explains that the bomb is just a hoax, tensions are high as Diana asks Judd for the final decision. Instead, he lets Diana decide. Later, Diana provides Judd with a debrief of the entire saga. Judd is annoyed by the whole debacle and wants to pin it all on River. Diana believes it’s better to lie and keep it all a secret. They decide to blame the Prime Minister instead, talking of defense systems needing an upgrade. Later, Lamb visits Diana and asks for Min Harper to have a proper send-off. Diana refuses though.