Lucas North, formerly known as John Bateman, is a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks (known in the United States as "MI5"), which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. North is portrayed by British actor Richard Armitage. The character is introduced in Spooks seventh series as the former head of Section D, who was captured and imprisoned during an operation in Russia. He returns to the UK after eight years and is eventually reinstated into MI5. He is described as having once been the best in his field, and he is now trying to regain his former brilliance. Lucas North is a main character in the seventh, eighth, and ninth series; the ninth series reveals that Lucas "isn't who you think he is." Following the creation of the character by the show's writers, Armitage was chosen early in the casting process, since the producers believed he could carry the mystery of the character. A tentative viewer of Spooks, he was approached for the role following the completion of the second series of Robin Hood, in which he portrayed series regular Sir Guy of Gisbourne. After agreeing to appear in Spooks, Armitage learned how to speak fluent Russian and lost a stone in weight in order to fit the description of his character. With regard to the show's notorious habit of killing off major characters, Armitage said he had no preference as to Lucas' possible exit. He has performed his own stunts on the series, which have included a waterboarding scene, although the character becomes less physical in the ninth series. The Lucas North character and his portrayal by Armitage met with unanimous praise from cast, crew, and reviewers. Role in Spooks Character arc Born John Bateman, the character later known as Lucas North was raised in rural Cumbria, where his father was a Methodist minister. During his time at Leeds University he lived with Maya Lahan (Laila Rouass). While enrolled at Leeds he visited Dakar, Senegal, where he engaged in shipping cannabis to Hamburg in exchange for money. When he was caught the authorities took the shipment and his money, stranding him in Dakar. To gain enough money to get back to the UK, he worked in a casino. While working there John Bateman was approached by Vaughn Edwards (Iain Glen), who persuaded him to deliver packages for him. One of the