Saskia Reeves in Slow Horses
Saskia Reeves plays Catherine Standish, whose knowledge make her indispensable to Slough House. Reeves allows Catherine to seem reserved without making her passive. When an exchange becomes abrasive, a small change in her expression can show that she has recognised somebody’s intention. Her patience has limits, even when Lamb behaves as though patience is simply part of her job description.
Reeves is part of the ensemble from Series 1 onwards. Catherine's presence gives the office a connection to an older intelligence culture, but the performance also supplies a practical counterweight to its more impulsive operatives. Watch the difference between the attention she gives a frightened person and the guarded politeness she offers Lamb. Reeves makes courtesy a choice with different purposes, rather than a fixed trait that applies equally to every encounter.
What Reeves has said about Catherine
In her TheWrap interview about the third-series finale, Reeves stressed that Catherine was a secretary rather than a field spy. That distinction explains why her resourcefulness need not look like River's. Catherine can gather information by listening, create an opening in a conversation and judge when somebody might be prepared to help. Reeves's description directs attention towards skills the intelligence hierarchy is inclined to undervalue.
The same conversation explored the mixture of respect and bullying in Catherine's relationship with Lamb. Reeves did not reduce the pair to an uncomplicated friendship. Their shared professional past gives exchanges weight, but familiarity does not remove the harm of what he says. The actress makes room for affection, resistance and exasperation within a scene, so that Catherine's response can change even when Lamb's behaviour looks predictable.
Reveal Reeves's Series 3 and 4 standout scenes
At the end of Footprints, Catherine's relief at being rescued collapses when Lamb explains Charles Partner's betrayal. Reeves discussed how particularly painful it was for Catherine to hear that Partner exploited her alcoholism. Her departure becomes more than an angry answer to another insult: the information destroys a version of her past on which she has depended.
For Series 4, Reeves told TheWrap that she requested an empty weekly calendar in Catherine's home to suggest the lack of activity after leaving work. It is a precise example of using the set to support a performance. In A Stranger Comes to Town, Catherine's care for David Cartwright also reveals how much she can accomplish outside Lamb's office. Reeves described treating David with tenderness as his confusion increases, rather than talking down to him.
Connie in Us
The BBC's Us (2020) gives Reeves a leading role as Connie Petersen opposite Tom Hollander's Douglas. In the broadcaster's interview, she explained how Connie's confidence had developed within a stable marriage, giving her the courage to want a different future. Connie's decision to leave their marriage needs to make sense as her own choice, rather than existing solely as a crisis for the man who thought their life was settled.
Reeves described Connie as someone whose confidence has grown and whose history as an artist remains important. She also emphasised the friendship within the marriage. That combination makes the part more complicated than a simple rejection of Douglas. For viewers who admire Catherine's ability to establish a boundary, Us offers a different woman making a consequential decision and refusing to let somebody else's expectations explain her entire life.
Film, television and stage highlights
Reeves played Natalie in Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes (1991), Linda in I.D. (1995) and Tamara in Our Kind of Traitor (2016). Her agency credits distinguish these parts and their directors, while Apple TV's biography confirms the films' years. Together they provide starting points in intimate drama, a story involving football policing and an espionage film, rather than three interchangeable versions of a familiar television role.
Television credits include Ruth Teller in Luther, Joanna in Wolf Hall and Helen in Roadkill. Reeves also played Lady Jessica in the 2000 television miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune. That credit refers to the earlier small-screen adaptation, a useful distinction when choosing what to watch. Her sustained television work moves between police drama, historical storytelling and science fiction, alongside the contemporary worlds of Us and Slow Horses.
Her stage credits include Beatrice in Cheek by Jowl's Much Ado About Nothing, Viola in Twelfth Night at Manchester's Royal Exchange and Kent in the Globe's King Lear. In 2025 she played Julie opposite Clive Owen's Alfie in David Eldridge's End at the National Theatre. The theatre's archive confirms the role and production. End gives her a two-person dramatic setting, with the relationship itself carrying the evening rather than an expanding television ensemble.
Where to watch next
Us is the strongest starting point for another substantial television role. Close My Eyes offers her early leading film work, Luther places her within a police hierarchy, and Our Kind of Traitor returns to espionage in a different format. Each has a specific reason to choose it. End is a significant recent stage credit to follow in theatre archives, rather than a promise that the production is available to stream.
Questions and answers
Who plays Catherine Standish?
Catherine Standish is performed by Saskia Reeves, whose work in the office ensemble begins with the opening series.
Who does Saskia Reeves play in Us?
Reeves plays Connie Petersen opposite Tom Hollander's Douglas in the BBC adaptation of David Nicholls's novel, released in 2020.
Did Saskia Reeves play Lady Jessica in Dune?
Yes. She played Lady Jessica in the 2000 television miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune.