The term “legend” is typically ascribed to people in admiration of their accomplishments. But for one particular group of legends—British Customs workers who networked with some of the world’s most infamous drug gangs—complete anonymity and secrecy was the difference between life and death.
Now, their story is being finally shared in the aptly named Legends, a six-part series streaming on Netflix starting Thursday, May 7. Starring Steve Coogan and Tom Burke, the drama is based the real story of government workers who assumed fake identities to stop the flow of illicit drugs in the U.K.
While the the achievements of these legends were hidden by design, one of the program’s key figures pulled back the curtain in a recent memoir and inspired the events of the Neil Forsyth-created series. Here’s what we know about the show and its characters.
What Is Netflix’s Legends About?
Legends gives a fictionalized account of how Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise—the department of the British government responsible for customs revenue collection—tried to combat drug smuggling, particularly of heroin, across the country’s borders during the early 1990s.
Customs and Excise created a secret program called Beta Projects in 1989 under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, according to The Times. One of the primary inciting incidents was the death of Olivia Channon, the 22-year-old daughter of trade secretary Paul Channon and a member of the Guinness brewing family. In June 1986, Olivia was found dead in a dormitory at Oxford University. It was later determined she had inhaled heroin and ingested amphetamines at a party.
Rather than recruit elite spies to infiltrate the gangs supplying the drugs, the agency took an unusual approach: putting regular Customs employees through basic training and giving them alternate names so they could go undercover. The new identities became known as their “legends.”
Writer and creator Forsyth wanted to highlight the possible motivations driving standard workers to take on such a risky venture. “They can see how the next 30 years are going to play out for them, and they don’t really fancy it, but they’re not in a position to go down a different route,” he explained to Tudum. “And suddenly, they have this opportunity to do something completely different that satisfies a lot of their unique personal motivations and hopes and dreams, but with it comes an enormous danger, and they can’t resist plunging into that.”
Forsyth consulted real-life “legend” Guy Stanton, weaving his experiences throughout the fictionalized plot.
Who Is Guy Stanton?
The lead infiltrator depicted in Legends is Guy, played by actor Tom Burke. The character is based on Guy Stanton, a real-life Customs worker who documented his experiences in the 2022 book The Betrayer: How an Undercover Unit Infiltrated the Global Drug Trade.
Although he is careful of what he reveals in interviews for his own and his family’s safety, Stanton, now around 69 years old, has offered some details of the lengths required to maintain secrecy. He worked undercover for around a decade, and his parents and siblings had no idea of his true role, he told The Sun in 2022. In addition to their names, legends were given new vehicles, offices, homes, and documents, to help them establish new personas.
Stanton described his fictional persona as “nasty, rude, and arrogant and could explode at any moment.” He was sure to dress well and never “look scruffy.” His wife, Jo, who also worked in Customs, helped prepare his clothing before important meetings (Charlotte Richie plays Sophie, a fictionalized version of Jo, in the series).
Stanton’s first assignment was to infiltrate gangs importing large quantities of heroin from Afghanistan to the U.K. He was paired with an informant nicknamed Keravnos, or Thunderbolt. Eventually, he interacted with drug kingpins from around around the world—including a cousin of Pablo Escobar.
The dangers were very much real: Stanton can’t count the number of times he had a gun placed to his head. “Things like that happen, and I tend to push them away and then get on with it … [When it happens it] calls for de-escalation, because if you got to that point with someone, they’re either not all there or they’re just showing off,” he told The Times. “A lot of the time they do show off, they want to be the big man on the block, and you allow them to be.”
What Happened to Guy Stanton and the Legends Program?
Stanton left Customs in 2005 and now works as a private investigator, according to The Times. He received an MBE title—awarded for an outstanding achievement, or service to the community that has had a long-term, significant impact—for his government work. Other notable individuals to receive the honor include singers Adele and Ed Sheeran and actor Cynthia Erivo.
According to The Sun, however, Stanton was investigated for allegedly taking bribes from his contact, Keravnos. After two years, the query was dropped due to lack of evidence.
Stanton was also diagnosed with leukemia. His current condition hasn’t been made public.
The former undercover agent said some behaviors from his past life, such as always facing doors in public places to avoid a potential ambush, still linger. “And my wife always says that I’ve seen terrible things and terrible people, and I always used to be the ultimate optimist. I think now, sometimes, I’m a bit of a glass-half-empty person,” Stanton told The Times.
By 2005, the Customs and Excise branch merged with Inland Revenue to form a single department: HM Revenue and Customs. Because of the secrecy of the legends program, its accurate timeline and the full scale of its effect on British drug trading is ultimately unknown.
However, Forsyth believes the effort “undoubtedly saved a large number of lives” and made a “significant dent.”
Watch Legends on Netflix Starting May 7
Series creator Forsyth spoke directly with Stanton during the development of Legends. “I immediately got a sense of the human journey that he and others had taken in this remarkable story,” Forsyth told Tudum.
You can watch the legends’ journeys when all six episodes of the series begin streaming Thursday, May 7, on Netflix. The series stars Tom Burke as Guy, Steve Coogan as Don, and Hayley Squires as Kate.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
