No matter how many times you encounter it, the true story of the Cambridge spies never fails to astound. The story has been told again in Ben Macintyre’s book, A Spy Among Friends, the television adaptation of which comes to an end on Sunday.

Before the final episode there is a chance to check fiction against fact with the documentary The Real Spies Among Friends (STV Sunday, 8pm).

The hour begins with news footage of Kim Philby (played in the drama by Guy Pearce) being buried in Moscow with full military honours. It was a hero’s funeral for a man regarded in the west as a traitor beyond compare.

Philby, and Cambridge, were targeted by Moscow from early on. The Russians believed that recruiting from one of Britain’s most elite institutions was an investment that would pay off handsomely for years to come, and they were right. Ben McIntyre, one of a stellar band of expert commentators that includes former agents from the KGB, CIA, and MI5, says: “If you had an education from Cambridge you had a passport to power. Moscow understood that.”

On graduation, the fledgling spies duly strolled into plum jobs in Westminster and Whitehall and got to work. The Soviets could not believe how keen they were. One ex-KGB officer recalls “heaps” of material stuffed into suitcases.

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Years passed, the Second World War ended and a new Cold War began. This was the point where the drama opened, with Philby’s oldest friend, Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis), being sent to Beirut to bring the by now unmasked traitor back to Britain.

Yet Philby ended up on a boat to Russia. Like the rest of the spy ring, he had cheated justice. And what of Elliott? Had Philby strung him along, waiting for a chance to make his escape, or was MI6 there to help him go? After all, had Elliott succeeded in bringing his quarry back, the resulting trial would have severely embarrassed the British state.

More than half a century on, and questions about the Cambridge spies keep on coming.

One of the sleeper hits of summer 2023 was Colin from Accounts, an Aussie rom-com created, written and starring husband and wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer.

No Activity (BBC2, Thursday, 10pm) is one the couple made earlier. It’s a dopey cops and clueless robbers number in which Brammall plays Hendy, one of two detectives on a stakeout waiting for a drugs shipment that never arrives. Meanwhile, back at the station, new start April (Dyer) is learning the ins and outs of police radio.

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After the success of Colin from Accounts, No Activity, first shown on the BBC in 2018, is having yet another run around the block (it was previously reworked for the American market).

It is not as polished as Colin, or as sweet. There’s too much blokey banter for that. But given time (episode two is this week, with episode one on iPlayer) it might grow on you.

Among those making their Fringe debut this month are Kyle Falconer and his partner Laura Wilde. Falconer is at home on the stage from his years as the frontman for the band The View, but this time it won’t be him under the spotlight in Edinburgh. Actors will play Falconer and Wilde in a musical, No Love Songs, written by Wilde with songs from Falconer.

In an accompanying documentary, Kyle Falconer: Love and Chaos (BBC Scotland, 10pm), the cameras follow the couple as they put the semi-autobiographical show together. It has been a trying time for the band - see headlines about a certain “brotherly bust-up” on stage in Manchester recently - and for Laura, left at home with three young children, but they are determined to see the show, No Love Songs, reach the stage.

For another take on the rock and roll life there’s The Great Songwriters (Sky Arts, Friday, 9pm), which this week looks at Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen.

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McCulloch speaks to Paul Toogood about the band’s classic tracks and where they came from, beginning with The Killing Moon, humbly described by its creator as “the greatest song ever written”. After the chat comes the performance.

Next it’s Bring on the Dancing Horses, then a discussion of two of his favourite albums, Hunky Dory and Transformer, followed by a look at Proud to Fall and An Unstoppable Force.

McCulloch is fascinating, and often very funny, when zeroing in on where he finds inspiration. He writes every day but has no patience with novels. “I can’t stand reading for three pages how someone got up and made a cup of coffee.”

Often it’s crosswords and quizzes that give his writing muscles a workout, though only certain ones. “Have you seen Only Connect?” he asks. “What the sod is that all about?”

Next week the songs of Steve Earle are given the up close and personal treatment, followed by Linda Perry and Kenny Loggins. Wonder what Mr McCulloch makes of Footloose?