Tom Quinn is a fictional character in the BBC espionage television series Spooks (called MI-5 in the United States), which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. He is portrayed by British actor Matthew Macfadyen. In the first two series, Tom is the chief of Section D. The character was in the first and second episode of the third series but was decommissioned as a result of sabotaging an operation.

Series creator David Wolstencroft believed that writing Tom was the most fun, yet hardest to work on. During the second series, the producers were unsure whether Macfadyen would return for the third; because of this, Tom was originally killed in the second series finale. However, when Macfadyen decided to appear in the first two episodes of the third series, series writer Howard Brenton had to "unkill him." Reaction towards the character by fans were positive, though critics were mixed about Macfadyen's portrayal. Tom Quinn would later appear again as a cameo on the final episode of Spooks; his brief return was met with generally positive reactions.

Series creator David Wolstencroft believed that writing Tom was the most fun, yet the hardest work compared with other characters, because he was Spooks' primary protagonist.^[22] Wolstencroft chose a job in Information Technology (IT) as the cover story Tom used in his relationship with Ellie, because he felt that in real life people are reluctant to ask questions about IT work.^[23] To portray the character, actor Matthew Macfadyen followed the scripts, and did not want to deviate from them, as he did not believe doing so would be useful. Macfadyen was also keen to explore parts of Tom from within him for influence.^[22]

During production of the first series, Macfadyen, along with co stars Keeley Hawes and David Oyelowo were wary of playing the lead characters in their mid-twenties, but since felt they earned the right to be in the series.^[24] During production of episodes three and five of the first series, Macfadyen burst a blood vessel on one of his eyes. Macfadyen compensated by wearing sunglasses in order to hide it.^[25] Halfway through filming series two, Macfadyen got to carry a gun for the first time in the series; he was disappointed in not carrying one in the first series.^[26]

Though Macfadyen enjoyed working in the series,^[22] he began to feel "very sluggish and fed up" with playing the same character for two years.^[27] When the producers knew Macfadyen planned to leave, they did not know whether or not he would appear in the beginning of the third series. Howard Brenton, who wrote the series two finale, originally killed Tom off by drowning him while trying to escape onto the North Sea, while labouring under the impression that he was not to return.^[28] The producers would have continued the third series without Tom, however when they heard the actor would be prepared to return for the first two episodes of the third series, they were rewritten to include his character Tom.^[29] Brenton had to "unkill him."^[28] After a seven-year absence, in October 2011, it was announced that Macfadyen was to make a "fleeting" cameo appearance in the final episode of the series. A Spooks insider stated that his scene "will bring back all the memories of Tom and what the character endured in those first few series."^[30]

The character gained Matthew Macfadyen recognition during his tenure on Spooks, but since his departure, Macfadyen stated that "no one notices me now."^[27] Fan reaction of the character proved positive. In the "Best of Drama" viewer polls at BBC Online, Macfadyen was voted fifth in the "Best Actor" category in 2002, ahead of co-star Peter Firth, who was voted 21st.^[31] He would later be voted fourth in 2003,^[32] and then fifth again in 2004; co-star Rupert Penry-Jones was voted third in the same category.^[33] Furthermore, the scene entitled "Tom's death (or was it?)" in the cliffhanger of series two, was voted second in the "Favourite Moment" category in 2003, beaten only by the return of "Dirty Den" Watts in EastEnders.^[34]

Critical reaction towards the character was generally mixed. In a DVD review of the first series, Michael Mackenzie of Home Cinema thought Macfadyen was not a very good actor and believed "he seems to be in some sort of contest with Keanu Reeves to see how long he can maintain the same lifeless facial expression," but thought the character himself, particularly his personal life, mostly worked well for the most part as it continues "as a standard soap opera."^[35] In review of the second series, Dennis Landmann of MovieFreak praised the "drama and intensity that builds around his character," noting Tom's somewhat "haunted soul" and the last five minutes of the last episode "were so powerful they affected how I felt for the next couple of days; I kept thinking about the character and the tragic events that happened to him."^[36] In the third series, Mackenzie praised the episode where Tom tries to clear his name, but thought his exit was "not particularly satisfying."^[37] However, David Blackwell of Enterline Media thought that his farewell scene was "one of [his] best moments of the first two episode (in addition to the way Tom acts in the opening episode)."^[38]

Critical reaction toward Tom's cameo appearance was met with generally positive reviews. Christopher Hootan of Metro opined "the return of Tom Quinn as a hired assassin in the final few seconds was a nice nod to early series of show."^[39] Rob McLaughlin of Den of Geek noted that Tom's return among the final few minutes of the show was "a welcome return from an old friend,"^[40] while Dork Adore reviewer Nick Bryan called it "a nice touch," also reflecting that it "nailed home the central moral: no-one ever escapes from the horror. (Especially since that guy was written out of the show due to an attack of conscience, yet is now doing Harry’s dirty work.)"^[41] Vicky Frost of The Guardian meanwhile, felt the cameo "made no sense at all. Obviously it was super cheesy," but she "obviously" "completely loved it – despite knowing it was coming."^[42]