Emilia Fox first made an impression on American audiences when she appeared in Pride and Prejudice as Georgianna, the sister of Mr. Darcy, played by Colin Firth. Part of a British acting family (her parents are Edward Fox and Joanna David, her brother, Freddie Fox, and her cousin, Laurence Fox), she has an impressive resume in theatre, TV, and film. Since 2004, she’s played the forensic pathologist Dr, Nikki Alexander, on the long running hit, Silent Witness. Her most recent role is in the Acorn TV series playing Sylvia Fox, a British spy who travels to Italy for her niece’s wedding and ends up putting down roots.
Filmed in Panicale, 35 kilometers from Perugia in the Italian region of Umbria, the scenery is breathtaking. The small city is located on the eastern slope of Mount Petrarvella, and overlooks the stunning Lake Trasimeno. Sylvia’s sister, Isabel Vitale (Tara Fitzgerald), is married to Matteo Vitale (Matteo Carlomagno), the local doctor, and they live in a magnificent villa that has been in Matteo’s family for centuries.
Sylvia says she’s a boring government employee, but she’s actually a spy working for MI6. When the groom fails to appear on her niece’s wedding day, Sylvia takes it upon herself to find him. Instead, she finds the body of a man floating in a lake. Turns out the groom has been living under an assumed identity, so any number of suspects might have wanted him gone.
Two people aren’t fooled by Sylvia’s act as a bored office worker. Her sister has known for a long time that Sylvia is a spy. She became fluent in Arabic and was often gone for long stretches of time, unavailable even to her family. Her sister has never forgiven her for not being there when their mother died.
The other person who has Sylvia figure out is Capitano Rivo, the head of Panicale’s carabinieri, the local police. Doing a little digging, he quickly uncovers that Sylvia has a security clearance given to only those working in British intelligence. But it’s when he sees Sylvia in action that he truly appreciates her intellect and skills. He renames her Signora Volpe, after her animal counterpart.
Rivo is played by Giovanni Cirfiera, whose resume includes playing Gianni Agnelli in the James Mangold film, Ford v Ferrari, and Santo Versace in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. HIs dark, handsome good looks, accentuated by the carabinieri uniform, sets up the perfect romantic interest for Sylvia. And, of course, her relatives are eager to see her married off to the respectable police captain.
Fox, the actor, gets to show off her physical side, subduing even villains who outweigh her, while giving chase and overtaking the young men hoping to avoid her questions. And in the very first episode, she also proves she’s a crack shot with a revolver.
Since the series takes place in Umbria, there has to be an episode featuring one of the region’s most famous foods, black truffles. In season one’s third episode, Sylvia has employed two local men to restore the broken down mansion she’s bought. They ask her for a favor – to find their father’s truffle-hunting pig that has gone missing. She does and her reward? Truffles, of course.
A series filmed anywhere in Italy must feature the food, and what we see in these two seasons include many of the region’s signature dishes. There’s also lots of gelato, spooned out by Raffaela Tasso (Marianne Leoni) whose shop is a cover for her side job, supplying tools of the trade for a spy like Sylvia.
Top photo: Shutterstock Fred Duval
London, United Kingdom – May 11, 2025: Emilia Fox attend the 2025 BAFTA Television Awards at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England.
