The Secret Service was a British children's espionage television series.The series follows the adventures of Father Stanley Unwin, the parish priest of a rural English village. Affecting the appearance of an eccentric middle-aged vicar, Unwin moonlights as a secret agent for BISHOP (British Intelligence Service Headquarters, Operation Priest), a top-secret division of British Intelligence based in Whitehall. Answering to his superior, "The Bishop", Unwin is stationed at his vicarage with Matthew Harding – another agent who, when not assisting the Father on missions, adopts the manner of a simple gardener. Supporting characters include Blake, a junior BISHOP operative, and Mrs Appleby, the Father's ageing housekeeper, who is unaware of Unwin and Harding's involvement with British Intelligence.