THEY are the James Bond wannabes who are learning what it takes to succeed in the world of espionage.

But the would-be agents appearing in the new Channel 4 series Spies have had their cover blown - after just one episode.

Today the Daily Echo can reveal that their top-secret base is a disused industrial building on the edge of Southampton Water.

Members of the production team say they chose the building because they loved its “brutalist architecture”.

Several parts of Fawley Power Station appear in the show, including the huge turbine hall and a large circular control room that resembles a flying saucer.

The site’s new screen role comes three years after the facility featured in another spy drama - the movie Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation starring Hollywood legend Tom Cruise as special agent Ethan Hunt.

Filmmakers were based at Fawley for almost a month, most of which was taken up with painstaking preparation.

Following six days of actual filming, the power station appears in the movie for about eight minutes.

One of the scenes features 53-year-old Cruise leaping off a crane and diving into a whirlpool - courtesy of groundbreaking special effects.

Now the huge building - which closed several years ago after failing to meet new environmental standards - has switched from the silver screen to the small screen.

Those involved in the making of Spies spent four weeks at the site last September.

Described by one reviewer as a “Soviet-looking” facility the power station is the perfect backdrop for the gritty drama.

The four-part series shows the budding 007s being taught by three former intelligence officers known collectively as Control.

In the first episode the trainees had to covertly follow someone in a busy market. This week they will explore the “moral ambiguity” of espionage work, with Control ordering some of them to inform on their colleagues.

Fawley resident Mike Cooper said: “I saw a trailer for the show and spotted the control room, which is very recognisable.

“I watched the first episode because of the local connection. It was quite enjoyable - it always is when a film or TV show features a building you know very well.

“They appear to have used all the power station, primarily the control room but the main building itself - including some of the stairways.”

One of the people who appears in the show is Beverely Brackpool, 44, of Bournemouth.

She said: “It was really good fun. I was lucky enough to be trained by some astonishingly clever intelligence officers.”

A Channel 4 spokesman confirmed that the power station appears in the show. He added: “We loved the brutalist architecture and it had the look and feel we were going for.”