Helen Flynn, (1977–2002) played by Lisa Faulkner, was a fictional administrative officer in the British BBC spy drama Spooks. The episode involving the violent death of the character sparked many complaints to the BBC.
Helen was a new recruit to MI5 and original flatmate of Danny Hunter. When Section D began investigating a possible race-hate case; Helen and Tom Quinn decide to go undercover posing as teachers of a computer course in order to get further information from the wife of the urban terrorist and suspected ring-leader. Because the original teachers who the team were to take the place of were man-and-wife, it meant Tom would need a wife to go undercover with him.
While Zoe Reynolds would have normally taken such a position (at the time she was completing an assignment with Tessa Phillips); Helen, through being Danny's flatmate and seeing files during her administrative duties, as well as keen to move up through the ranks of the Service; eagerly played the part of Tom's wife during the operation. Unfortunately, Tom and Helen were discovered as spies while in the field, and they were taken to a kitchen for interrogation.
Osborne pressured for information on MI5's infiltration of their group, and when Tom refused to divulge the information he wanted and feined ignorance; he dipped Helen's hand into a deep fat fryer, and when Tom wouldn't give in, dipped her head in as well; burning her face off. Upon removing her from the fryer, Osborne had his henchman shoot her dead with a shot to the back of the head. The entire team was devastated with Helen's death; and so had Osborne killed by Special Branch. Helen's place as Danny's flatmate was later taken by Zoe.