Kelly Macdonald's role in this episode largely came about because a lot of the show's writers had enjoyed seeing her in the BBC mini-series State of Play (2003).
When the agents' prey in Morocco explodes in front of them in the opening teaser, the actors are showered with cereal.
This episode features a nod to the Dennis Potter series The Singing Detective (1986) when Sydney - playing a nurse - is asked to lube up a patient with a gross skin condition.