Producer of Israeli spy thriller found dead in Athens hotel

The co-creator of an Israeli hit TV series has been found dead in a hotel room in Athens where the fourth season of the spy thriller is being filmed. Dana Eden, 52, was discovered by her brother late on Sunday, Greek police said, attributing her death to suicide.Her passing was described as “a moment of great sorrow for the family, friends, and colleagues” by Donna and Shula Productions, the international production company set up by Eden.After Israeli media reports of Greek police investigating a possible link to Iran, the company also took the unusual step of ruling out “a criminal or nationalistic-related death”, saying rumours that were circulating “are not true and are unfounded”.In such circumstances an autopsy is automatically carried out with results backed up by an official investigation.Within hours, police had launched an official inquiry, taking testimony from hotel staff and ordering security camera footage to be handed over. A police spokesperson, Constantina Dimoglidou, appeared to rule out foul play telling outlets that the producer’s brother had spoken of his sister being on medication for a condition that had hospitalised her in the past.The award-winning TV executive, who won an Emmy for producing the Apple TV series Tehran, was a prominent figure in Israel’s flourishing TV industry. She had been in Athens since 4 February working on the latest season of the spy thriller.The country’s public broadcaster, KAN, said: “We are saddened by the passing of our friend and partner in a long line of productions, series, and programmes.“Dana was among the senior figures in the Israeli television industry and played a central role in creating and leading some of the corporation’s most prominent and influential productions.”Tehran, starring Niv Sultan as the Mossad agent Tamar Rabinyan, tells the story of an Iranian-born spy brought up in Israel and recruited to infiltrate Iran to dismantle the country’s burgeoning nuclear programme.The series, which saw Glenn Close star in the second season, has been described by the New York Times as so persuasively plausible in its portrayal of Israel’s famed intelligence agency that “even the FBI director endorsed it”. The Iranian regime has repeatedly criticised the show as Zionist propaganda.From its inception, Tehran had been filmed in Athens, the location production teams believed came closest to resembling the Iranian capital with its web of “narrow residential streets and alleys and wide boulevards and squares”. Both cities are surrounded by mountains and have a shared chaos suffused with a similar Mediterranean light.The thriller series has attracted such audiences that Apple TV decided to finance a fourth season in December.KAN said Eden’s contribution to the industry would not be forgotten easily.“Her professional and personal legacy will continue to shape Israeli television for many years to come,” it said. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org