HARRY'S GAME

Joe Cole stars as Cold War spy Harry Palmer in a taut new version of espionage thriller The Ipcres

- CAREN CLARK

NEW DRAMA

The Ipcress File

Sunday, ITV HD, 9pm

Nerve-jangling Cold War tensions and shady double-dealings are at the heart of ITV’s action-packed, stylish adaptation of classic spy tale The Ipcress File.

Based on Len Deighton’s acclaimed novel (see panel, right), the six-part series is set in 1963 when the conflict between East and West is at its height, and stars Joe Cole as working class university graduate-turned soldier Harry Palmer.

It’s a role that was famously played by Sir Michael Caine in the 1965 movie version, and Cole – best known for Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London – admits that taking on Harry was an eyeopening experience.

LEGACY

‘I was aware of the imagery of Michael Caine in the glasses and the mac, but I didn’t know a great deal about the character,’ he reveals. ‘Speaking to some of my family members – my dad was a big fan – it became apparent how iconic Harry is and what a fantastic role it would be.’

The series begins with streetsmart Korean War veteran Harry serving in the Army in Berlin – only for him to be arrested for dealing on the black market and sent to a military prison in the UK. But his fortunes change when he is visited by mysterious William Dalby (The Night Manager’s Tom Hollander), who is the head of a covert intelligence agency.

Dalby needs Harry’s help to locate a missing nuclear scientist who is vital to both the US and Russia and who appears to have been kidnapped by one of Harry’s black-market contacts.