ITV’s latest thriller The Ipcress File is set to have viewers experiencing a whirlwind of emotions due to the number of twists and turns within – and we can’t wait.
Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole takes the lead alongside Bohemian Rhapsody’s Lucy Boynton, and Pride & Prejudice actor Tom Hollander.
The six-parter follows British army sergeant Harry Palmer (Cole) imprisoned for doing shady deals in Berlin during the Cold War.
He is soon offered the chance to work for British intelligence, however, as an alternative to serving his prison sentence.
The eagerly-anticipated series, directed by Bafta-winning writer John Hodge, starts on Sunday, March 6 on ITV.
But who wrote the book?
Who wrote the Ipcress File?
The Ipcress File is based on Len Deighton’s 1962 novel of the same name, and was also Deighton’s first book.
Since then, the award-winning author has immersed himself in various genres from, history, cookery, and military but his main passion was spy literature.
The book tells the story of an unnamed protagonist, who is an intelligence agent for a small civilian agency reporting directly to the British Cabinet.
Trying to uncover who is behind the high-profile kidnappings, the protagonist embarks on a dangerous mission that takes him around the world, as the Cold War intensifies.
In 1992, Deighton said that the inspiration to write the novel came from his neighbour, who was a White Russian emigrant who collaborated with a code clerk from the American embassy to spy for Germany in World War II.
The plot involves mind control, with the acronym IPCRESS of the title standing for Induction of Psycho-neuroses by Conditioned Reflex under Stress.
The character first gained attention when Michael Caine played the role in three films in the 1960s and two in the 1990s.
Despite it being a cult classic, the film is seen as an ‘anti-James Bond’ film, as it rips away the glamour and class of the 007 espionage films to make way for a fairly gritty and morbid spy thriller.
The Ipcress File airs at 9pm on Sunday, March 6 on ITV.
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