The series is the second major adaptation of Len Deighton\u2019s novel of the same name \u2013 following the 1965 film version starring Sir Michael Caine \u2013 and chronicles events after a British sergeant is offered a position as a spy to avoid serving prison time.<\/p>\n
Set in Berlin and London during the 1960s, the drama follows Palmer as he\u2019s conscripted for a dangerous undercover mission that takes him from the Beatles\u2019 London to the Berlin Wall, and from the back alleys of Beirut to the white-hot sand of a Nuclear Atoll in the Pacific.<\/p>\n
Emmy-winning director James Watkins said of the drama: \u201cWe can\u2019t wait to bring Len Deighton\u2019s intoxicating web of spies \u2013 sexier than Smiley\u2019s people, more real than Bond \u2013 to a wider television audience. With his sly wit and understated integrity clashing against the establishment, working-class spy Harry Palmer is more relevant than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining Cole in the six-part series is Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) as Jean, BAFTA award-winning actor Tom Hollander (The Night Manager, Bird Box) as Dalby, Ashley Thomas (NYPD Blue, Top Boy, Salvation) as Maddox, and David Dencik (McMafia, Face to Face, Chernobyl) as Colonel Stok.<\/p>
\u00a0Is The Ipcress File based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile influenced by real-life events, The Ipcress File is based on the book by Len Deighton<\/a>, the first in his series of spy novels introducing the iconic British spy Harry Palmer, set against the backdrop of Cold War Europe.<\/p>\nThe story is described as a \u201ctense tale of abducted scientists, brainwashing, inter-departmental rivalry, treason, and a possibly unwise romance\u201d. It follows Harry Palmer as he embarks on an undercover mission.<\/p>\n
![\""The-Ipcress-File"\"]( "\\"\"The-Ipcress-File\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Michael Caine as Harry Palmer in the film The Ipcress File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nFans will likely recall the original 1965 film adaptation starring the legendary Sir Michael Caine in the role of Harry Palmer. The cult classic was considered as the antithesis of James Bond<\/a>, stripping away the glamour of the 007 movies to create a more authentic and gritty depiction of the life of an undercover spy.<\/p>\nCole said of Palmer being \u2018anti-Bond\u2019 at a press event for the drama: \u201cI think he\u2019s, you know, he doesn\u2019t have a lot of money. He\u2019s from a working-class background. He\u2019s operating in a different world with different classes. He\u2019s hyper-intelligent and he\u2019s fun, and for me, the most important thing was trying to capture that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the novel was written and published in the early 1960s during the height of Cold War tensions, it is inspired by real-life events, such as the threat of nuclear annihilation, featuring the nuclear testing by the United States on remote islands, and the Soviet Union\u2019s first atomic bomb Joe One. Detailing the geopolitical tension between the US and the Soviet Union, it also exposes the dirty tactics of brainwashing, which was being deployed on both sides of the Iron Curtain.<\/p>\n
In 1992, Deighton revealed that the inspiration for his novel came from his neighbour, a Russian emigrant who teamed up with a clerk from the American Embassy to become a spy for Germany during World War II. In the novels, film, and TV series, Palmer is enlisted as a spy to avoid his sentencing of eight years in a grim military jail in England, which echoes the story of Deighton\u2019s undercover neighbour.<\/p>\n
![\""Joe\"]( "\\"\"THE_IPCRESS_FILE_Joe_cole\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Joe Cole as Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nThe Ipcress File director James Watkins recently revealed that the opening of the first episode contains \u201ca little wink\u201d to Caine<\/a>.<\/p>\nSpeaking at a press event attended by\u00a0RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Watkins (McMafia) confirmed that the opening shot of Harry Palmer\u2019s glasses in episode 1 was a deliberate nod to Caine, who also wore glasses in the role of Palmer.<\/p>\n\u201c[It was a] little wink, yeah, and also the fact that when you cut to Joe [Cole], the gaze is out of focus and then it finds focus when he puts the glasses on. So we just wanted to sort of tip our hat to that. But then also to say, \u2018OK, now here it is. Harry Palmer is Joe Cole, here is a new iteration and enjoy this,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nThe Ipcress File airs on ITV on Sunday night at 9pm and is available to stream now as a box set on ITV Hub. Check out more of our Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Naomi Gordon Published: Monday, 07 March 2022 at 12:00 am ITV\u2019s espionage thriller The Ipcress File, starring Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole as iconic British spy Harry Palmer, debuted with episode 1 on Sunday night (6th March). The series is the second major adaptation of Len Deighton\u2019s novel of the same name \u2013 following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":11817,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Naomi Gordon Published: Monday, 07 March 2022 at 12:00 am ITV\u2019s espionage thriller The Ipcress File, starring Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole as iconic British spy Harry Palmer, debuted with episode 1 on Sunday night (6th March). The series is the second major adaptation of Len Deighton\u2019s novel of the same name \u2013 following…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/11816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The story is described as a \u201ctense tale of abducted scientists, brainwashing, inter-departmental rivalry, treason, and a possibly unwise romance\u201d. It follows Harry Palmer as he embarks on an undercover mission.<\/p>\n
![\""The-Ipcress-File"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/The-Ipcress-File-d539f1f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C400"\" "\\"\"The-Ipcress-File\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Fans will likely recall the original 1965 film adaptation starring the legendary Sir Michael Caine in the role of Harry Palmer. The cult classic was considered as the antithesis of James Bond<\/a>, stripping away the glamour of the 007 movies to create a more authentic and gritty depiction of the life of an undercover spy.<\/p>\n Cole said of Palmer being \u2018anti-Bond\u2019 at a press event for the drama: \u201cI think he\u2019s, you know, he doesn\u2019t have a lot of money. He\u2019s from a working-class background. He\u2019s operating in a different world with different classes. He\u2019s hyper-intelligent and he\u2019s fun, and for me, the most important thing was trying to capture that.\u201d<\/p>\n As the novel was written and published in the early 1960s during the height of Cold War tensions, it is inspired by real-life events, such as the threat of nuclear annihilation, featuring the nuclear testing by the United States on remote islands, and the Soviet Union\u2019s first atomic bomb Joe One. Detailing the geopolitical tension between the US and the Soviet Union, it also exposes the dirty tactics of brainwashing, which was being deployed on both sides of the Iron Curtain.<\/p>\n In 1992, Deighton revealed that the inspiration for his novel came from his neighbour, a Russian emigrant who teamed up with a clerk from the American Embassy to become a spy for Germany during World War II. In the novels, film, and TV series, Palmer is enlisted as a spy to avoid his sentencing of eight years in a grim military jail in England, which echoes the story of Deighton\u2019s undercover neighbour.<\/p>\n The Ipcress File director James Watkins recently revealed that the opening of the first episode contains \u201ca little wink\u201d to Caine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking at a press event attended by\u00a0RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Watkins (McMafia) confirmed that the opening shot of Harry Palmer\u2019s glasses in episode 1 was a deliberate nod to Caine, who also wore glasses in the role of Palmer.<\/p>\n \u201c[It was a] little wink, yeah, and also the fact that when you cut to Joe [Cole], the gaze is out of focus and then it finds focus when he puts the glasses on. So we just wanted to sort of tip our hat to that. But then also to say, \u2018OK, now here it is. Harry Palmer is Joe Cole, here is a new iteration and enjoy this,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Ipcress File airs on ITV on Sunday night at 9pm and is available to stream now as a box set on ITV Hub. Check out more of our Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Naomi Gordon Published: Monday, 07 March 2022 at 12:00 am ITV\u2019s espionage thriller The Ipcress File, starring Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole as iconic British spy Harry Palmer, debuted with episode 1 on Sunday night (6th March). The series is the second major adaptation of Len Deighton\u2019s novel of the same name \u2013 following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":11817,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/is-the-ipcress-file-based-on-a-true-story-historical-context-explained-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Naomi Gordon Published: Monday, 07 March 2022 at 12:00 am ITV\u2019s espionage thriller The Ipcress File, starring Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole as iconic British spy Harry Palmer, debuted with episode 1 on Sunday night (6th March). The series is the second major adaptation of Len Deighton\u2019s novel of the same name \u2013 following…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/11816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Joe\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/THE_IPCRESS_FILE_Joe_cole-b885e37.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"THE_IPCRESS_FILE_Joe_cole\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"