{"id":11904,"date":"2022-03-08T17:34:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T16:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1598700"},"modified":"2022-03-08T18:01:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T17:01:16","slug":"the-ipcress-file-ending-explained-what-happened-to-harry-palmer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-ipcress-file-ending-explained-what-happened-to-harry-palmer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ipcress File ending explained: What happened to Harry Palmer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Flora Carr\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 08 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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ITV series The Ipcress File<\/a> began on ITV on Sunday 6th March, and while the thriller is airing weekly on the channel, all six episodes are available to binge on ITV Hub right now \u2013 and many viewers have done just that.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re about to delve into the ending of the season, so if you haven\u2019t caught up yet, or you\u2019re watching at broadcast pace, consider yourself warned \u2013 there are big spoilers<\/strong> in this article\u2026<\/p>\n

The Ipcress File concluded its six-part adventure with the discovery and exposure of the \u201cIpcress\u201d plot, involving brainwashing technique with the ultimate aim of assassinating President John F Kennedy.<\/p>\n

Our very own smuggler-turned-spy Harry Palmer (Joe Cole in The Ipcress File cast<\/a>) was the unlucky subject of the brainwashing experiment in the penultimate episode, overseen by a group of traitorous American military intelligence agents, including Paul Maddox (Ashley Thomas).<\/p>\n

In the Sir Michael Caine film<\/a> of the same name, a British intelligence officer called Major Dalby turns out to be the traitor behind the brainwashing plot, but in a departure from the film, the TV show\u2019s version of Dalby (Tom Hollander) turns out to be the one who rescues Harry Palmer in the nick of time\u2026<\/p>

At the end of episode 5, Harry Palmer had escaped into the English countryside following the brainwashing treatment, during which he had distracted himself through pain, pulling at the skin around his thumb. He was discovered by Maddox\u2019s henchman, and Jean Courtney (Lucy Boynton) managed to track both down. Maddox told her that the treatment hadn\u2019t worked, and she was free to take Harry home with her.<\/p>\n

However, it turned out the brainwashing\u00a0had<\/em> succeeded, the plan being that Harry would assassinate the President during his visit to Birch Grove, the real-life countryside residence of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile Dalby learnt that his boss, the Minister for Defence (Paul Higgins), was secretly in the pay of the Americans, but after confronting him he managed to escape and make his way to Birch Grove, where Harry had also been taken under the pretence of an important meeting with the minister.<\/p>\n

Once at Birch Grove, Harry\u2019s brainwashing was triggered, and, from an upstairs vantage point, he aimed a gun at the President\u2019s head. However, Dalby managed to overpower the Minister, before calming down Palmer \u2013 who ultimately shot the American General Cathcart (Maddox\u2019s scheming boss) instead.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n