Is The Ipcress File based on a true story? Historical context explained

Set in Berlin and London during the 1960s, the drama follows Palmer as he's conscripted for a dangerous undercover mission that takes him from the Beatles' London to the Berlin Wall, and from the back alleys of Beirut to the white-hot sand of a Nuclear Atoll in the Pacific.

Emmy-winning director James Watkins said of the drama: "We can’t wait to bring Len Deighton’s intoxicating web of spies – sexier than Smiley's people, more real than Bond – 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."

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.

Is The Ipcress File based on a true story?

While influenced by real-life events, The Ipcress File is based on the book by Len Deighton, the first in his series of spy novels introducing the iconic British spy Harry Palmer, set against the backdrop of Cold War Europe.

The story is described as a "tense tale of abducted scientists, brainwashing, inter-departmental rivalry, treason, and a possibly unwise romance". It follows Harry Palmer as he embarks on an undercover mission.

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, stripping away the glamour of the 007 movies to create a more authentic and gritty depiction of the life of an undercover spy.

Cole said of Palmer being 'anti-Bond' at a press event for the drama: "I think he's, you know, he doesn't have a lot of money. He's from a working-class background. He's operating in a different world with different classes. He's hyper-intelligent and he's fun, and for me, the most important thing was trying to capture that."

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's 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.

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's undercover neighbour.

The Ipcress File director James Watkins recently revealed that the opening of the first episode contains “a little wink” to Caine.

Speaking at a press event attended by RadioTimes.com, Watkins (McMafia) confirmed that the opening shot of Harry Palmer's glasses in episode 1 was a deliberate nod to Caine, who also wore glasses in the role of Palmer.

"[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, 'OK, now here it is. Harry Palmer is Joe Cole, here is a new iteration and enjoy this,'" he said.

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 coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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