" From Mission: Impossible to Killing Eve, ITV's new version of The Ipcress File joins an illustrious tradition of secret-agent series."
"Every government has its secret service branch," declares John Drake (Patrick McGoohan) in the weekly preamble to Danger Man (1960 to 1968). "America, CIA; France, Deuxième Bureau; England, MI5. A messy job? Well, that's when they usually call on me or someone like me."
The "messy job" of espionage has been a television staple for almost 60 years. ITV's new adaptation of Len Deighton's The Ipcress File may bring back memories of Michael Caine's trio of Harry Palmer pictures at the height of the swinging 60s. But it also continues a rich tradition of spy shows on the small screen."
