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MICHAEL SHANNON (right), who is in talks to play an Israeli agent in the BBC TV drama series based on John le Carre’s 1983 novel The Little Drummer Girl.

This column was first to tell you about director Park Chan-wook’s six-part adaptation of Le Carre’s story of Charlie: a young British actress persuaded to join what’s termed the ‘theatre of the real’ by Mossad spy chief Kurtz — the part Shannon might play — and become a double agent to help track down a Palestinian terrorist. Kurtz and his team create an elaborate back story to help Charlie infiltrate the terrorists, led by the enigmatic Khalil.

Florence Pugh will be playing Charlie. Ms Pugh is up for a best actress honour at Sunday night’s British Independent Film Awards for her role in director William Oldroyd’s much garlanded Lady Macbeth. She also just finished filming King Lear with Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and Emily Watson for Richard Eyre and producer Colin Callender (it will air on BBC2 next year).

Shannon, meanwhile, will be seen with the brilliant Sally Hawkins in Guillermo del Toro’s visual poem The Shape Of Water ( out on February 16), which is one of several strong contenders for a best picture Oscar.