PICK OF THE DAY

SUMMER OF ROCKETS, 9PM, BBC2

STEPHEN POLIAKOFF’S new semi-autobiographical drama is set during the Cold War, in the tumultuous year of 1958, when America joined the space race. Toby Stephens stars as Russian emigre Samuel Petrukhin, a businessman and inventor with grand ideas and a determination to see his family climbing the social ladder. In the first of six episodes, a chance encounter at the races with Conservative MP Richard Shaw (Linus Roache) and his wife, Kathleen (Keeley Hawes, pictured with Stephens), opens doors for the Petrukhins, but this new friendship also attracts attention. Can Samuel resist the lure of intrigue?