Luminous Lucy is lighting up the screen

THE new ITV version of The Ipcress File is far better than

Len Deighton’s rather strange book and the confusing 1965 film starring Michael Caine.

For once, it captures the recent past almost effortlessly without forcing all the characters to smoke themselves to death.

Every member of the cast is more or less perfect in his or her role, and Lucy Boynton, left, is luminous and subtly witty.

Like so many other things going on at the moment, it makes me long for the enjoyable certainties of the Cold War.