The Night Manager

Here’s a man who’s always ready to proffer a quick smile that tells you nothing of what he is thinking as he glides by with a presence so ethereal you hardly register he’s there. In short, Brit abroad and former soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is the ideal night manager for an upmarket hotel. But it’s 2011, Cairo is torn apart by riots and political upheaval, and the swish establishment in the city centre where he goes about his work is swiftly emptying out its guests. So begins this updated adaptation of John le Carré’s The Night Manager (Sunday, BBC One, 9pm), and while global events have reshaped the 1993 novel’s story, the villain remains ‘the worst man in the world’ – arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), who will trade deathdealing materials with anyone, for the right price.

How Pine rediscovers his backbone and comes to the aid of Queen and country – or at least the greater good – is, as you might guess, dependent on a woman, or to be precise two women. In Egypt the beautiful Sophie betrays the secrets of her lover, a nefarious associate of Roper, to Pine – but then it’s gruff London spymaster Burr (Olivia Colman) who preys upon his conscience. With quietly impressive command, Hiddleston holds the centre of a compelling thriller that has rare heart and depth, and by the time he’s kicked into action mode in episode two you’ll mark that there’s a new contender to be the next James Bond.

---

NOT TO BE MISSED...