New Le Carré is on the way.

When we sit down and ponder the shows that we’re really looking forward to seeing in 2018, one of the first that springs to mind is the BBC’s next big Le Carré adaptation, The Little Drummer Girl.

The Beeb appears to have gone all-out on what is, spiritually at least, it’s follow-up to The Night Manager, roping in an top-notch cast – including Michael Shannon and Alexander Skarsgård – and, in Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, The Handmaiden), an enthralling director of the highest order. One whose previous form puts him near the top of the tree when it comes to weaving tense, off-kilter, stories interspersed with flashes of arresting violence.

Thus, we bring the happy news that filming on the six-part drama has now begun, as heralded by a BBC press release. There was also word on social media that parts of Islington, London had been set-dressed – no doubt by the series’ Oscar-nominated production designer, Maria Djurkovic (The Imitation Game, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) – to depict the show’s 70s setting

Surreal Cold War scenes in Barnsbury Islington tonight as streets are being filled with 60s cars and retro phone boxes for the filming of the new John le Carré film ‘The Little Drummer Girl’.

— Jon Lys Turner (@jonlysturner) February 8, 2018

The thriller will, we’re told, go on to film further afield across Europe over the coming weeks.