{"id":223448,"date":"2026-01-02T13:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/223448\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T13:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:03:59","slug":"matthew-macfadyens-engaging-spy-drama-based-on-absurd-true-story-is-a-must-see-on-tv-tonight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/223448\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Macfadyen’s “engaging” spy drama based on “absurd” true story is a must-see on TV tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Operation Mincemeat, the “engaging” spy drama starring Matthew Macfadyen and Colin Firth, is on TV tonight. With a fascinating real-life story and a stacked British cast, this one is a must-see!<\/p>\n

The 2021 film<\/a>, based on Ben Macintyre’s 2010 novel of the same name, sees the respective actors portray Charles Cholmondeley and Ewen Montagu, a pair of intelligence officers working during World War II.<\/p>\n

In a bid to gain the upper hand in the war, Charles and Ewen devise a plan to wrongfoot Nazi Germany by implementing a ruse, with the ultimate aim being to disguise the Allied invasion of Sicily. <\/p>\n

Directed by John Madden with a screenplay by Michelle Ashford, Operation Mincemeat<\/a> will air tonight at 9pm on BBC Two, and will be added to streaming service<\/a> BBC iPlayer soon after.<\/p>\n

In addition to Macfadyen and Firth, the stacked cast for the spy drama includes Kelly Macdonald, Penelope Wilton, Johnny Flynn, Jason Isaacs, Mark Bonnar, Mark Gatiss and Simon Russell Beale. <\/p>\n

\"matthew<\/p>\n

See-Saw Films Limited\/Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

Related: Best film and TV tours for 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Though only a modest success at the box office, Operation Mincemeat was a hit with professional critics, with Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> currently reporting an impressive approval rating of 83% from 115 reviews. <\/p>\n

“The story itself is so absurd and is told with enough surprises and dry humour that it\u2019s constantly engaging,” wrote RogerEbert.com<\/a>, while The Times<\/a> called it a “brisk and jolly affair”.<\/p>\n

“Operation Mincemeat is a genuine surprise package – and prompts nostalgia, if not for the war, then for an almost equally distant era of skilfully crafted entertainment,” said The Age Australia<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"operation<\/p>\n

Giles Keyte\/\/Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

Related: 5 movies you must see in January on Netflix, Prime Video and more, including “gripping” thriller<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> was also full of praise, writing: “A far more decorous affair than its macho-burger title would suggest, this is a classy production with a first-rate ensemble cast, splicing the story\u2019s intrigue with a poignant vein of melodrama.”<\/p>\n

“The wholesome mood of spiffing pluck reminds us of the best of those British war movies actually made within shouting distance of 1945, before the country turned the genre into an industry,” wrote The Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Operation Mincemeat airs at 9pm on BBC Two before streaming on BBC iPlayer.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating music icon Dolly Parton, is here! Buy Dolly at 80 in newsagents or online<\/a>, priced at just \u00a38.99.<\/p>\n

\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n

Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies<\/a> and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. \u00a0His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible<\/a> and John Wick<\/a> to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Operation Mincemeat, the “engaging” spy drama starring Matthew Macfadyen and Colin Firth, is on TV tonight. With a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1105,115253,1107,93,61,60,1135,115252,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-223448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-595d65f9-4f4a-42b2-8006-d72118d39934","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-locale-gb","15":"tag-shorttitle-matthew-macfadyens-spy-drama-is-on-tv-tonight","16":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}