The Night Manager: The terror subsides ...

Tense? TENSE? I don’t think I’ve ever gripped the arms of my sofa so hard, nor spent so long on the edges of it. The Night Manager came to an extremely satisfying conclusion after six tortuous weeks.

As Pine’s thumb hovered over the call button on that mobile phone, a nation collectively held its breath, waiting for the ‘Boom’ that came so gloriously. You’d have thought Roper would have shot Pine then and there, but the key to this show was the complexity of their relationship. His “Oh, you beauty!” to Pine the acknowledgment of his protege playing the game better than he.

I wasn’t the only one full of both raw nerves and admiration: Twitter was universal in its praise. And, as usual, comic in its review of the show, from calls for Olivia Colman to be the next Bond, to Pine’s next challenge:

In a season of extraordinary drama on the BBC, The Night Manager will be a massive favourite for the many TV awards at the end of the year. Across the board too - from acting to direction and design - the whole production was classy, exciting and beautifully crafted.

But should there be a Series 2? My initial reaction, Oh God Yes Please Of Course - has now mellowed into a mm. I’m not sure. Roper could still be alive, but Pine can hardly go undercover there again. And it was the Roper/Pine/Burr combination that was so irresistible.

The BBC are in conversation with The Ink Factory, the production company owned by le Carre’s sons, so it seems a real possibility - with the sequel featuring ‘some of the characters’ from Series 1. Much as I’d love to see Hiddleston and Laurie together again, given the choice, Burr, up against the traitors within and with a new hero to back her up, could create something equally original and spectacular. But if we have to have Tom Hiddleston back, well, I guess I could cope with that!

The changing of the ending from the book completely scuppered my idea for a sequel - but since it involved the offspring of Burr and Roper, you’d have had to wait about 20 years for it. I might write it anyway, just for fun.

So what next for Sunday evenings? A nice warmhearted show we can all relax to? No, don’t be ridiculous - Undercover looks set to ratchet up the suspense again. Best get your cushions reinforced.

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