The commission comes after the spy thriller became Sky’s most watched original series in the UK. It launched on 14 November and drew 3 million viewers in its first week. It’s also been a global hit and sold to almost 200 territories.

Eddie Redmayne won plaudits for playing the elusive and highly-skilled assassin known as the Jackal, whose latest hit job puts himself in the crosshairs of an equally skilled British intelligence officer.

A cat-and-mouse game ensues across Europe, with Lashana Lynch also “terrific,” said critic Roger Ebert, as the cat to Redmayne’s mouse. It’s “a top-notch thriller,” opined TV Line, “with dazzling action sequences and smart storytelling.”

Úrsula Corberó, Charles Dance, Richard Dormer, Chukwudi Iwuji, Lia Williams, Khalid Abdalla, Eleanor Matsuura, Jonjo O’Neill and Sule Rimi also feature across the ten parts.

Writer Ronan Bennett adapted the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name, while Brian Kirk was lead director.