Very sorry but Eddie Izzard is not someone I see flourishing in the world of espionage, never mind being embedded behind the Iron Curtain.

Just infiltrating an all-girls school in Bexhill is a struggle. It's the summer of 1939 and when the previous English teacher is found dead, Agent Izzard is installed as the new master at an all German finishing school for the daughters of prominent Nazis.

The assignment is to have a shufty and see what they're up to, but I think we must question some of the spycraft here. For example, when you manage to overhear them listening to Nazi propaganda on the radio and making the 'seig heils', surely it's bad form to hang around in the doorway where some of them can see you?

The remarkable true story of The Augusta Victoria College has been something of a passion project for Izzard, who co-scripts with director Goddard and co-star Celyn Jones. Once heard about, it is too quirky a scenario to drop, but wrapping it up in an overblown thriller plot where coincidence and chance abound kills the interest. 2/5 stars.

Directed by Andy Goddard. Starring Eddie Izzard, Judi Dench, Carla Juri, Jim Broadbent, James D'Arcy and Celyn Jones. Available on Sky Cinema from March 26. Running time: 99 mins.