To Play the King

To Play the King 1993

8.18

Francis Urquhart's survival at the top is threatened by the new king's populist agenda.

1993

Yes, Prime Minister

Yes, Prime Minister 1986

8.40

James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?

1986

House of Cards

House of Cards 1990

8.15

Frustrated at a new moderate Conservative government and deprived of a promotion to a senior position, chief whip Francis Urquhart prepares a meticulous plot to bring down the Prime Minister then to take his place.

1990

The Trial of Christine Keeler

The Trial of Christine Keeler 2019

6.90

The minister, his mistress, and her lover the spy. The story of the woman at the centre of one of the 20th century's biggest scandals – which changed Britain forever.

2019

A Very British Coup

A Very British Coup 1988

7.80

A Very British Coup is a British political thriller series based on the novel by Chris Mullin. It stars Ray McAnally as the newly elected left-wing prime minister Harry Perkins, who soon finds himself up to his neck in conspiracy.

1988

This England

This England 2022

5.70

Inside the halls of power, Boris Johnson grapples with Covid-19, Brexit, and a controversial personal and political life during his tumultuous first months as Prime Minister.

2022

My Dad's the Prime Minister

My Dad's the Prime Minister 2003

5.50

My Dad's the Prime Minister is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. It centres around the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast include Robert Bathurst, Joe Prospero, Carla Mendonça, Brian Bovell and Emma Sackville. It was filmed at Bushey in Watford, and extras included students of the nearby Bushey Hall School and Bushey Meads School. Series 1 was shown on BBC 1 as part of CBBC, in April and May 2003. Season 2 was shown later in the evening on BBC 1, in November and December 2004. Series 1 focused more on Dillon, while the second season had greater coverage of the life of the Prime Minister. Series 1 was released on DVD and video, but currently Series 2 remains unreleased.

2003

Number 10

Number 10 1983

5.00

Drama series about the private lives of seven British prime ministers who lived in Number 10 Downing Street between the 1780s and the 1920s: William Pitt the Younger, the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), Benjamin Disraeli, William Ewart Gladstone, David Lloyd-George, Herbert Henry Asquith and James Ramsay MacDonald.

1983

Thatcher & Reagan: A Very Special Relationship

Thatcher & Reagan: A Very Special Relationship 2022

1

Journalist Charles Moore, who wrote Margaret Thatcher's authorised biography, explores her extremely close relationship with US President Ronald Reagan. These two leaders came together in the shadow of the Cold War and nuclear armageddon, and Charles meets the people who were in the room with them as they faced the great challenges of their age.

2022

The Blair Years

The Blair Years 2007

1

A unique account of Tony Blair’s ten years as Prime Minister.

2007

Prime Minister’s Questions

Prime Minister’s Questions 1970

1

Questions to the Prime Minister. Held weekly since 1961, Prime Minister's Questions, also referred to as PMQs, gives Members of the British Parliament a chance to question the Prime Minister in the House of Commons. PMQs takes place at midday every Wednesday at the Palace of Westminster when the House of Commons is sitting.

1970

Afghanistan: Getting Out

Afghanistan: Getting Out 2022

8.70

Finding a way to end a war. Insiders tell the long and troubled story of a chaotic conflict, revealing the political pressures that helped seal the fate of Afghanistan.

2022

The Deal

The Deal 1970

1

The Deal is a 2003 British television film directed by Stephen Frears from a script by Peter Morgan, based in part upon The Rivals by James Naughtie. The film stars David Morrissey as Gordon Brown and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, and depicts the Blair-Brown deal—a well-documented pact that Blair and Brown made whereby Brown would not stand in the 1994 Labour leadership election, so that Blair could have a clear run at becoming leader of the party and Prime Minister. The film begins on 9 June 1983, as Blair and Brown are first elected to Parliament, and concludes in May 1994 at the Granita restaurant—the location of the supposed agreement—with a brief epilogue following the leadership contest. The film was first proposed by Morgan in late 2002 and was taken on by Granada Television for ITV. After Frears agreed to direct, and the cast were signed on, ITV pulled out of it over fears that the political sensitivity could affect its corporate merger. Channel 4 picked up the production and filming was carried out for five weeks in May 2003. The film was broadcast on 28 September 2003, the weekend prior to the Labour Party's annual party conference. The film was critically lauded. Morrissey received considerable praise, winning a Royal Television Society award for playing Brown, and Frears was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Movie/Serial by the Directors Guild of Great Britain. The film also nominated for an International Emmy for Best TV Movie/Miniseries. Sheen later reunited with Morgan, Frears, and producer Christine Langan in 2006 to reprise his role as Blair in The Queen, that depicts the death of Princess Diana on 31 August 1997. Sheen reprised his role once again in 2010 in The Special Relationship, that chronicles the "special relationship" between Blair and US President Bill Clinton up until the September 11 attacks, and was broadcast on BBC Two in the United Kingdom and HBO in North America.

1970