First Among Equals is a ten-part miniseries

Miniseries

A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

 based on Jeffrey Archer's 1984 novel First Among Equals, produced by Granada Television

Granada Television

Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

 and aired on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 in 1986.

As in the novel, the miniseries follows the careers and personal lives of four fictional British politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s (Simon Kerslake

Simon Kerslake

Simon Kerslake is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. He is a British Conservative Party politician, representing the Coventry Central and later Pucklebridge constituencies, who served under Prime Ministers Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher.There...

, MP for Coventry Central and later Pucklebridge; Charles Seymour

Charles Gurney Seymour

The Honourable Charles Gurney Seymour, 1st Viscount Seymour of the Downs, is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. When the novel was first published in the United States, the character's name was altered to "Charles Gurney Hampton".He is the second son...

, MP for Sussex Downs; Raymond Gould

Raymond Gould

The Rt. Hon Raymond Gould QC MP is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. He is a British Labour Party politician, representing the Leeds North constituency, who served under Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.Gould, a red-haired...

, MP for Leeds North; and Andrew Fraser

Andrew Fraser (First Among Equals)

Andrew Fraser is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. He is a British politician of the Labour Party, representing the Edinburgh Carlton constituency, and later the Social Democratic Party ....

, MP for Edinburgh Carlton) from 1964 to 1991, with each vying to become Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

. Several situations in the novel are drawn from Archer's own early political career in the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

. While the novel depitcts the fictional characters interacting with actual political figures from the UK and elsewhere (including Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

, Alec Douglas-Home

Alec Douglas-Home

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...

, Harold Wilson

Harold Wilson

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...

, Edward Heath

Edward Heath

Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....

, Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

, Douglas Hurd

Douglas Hurd

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....

, Colonel Gadaffi

Muammar al-Gaddafi

Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

, Gary Hart

Gary Hart

Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...

 and Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

), the film uses different names for the real-life politicians.

The title of both the novel and the film is a literal translation of the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 term primus inter pares

Primus inter pares

Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...

, a term used to refer to either the most senior member of a group of equals (peers) or to refer to someone who claims to be just one member of a group of equals when in reality he or she completely dominates said group. This phrase is used to describe the official constitutional status of the British Prime Minister within his Cabinet

Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....

.

The series starred:

Actor	Character
James Faulkner James Faulkner James Sebastian Faulkner is a British actor, known for his many various appearance on television and in movies, usually in supporting roles.Faulkner made his big screen debut as Josef Strauss in The Great Waltz in 1972...	Simon Kerslake Simon Kerslake Simon Kerslake is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. He is a British Conservative Party politician, representing the Coventry Central and later Pucklebridge constituencies, who served under Prime Ministers Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher.There...
Jeremy Child Jeremy Child Sir Coles John "Jeremy" Child, 3rd Baronet is an English actor.He was born in Woking, England and educated at Eton College, as well as trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After appearing in repertory theatre, he was cast in a significant role in the 1967 film Privilege...	Charles Gurney Seymour Charles Gurney Seymour The Honourable Charles Gurney Seymour, 1st Viscount Seymour of the Downs, is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. When the novel was first published in the United States, the character's name was altered to "Charles Gurney Hampton".He is the second son...
Tom Wilkinson Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...	Raymond Gould Raymond Gould The Rt. Hon Raymond Gould QC MP is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. He is a British Labour Party politician, representing the Leeds North constituency, who served under Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.Gould, a red-haired...
David Robb David Robb David Robb is an English actor.Robb has starred in various British films and television shows, including films such as Swing Kids and Hellbound. He is well known for playing Germanicus in the famous 1976 BBC production of I, Claudius and as Robin Grant, one of the principal character in Thames...	Andrew Fraser Andrew Fraser (First Among Equals) Andrew Fraser is a fictional character in the political novel First Among Equals, by Jeffrey Archer. He is a British politician of the Labour Party, representing the Edinburgh Carlton constituency, and later the Social Democratic Party ....

The miniseries used different names for real-life politicians:

Book	TV
Harold Wilson Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...	George Bainbridge
Edward Heath Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....	Henry Lindsey
Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...	Christopher Morland
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...	Hilary Turner
James Callaghan James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...	Kenneth Hollander
Neil Kinnock Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...	Owen Hughes

Sequences set in the fictional Northumbria

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

n constituency of Redfern were actually filmed much closer to Granada studios in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 at Entwistle railway station

Entwistle railway station

The rural Entwistle station is served by Northern Rail services on the Manchester Victoria/Bolton 'Ribble Valley' Line towards Blackburn and Clitheroe. The station is 9 km north of Bolton....

, and at the Barlow Institute, Edgworth.

Granada constructed a full-scale replica set of the House of Commons chamber for the production, which for many years formed a central part of their Granada Studios Tour

Granada Studios Tour

Granada Studios Tour was an entertainment theme park at the Granada Studios complex in Castlefield, Manchester which England operated from 1988 to 1999...

 attraction, where visitors could see mock debates being performed on the set by actors. The set was also often used by other television productions wanting to set scenes in the Commons chamber, and in 2002 was purchased by the scriptwriter Paul Abbott

Paul Abbott

Paul Abbott is a BAFTA award-winning English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain today, following his work on many popular series, including Coronation Street, Cracker and Shameless,...

 so that it could be used in his BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 drama serial State of Play. Abbott, himself a former Granada Television staff writer, bought it personally as the set would otherwise have been destroyed and he feared it would take too long to get the necessary money from the BBC. He currently keeps it in storage in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

.