Margaret (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
Margaret is a 2009 television film produced by Great Meadow Productions for the BBC
. It is a fictionalisation of the life of Margaret Thatcher
(played by Lindsay Duncan
) and her fall from the premiership
in the 1990 leadership election
. It was first broadcast on 26 February 2009 on BBC Two
. It was made by the same production company as the 2008 television film The Long Walk to Finchley
, which fictionalised the start of Thatcher's political career.
Hardy, Fox, Vansittart and Cochrane had all appeared in the 2002 TV production of The Falklands Play
, by Ian Curteis
, about an earlier period in Thatcher's premiership; although many political figures were featured in both films, none of the four actors played the same roles in both.
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...
. It is a fictionalisation of the life of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
(played by Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
) and her fall from the premiership
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...
in the 1990 leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 1990
The 1990 Conservative Party leadership election in the United Kingdom took place in November 1990 following the decision of former Defence and Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine to stand against the incumbent Conservative leader and Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.Thatcher failed to win...
. It was first broadcast on 26 February 2009 on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. It was made by the same production company as the 2008 television film The Long Walk to Finchley
The Long Walk to Finchley
Margaret Thatcher - The Long Walk to Finchley, subtitled in the initial credits How Maggie Might Have Done It, is a 2008 BBC Four television drama based on the early political career of the young Margaret Thatcher , from her attempts to gain a seat in Dartford in 1949 via invasion to her first...
, which fictionalised the start of Thatcher's political career.
Production
On 9 April 2008, it was announced that Duncan was to play Thatcher, and filming commenced in summer 2008.Cast
- Lindsay DuncanLindsay DuncanLindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
- Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Prime Minister - Ian McDiarmidIan McDiarmidIan McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
- Denis ThatcherDenis ThatcherMajor Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, MBE, TD was a British businessman, and the husband of the former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. He was born in Lewisham, London, the elder child of a New Zealand-born British businessman, Thomas Herbert Thatcher, and his wife Kathleen, née Bird...
, Prime Minister's Spouse - Robert HardyRobert HardyTimothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:...
- Willie Whitelaw, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary - James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
- Charles PowellCharles PowellCharles Edwin Powell is an American actor, known for his roles as himself on Popular Mechanics for Kids and as President Harold Bates on 15/Love.-Biography:...
, Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor and Private Secretary - Rupert VansittartRupert VansittartRupert Vansittart is an English character actor. He has appeared in a variety of roles in film, television, radio and on stage, often playing comic or serio-comic characters....
- Peter MorrisonPeter MorrisonSir Peter Hugh Morrison PC was a British Conservative politician, MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.-Education:...
, Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary - Alan CoxAlan Cox (actor)-Biography:He is the son of the Emmy Award winning actor Brian Cox and his first wife Caroline Burt. Cox was educated at St Paul's School in London. He has a sister, Margaret, and a half brother Torin Kamran Charles....
- Gordon ReeceGordon ReeceSir James Gordon Reece was a British journalist and television producer who worked as a political strategist for Margaret Thatcher during the 1979 general election which led to her victory over then prime minister James Callaghan...
, Prime Minister's Media Advisor - Christian McKayChristian McKay-Early life:McKay was born in Bury, Lancashire. His mother is a hairdresser and his father is a railway worker. He studied piano as a youth, and had performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 at age 21...
- John WhittingdaleJohn WhittingdaleJohn Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale OBE, , is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992.-Education:...
, Prime Minister's Political Secretary - Oliver Le Sueur - Mark ThatcherMark ThatcherSir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet is the son of Sir Denis Thatcher and Baroness Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister, and twin brother of Carol Thatcher...
, Prime Minister's Son - Olivia PouletOlivia PouletOlivia Poulet is an English actress. After studying drama at Manchester University, she has had roles on stage and in television and film. Her most recent productions include Day of the Flowers, Sherlock, Dappers, The Thick of It, Reggie Perrin and Outnumbered. She recently appeared in the feature...
- Carol ThatcherCarol ThatcherCarol Thatcher is a British journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, a former British Prime Minister, and Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt....
, Prime Minister's Daughter - Kevin McNallyKevin McNallyKevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
- Kenneth ClarkeKenneth ClarkeKenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
, Education Secretary - Nicholas RoweNicholas Rowe (actor)Nicholas James Sebastian Rowe is a Scottish actor.-Biography:Rowe was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of English parents Alison, a singer, and Andrew Rowe, a Member of Parliament and editor. He attended Eton and received a BA in Hispanic Studies from Bristol University...
- Malcolm RifkindMalcolm RifkindSir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG QC MP is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Kensington. He served in various roles as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Scotland , Defence Secretary and...
, Scotland Secretary - Michael MaloneyMichael MaloneyMichael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change....
- John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, Chancellor of the Exchequer - Roger AllamRoger AllamRoger Allam is an English actor, known primarily for his stage career, although he has performed in film and television. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables....
- John WakehamJohn WakehamJohn Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, PC, DL is a businessman and British Conservative Party politician and the current Chancellor of Brunel University.He was a director of Enron from 1994 until its bankruptcy in 2001....
, Energy Secretary - Nicholas JonesNicholas JonesNicholas Jones may refer to:*Nicholas Jones , British actor*Nicky Jones , American voice actor*Nicky Wire , member of the Manic Street Preachers*Nic Jones , British folk singer and guitarist...
- Tim Renton, Chief Whip - Tim McMullan - William WaldegraveWilliam WaldegraveWilliam Waldegrave may refer to:* William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock , admiral* William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave , vice-admiral* William Waldegrave, 9th Earl Waldegrave , politician...
, Foreign Office Minister - Nicholas Le Provost - Douglas HurdDouglas HurdDouglas 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....
, Foreign Secretary - Michael CochraneMichael CochraneMichael Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing upper class characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy....
- Alan ClarkAlan ClarkAlan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
, Defence Minister and Thatcher Supporter
- John SessionsJohn SessionsJohn Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
- Geoffrey HoweGeoffrey HoweRichard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, PC is a former British Conservative politician. He was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons...
, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons - Philip JacksonPhilip Jackson (actor)Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
- Bernard InghamBernard InghamSir Bernard Ingham is a journalist and former civil servant who is best known as Margaret Thatcher's Chief Press Secretary while she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Today Ingham lectures in Public Relations at Middlesex University in London...
, Prime Minister's Press Secretary - Roger Ashton-GriffithsRoger Ashton-GriffithsRoger Ashton-Griffiths is a British character actor, screenwriter and film director.He graduated from Lancaster University and the University of East London , and began his career as a singer with English National Opera at the London Coliseum.He has appeared in numerous high-profile films,...
- John SergeantJohn Sergeant (journalist)John Sergeant is a British television and radio journalist and broadcaster.-Biography:The son of a missionary who was also a distinguished linguist, Sergeant is of Russian Jewish origin on his mother's side. Sergeant's early life meant that he followed his father's work, and was raised in...
, ITV Reporter - Oliver CottonOliver CottonOliver Cotton is an English actor, known for his work on stage, TV and film.After training at the Drama Centre London, he has worked extensively at the Royal National Theatre playing in many productions including The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Much Ado About...
- Michael HeseltineMichael HeseltineMichael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
, Former Defence Secretary - Guy Henry - Tristan Garel Jones, Government Whip
- Diana Kent - Margaret KingMargaret KingMargaret King was an Irish hostess, writer, traveller, and medical adviser. Despite her wealthy aristocratic background, she had republican sympathies, shaped in part by having been a favoured pupil of Mary Wollstonecraft...
- Elizabeth BennettElizabeth Bennett (actress)Elizabeth Bennett is a British actress.Bennett has appeared in several British TV series, including The Sandbaggers, The Bill, The Lakes, Chef!, The Duchess of Duke Street and Heartbeat. She played "Enid Thompson" in the British situation comedy Home to Roost, and played "Enid Tompkins" in the US...
- Sue Mastriforte - Julian FirthJulian FirthJulian Firth is a British actor, best known for his roles as troubled inmate Davis in the cinematic version of the film Scum and as Brother Jerome in the long running television series Cadfael....
- Norman Lamont, Chief Secretary to the Treasury - Rosemary LeachRosemary LeachRosemary Leach is a British stage, television and film actress.She was born at Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her parents were teachers related to Edmund Leach. She attended grammar school and RADA...
- Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth 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,... - Douglas McFerran - MP2
- Nigel Le VaillantNigel Le VaillantNigel Le Vaillant is a British actor, best known for his roles in Casualty and Dangerfield.-Early years:Le Vaillant came to the UK aged 16. He studied acting at school in Dorset. Playwright Alan Ayckbourn asked if he would work as an assistant stage manager in a Scarborough Theatre production...
- Edward HeathEdward HeathSir 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 ....
, Former Conservative Leader and Prime Minister - Dermot CrowleyDermot CrowleyDermot Crowley is a Irish stage, film and television actor.-Career:Crowley's stage work has included a leading role in an Olivier Award winning production of Conor McPherson's The Weir, which played in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States in the late 1990s...
- Airey NeaveAirey NeaveAirey Middleton Sheffield Neave DSO, OBE, MC was a British soldier, barrister and politician.During World War II, Neave was one of the few servicemen to escape from the German prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle...
, Thatcher Campaign Manager - Ian Hughes - John GummerJohn GummerJohn Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal, now a member of the House of Lords. He is Chairman of the environmental consultancy company Sancroft International and Chairman of Veolia Water...
- Nicholas Day - Cranley OnslowCranley OnslowCranley Gordon Douglas Onslow, Baron Onslow of Woking KCMG PC was a British politician and served as the Conservative MP for Woking from 1964 to 1997....
- Paul JessonPaul JessonPaul Jesson is a British stage, television and film actor. He has played leading roles at the National Theatre and the RSC and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role 1986 for his role in The Normal Heart at The Royal Court...
- Kenneth BakerKenneth BakerKenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking, CH, PC , is a British politician, a former Conservative MP and a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group.-Early life:... - Charlotte Asprey - Caroline Stephens, Thatcher's secretary, wife of Lord Ryder of WensumRichard Ryder, Baron Ryder of WensumRichard Andrew Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum, OBE, PC , is a British Conservative Party politician. A former Member of Parliament and government minister, he was made a Life Peer in 1997 and is now a member of the House of Lords. He is a nephew of the late Sue Ryder, the Baroness Ryder of Warsaw,...
- Jenny Howe - Cynthia CrawfordCynthia Crawford (personal assistant)Cynthia Crawford is the personal assistant to Margaret Thatcher. A member of the local Conservative party in Finchley, she was Thatcher's constituency assistant. She married Ray Crawford and lived in Worcester. She later helped run Thatcher's household throughout the latter's tenure as Prime...
- Tim Wallers - MP1
- Martin Chamberlain - Nigel LawsonNigel LawsonNigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...
- Mark PerryMark Perry (impressionist)Mark Perry is a British impressionist and his notable impressions include; David Dickinson, John Prescott and the late Robin Cook. Perry is known for playing various public figures in Dead Ringers and 2DTV. In 2007 he appeared in the radio comedy Bleak Expectations...
- John MacGregor - George Pensotti - Speaker of the House of CommonsSpeaker of the British House of CommonsThe Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
- Francis Maguire - Official
Hardy, Fox, Vansittart and Cochrane had all appeared in the 2002 TV production of The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
, by Ian Curteis
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis is a British television dramatist and former television director.In a career as a television dramatist from the late 1960s onwards, Curteis wrote for many of the series of the day, including The Onedin Line and Crown Court. In 1979, two television plays by Curteis were...
, about an earlier period in Thatcher's premiership; although many political figures were featured in both films, none of the four actors played the same roles in both.
Reception
The Guardian critic praised the "deft casting" and stated that the flashbacks were "illuminating and sometimes entertaining" and that some episodes in the drama were "wholly imaginary and thoroughly un-Thatcherite, but ... [hang] around the mind like cigar smoke".See also
- Thatcher: The Final DaysThatcher: The Final DaysThatcher: The Final Days is a 1991 British television film about the events surrounding the final few days of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister. It was written by Richard Maher, directed by Tim Sullivan and starred Sylvia Syms in the role of Mrs Thatcher...
, a 1991 film also depicting the final days of Thatcher's premiership - Cultural depictions of Margaret ThatcherCultural depictions of Margaret ThatcherThis page is a list of depictions of Margaret Thatcher onstage, in film and in other forms of fiction.-Film:*The Iron Lady - Meryl Streep*Back in Business - Caroline Bernstein...