The Falklands Play
Encyclopedia
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 history. It was originally commissioned by the BBC
in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One
Michael Grade
due to its pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and alleged jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship. The play was not staged until 2002
, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television
and Radio
.
The play focuses on the methods by which British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
and the British government handled the United Kingdom's largest Foreign Affairs
emergency since the Suez Crisis
of 1956. The play charts the behind-the-scenes dealings between Thatcher's Conservative
government and the military, as well as the British, United States, and Argentine governments, in what became a diplomatic
breakdown that gave way to war and eventual British victory.
Director General
Alasdair Milne
gave a speech during which he praised Curteis's TV play Suez 1956 (shown three years earlier), which had dealt with the Suez Crisis from the political and diplomatic perspective, rather than the "action" on the ground. Curteis - who was present at the meeting - then sent Milne a copy of the published play, and as an afterthought said: "In a few years' time, I would like to write a similar sort of play about the Falklands Crisis." Milne immediately commissioned the play, and after months of careful negotiation the contract was signed on 6 April 1983. During discussions between Curteis and Keith Williams, the BBC Head of Plays, the highly respected Cedric Messina
was chosen as producer
, but it was quickly realised that tempers were still running high about the War - particularly in relation to the BBC's conduct during it - so it was mutually agreed to put the project on hold.
Curteis recommenced work on the play at the start of 1985, meeting many of the key players and visiting most of the locations that would be portrayed in the play. His research also involved reading most of what had already been published about the War, biographies of the chief protagonists, Hansard
for the relevant Parliamentary debates, official reports, and the contemporary press coverage. He delivered the fourth draft of the script to the BBC in April 1986. The budget of £1 million was approved, Messina officially appointed as producer, and David Giles as director. Studio time was booked in TC1 at BBC Television Centre
(one of the largest television studios in Europe) for 24 January to 8 February 1987 inclusive, with a planned transmission date of the following 2 April, the fifth anniversary of the Argentinian invasion. It was planned to run for around three hours - with a half-hour break for the 9 O'Clock News
- and would be a "major" drama production.
At a meeting with Milne on 2 June 1986, Curteis raised the question of the general election
that was expected to happen the following year, and asked whether it might compromise the planned transmission date of the play. Milne dismissed the possibility of an election before the Autumn
of 1987 at the earliest, and stated: "I don't see that transmission in April presents any problem."
In early July the new Head of Plays Peter Goodchild (whose background was in documentaries, rather than drama) requested considerable modifications to the script, amongst them objecting to the portrayal of Thatcher's "private and instinctive self" - as opposed to the "bellicose Iron Lady of the public scenes" - and requesting the inclusion of discussions between members of the government about the possible effect of the War on the 1983 general election
. Curteis declined the latter on the grounds that none of the relevant people he had interviewed had alluded to such conversations, and that there was no other record of them. In addition, he considered that attributing such fictional dialogue to real people could be libellous, although he had been quite willing to do exactly that for conversations between - variously - members of the Argentinian Junta, American envoy Alexander Haig
, and the Pope
.
On 21 July - while Curteis was on holiday in Ireland - the BBC cancelled the play, citing the forthcoming General Election. Curteis mounted a robust defence, and as the press became involved at the end of September, pressure mounted on the BBC, especially when it was discovered that they were going ahead with Charles Wood
's Tumbledown
, which was claimed to have an "anti-Mrs-Thatcher's-Government theme," even though at that point Wood's script had not been published and few people could have read it. Tumbledown had a planned transmission date in October 1987, closer to - if not coinciding with - the General Election than the planned broadcast of Curteis's play.
Bill Cotton
, the BBC's Managing Director of Television, issued a statement claiming: "Ian Curteis completed the first draft of his Falklands Play three and a half years after we had commissioned it... In our professional opinion, it is not a completed commission." He also said it would be "irresponsible of the BBC at a time when the country is leading up to an election to embark on a play portraying a Prime Minister in office, other serving ministers and MPs." He finished by denying the play had been cancelled for any other reason, and refuted suggestions that Goodchild had asked for amendments that would change the political slant of the script. A second statement by a BBC spokesman also referred to Curteis's "draft script," and claimed: "No bookings had been made for studio time. It was too early for this to be done. There had been no commitment to the production of this play." All of these claims either misrepresented the facts, or were completely contrary to either them or the assurances Milne had previously given to Curteis.
Cotton later reiterated most of these points in a letter to the Sunday Telegraph
on 22 February 1987, in which he also claimed that the BBC would be quite happy to release their rights to the play to another broadcaster, but they had had no such requests. In fact, there had been an approach from Anglia Television
to buy the rights on the day the cancellation was announced, but it had been categorically refused "off the record" by Michael Grade
, then Controller of BBC One
.
Coupled with the decision to continue with Tumbledown (although its transmission was eventually delayed until 31 May 1988), the whole furore led to accusations of censorship
and left-wing
bias
at the BBC, particularly as the play depicted Thatcher as both a strong and sympathetic character. As arranged prior to the cancellation, the play was published in 1987 as a paperback by Hutchinson
, but with the addition of an introduction by Curteis in which he gave his account of the whole affair.
In 1991, as part of a wider season of programmes about censorship, Channel 4
included a reading of some dialogue from the play in the documentary The Liberal Conspiracy, in which Curteis was also interviewed. Channel 4 was subsequently criticised on its viewer comment programme Right to Reply
for not having made their own full production of the play for the same season, as they had done with another banned BBC programme (an episode of Duncan Campbell's
Secret Society).
The Falklands Play was eventually produced simultaneously for both radio and television with almost identical casts, broadcast by BBC Radio 4
on 6 April and the digital TV channel BBC Four
on 10 April 2002 respectively. The television version was an amended and abridged 90-minute version of the script, omitting all of the material involving the Junta and the Pope. The TV transmission was preceded by a half-hour programme on the controversy surrounding the original production, and was followed by a studio debate on the issues raised by both the cancellation and the play itself.
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. The play was written 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...
, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of history. It was originally commissioned by the 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...
in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
due to its pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and alleged jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship. The play was not staged until 2002
2002 in television
The year 2002 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2002.For the American TV schedule, see: 2002–03 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
and Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
.
The play focuses on the methods by which British 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...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and the British government handled the United Kingdom's largest Foreign Affairs
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
emergency since the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
of 1956. The play charts the behind-the-scenes dealings between Thatcher's Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government and the military, as well as the British, United States, and Argentine governments, in what became a diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
breakdown that gave way to war and eventual British victory.
Production
On 22 October 1982, at a meeting of the Writer's Luncheon Club, BBCBBC
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...
Director General
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...
Alasdair Milne
Alasdair Milne
Alasdair David Gordon Milne is a former BBC producer who became Controller of BBC Scotland, the BBC's Director of Programmes and then Director-General of the BBC in July 1982. His resignation was forced by the BBC Governors in January 1987, following pressure from the Thatcher government...
gave a speech during which he praised Curteis's TV play Suez 1956 (shown three years earlier), which had dealt with the Suez Crisis from the political and diplomatic perspective, rather than the "action" on the ground. Curteis - who was present at the meeting - then sent Milne a copy of the published play, and as an afterthought said: "In a few years' time, I would like to write a similar sort of play about the Falklands Crisis." Milne immediately commissioned the play, and after months of careful negotiation the contract was signed on 6 April 1983. During discussions between Curteis and Keith Williams, the BBC Head of Plays, the highly respected Cedric Messina
Cedric Messina
Cedric Messina was a South African born British television producer and director for the BBC of mainly classic drama...
was chosen as producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, but it was quickly realised that tempers were still running high about the War - particularly in relation to the BBC's conduct during it - so it was mutually agreed to put the project on hold.
Curteis recommenced work on the play at the start of 1985, meeting many of the key players and visiting most of the locations that would be portrayed in the play. His research also involved reading most of what had already been published about the War, biographies of the chief protagonists, Hansard
Hansard
Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
for the relevant Parliamentary debates, official reports, and the contemporary press coverage. He delivered the fourth draft of the script to the BBC in April 1986. The budget of £1 million was approved, Messina officially appointed as producer, and David Giles as director. Studio time was booked in TC1 at BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
(one of the largest television studios in Europe) for 24 January to 8 February 1987 inclusive, with a planned transmission date of the following 2 April, the fifth anniversary of the Argentinian invasion. It was planned to run for around three hours - with a half-hour break for the 9 O'Clock News
BBC Nine O'Clock News
The BBC Nine O'Clock News was the flagship BBC News programme launched on 14 September 1970, which ran until 15 October 2000, when it was controversially moved to BBC News at Ten....
- and would be a "major" drama production.
At a meeting with Milne on 2 June 1986, Curteis raised the question of the general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
that was expected to happen the following year, and asked whether it might compromise the planned transmission date of the play. Milne dismissed the possibility of an election before the Autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
of 1987 at the earliest, and stated: "I don't see that transmission in April presents any problem."
In early July the new Head of Plays Peter Goodchild (whose background was in documentaries, rather than drama) requested considerable modifications to the script, amongst them objecting to the portrayal of Thatcher's "private and instinctive self" - as opposed to the "bellicose Iron Lady of the public scenes" - and requesting the inclusion of discussions between members of the government about the possible effect of the War on the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. Curteis declined the latter on the grounds that none of the relevant people he had interviewed had alluded to such conversations, and that there was no other record of them. In addition, he considered that attributing such fictional dialogue to real people could be libellous, although he had been quite willing to do exactly that for conversations between - variously - members of the Argentinian Junta, American envoy Alexander Haig
Alexander Haig
Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
, and the Pope
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
On 21 July - while Curteis was on holiday in Ireland - the BBC cancelled the play, citing the forthcoming General Election. Curteis mounted a robust defence, and as the press became involved at the end of September, pressure mounted on the BBC, especially when it was discovered that they were going ahead with Charles Wood
Charles Wood (playwright)
Charles Wood is a playwright and scriptwriter for radio, television, and film. He lives in England....
's Tumbledown
Tumbledown
Tumbledown is a 1988 BBC Television drama film set during the Falklands War.-Synopsis:The film centres on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC , an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands Campaign of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, Lawrence is shot in the head by...
, which was claimed to have an "anti-Mrs-Thatcher's-Government theme," even though at that point Wood's script had not been published and few people could have read it. Tumbledown had a planned transmission date in October 1987, closer to - if not coinciding with - the General Election than the planned broadcast of Curteis's play.
Bill Cotton
Bill Cotton
Sir William Frederick "Bill" Cotton, CBE was a British television producer and executive, and the son of big-band leader Billy Cotton....
, the BBC's Managing Director of Television, issued a statement claiming: "Ian Curteis completed the first draft of his Falklands Play three and a half years after we had commissioned it... In our professional opinion, it is not a completed commission." He also said it would be "irresponsible of the BBC at a time when the country is leading up to an election to embark on a play portraying a Prime Minister in office, other serving ministers and MPs." He finished by denying the play had been cancelled for any other reason, and refuted suggestions that Goodchild had asked for amendments that would change the political slant of the script. A second statement by a BBC spokesman also referred to Curteis's "draft script," and claimed: "No bookings had been made for studio time. It was too early for this to be done. There had been no commitment to the production of this play." All of these claims either misrepresented the facts, or were completely contrary to either them or the assurances Milne had previously given to Curteis.
Cotton later reiterated most of these points in a letter to the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
on 22 February 1987, in which he also claimed that the BBC would be quite happy to release their rights to the play to another broadcaster, but they had had no such requests. In fact, there had been an approach from Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
to buy the rights on the day the cancellation was announced, but it had been categorically refused "off the record" by Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
, then Controller of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
Coupled with the decision to continue with Tumbledown (although its transmission was eventually delayed until 31 May 1988), the whole furore led to accusations of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
at the BBC, particularly as the play depicted Thatcher as both a strong and sympathetic character. As arranged prior to the cancellation, the play was published in 1987 as a paperback by Hutchinson
Hutchinson (publisher)
Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
, but with the addition of an introduction by Curteis in which he gave his account of the whole affair.
In 1991, as part of a wider season of programmes about censorship, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
included a reading of some dialogue from the play in the documentary The Liberal Conspiracy, in which Curteis was also interviewed. Channel 4 was subsequently criticised on its viewer comment programme Right to Reply
Right to Reply
Right to Reply was a British television series shown on Channel 4 from 1982 until 2001, which allowed viewers to voice their complaints or concerns about TV programmes...
for not having made their own full production of the play for the same season, as they had done with another banned BBC programme (an episode of Duncan Campbell's
Duncan Campbell (investigative journalist)
Duncan Campbell is a British freelance investigative journalist, author and television producer who, since 1975, has specialised in the subjects of intelligence and security services, defence, policing, civil liberties and, latterly, computer forensics. He was a staff writer at the New Statesman...
Secret Society).
The Falklands Play was eventually produced simultaneously for both radio and television with almost identical casts, broadcast by BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
on 6 April and the digital TV channel BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on 10 April 2002 respectively. The television version was an amended and abridged 90-minute version of the script, omitting all of the material involving the Junta and the Pope. The TV transmission was preceded by a half-hour programme on the controversy surrounding the original production, and was followed by a studio debate on the issues raised by both the cancellation and the play itself.
Cast
- Patricia HodgePatricia HodgePatricia Ann Hodge is an English actor.-Early life:The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion , Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar School on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby and then St...
as Rt Hon Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
MP (Prime Minister) - 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...
as Lord CarringtonPeter Carington, 6th Baron CarringtonPeter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, is a British Conservative politician. He served as British Foreign Secretary between 1979 and 1982 and as the sixth Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He is the last surviving member of the Cabinets of both Harold Macmillan and Sir...
KCMG MC PC (Foreign Secretary) - John StandingJohn StandingSir John Ronald Leon Standing, 4th Baronet is an English actor.-Early life:Standing was born John Ronald Leon in London, the son of Kay Hammond , an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, a stockbroker...
as Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary) - Michael CochraneMichael CochraneMichael Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing upper class characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy....
as Rt Hon Nicholas RidleyNicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of LiddesdaleNicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, PC was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Personal life:...
MP (Financial Secretary to the Treasury) - Jeremy ChildJeremy ChildSir 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...
as Rt Hon Francis PymFrancis Pym-Bibliography:****- External links :...
MC MP (Lord President of the Council / Foreign 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....
as Sir Robert ArmstrongRobert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of IlminsterRobert Temple Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster GCB, CVO , son of the musician Sir Thomas Armstrong, is a British life peer and former civil servant.-Life:...
(Cabinet Secretary) - Jonathan CoyJonathan CoyJonathan Coy is a British actor born in Hammersmith, London on 24 April 1953. He has worked since 1975 largely in television, notably as Henry in the long running legal series Rumpole and as Bracegirdle in the television series Hornblower, adapted from the books by C. S. Forester...
as Richard Luce MP (Minister of State, Foreign Office) - Clive MerrisonClive MerrisonClive Merrison is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College.- Television :...
as Rt Hon John NottJohn NottSir John William Frederic Nott KCB is a former British Conservative Party politician prominent in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
MP (Secretary of State for Defence) - Peter BlythePeter BlythePeter Blythe was a British character actor, best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard on Rumpole of the Bailey.-Early life:...
as Rt Hon Sir Michael Havers QC MP (Attorney-General) - Jeremy ClydeJeremy ClydeMichael Thomas Jeremy Clyde is an English actor and musician. The son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley, he made his first public appearance as a pageboy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953...
as Sir Nicholas HendersonNicholas HendersonSir John Nicolas Henderson, GCMG, KCVO was a distinguished British career diplomat and writer, who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1982....
(HM Ambassador to the United States) - Colin StintonColin StintonColin Stinton is a Canadian-born actor who immigrated to the United States in 1952, and now lives in London. He often portrays fictional American politicians, lawyers and government agents. He recently played Neal Daniels in The Bourne Ultimatum...
as Hon Alexander HaigAlexander HaigAlexander Meigs Haig, Jr. was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
(US Secretary of State) - Shaughan Seymour as Adm. Sir Henry LeachHenry LeachAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, GCB, DL was a former First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy. Leach was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff between 1979 and 1982, being the professional head of the Navy at the time of the Falklands War...
(First Sea Lord) - Anthony CalfAnthony CalfAnthony Calf is a British actor, born in Hammersmith, London, England. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . He has recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as Strickland...
as Robin Fearn (Head of Falkland Islands Department, Foreign Office) - Jasper Jacob as John Wilkinson MP (Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Nott)
- Richard CorderyRichard Cordery-External links:*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179549/*http://www.bestofbritish.ws/RichardCorderyCV.pdf*http://www.almeida.co.uk/production_details/Waste/the_cast.aspx...
as Tom EndersTom EndersTom Enders is the chief executive of Airbus; he has held this position since 2007. He previously worked at DASA.He studied at the University of Bonn and at UCLA....
(US Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs) - Bob ShermanBob Sherman (actor)Robert Sherman was an American-born dramaturge, playwright, and film and television actor, best remembered for his role as CIA agent Jeff Ross in the British television series The Sandbaggers.-Select television:...
as Hon. Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
(President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
) - Lorelei KingLorelei KingLorelei King is a United States-born actress who has been based in the United Kingdom since 1981. She has narrated audiobooks, acted in radio plays for BBC Radio 4 and appeared on television.- Early life :...
as Hon. Jeane KirkpatrickJeane KirkpatrickJeane Jordan Kirkpatrick was an American ambassador and an ardent anticommunist. After serving as Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adviser in his 1980 campaign and later in his Cabinet, the longtime Democrat-turned-Republican was nominated as the U.S...
(US Ambassador to the UN) - Garrick HagonGarrick HagonGarrick Hagon is a film, stage, television and radio actor best known for his role as Biggs Darklighter in Star Wars: A New Hope. His many films include Batman, Spy Game, Me and Orson Welles and The Message...
as Vernon Walters (Senior Adviser to the US Secretary of State) - 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:...
as Sir Anthony Parsons (HM Ambassador to the UN) - Arturo Venegas as Javier Pérez de CuéllarJavier Pérez de CuéllarJavier Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra is a Peruvian diplomat who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1991. He studied in Colegio San Agustín of Lima, and then at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. In 1995, he ran unsuccessfully...
(UN Secretary-General) - Vernon DobtcheffVernon DobtcheffVernon Dobtcheff is a French and British actor.Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup...
as Nicanor Costa MéndezNicanor Costa MéndezNicanor Costa Méndez was an Argentine diplomat.Costa Méndez was born into a privileged background in Buenos Aires, in 1922. He attended the University of Buenos Aires, graduating with a Law Degree in 1943...
(Argentine Minister of External Relations) - Robert Bowman as Hamilton Whyte
- John WoodvineJohn WoodvineJohn Woodvine is an English stage and screen actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.-Early life:...
as Adm. of the Fleet Sir Terence Lewin (Chief of the Defence Staff) - Tom ChadbonTom ChadbonTom Chadbon is an English actor, who has spent the larger part of his career appearing on British television. While principally a character actor, he has occasionally had leading or recurring roles....
as Adm. Sir John Fieldhouse (C-in-C Fleet) - Gordon Langford Rowe as Rt Hon George ThomasGeorge Thomas, 1st Viscount TonypandyThomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy PC was a British Labour Party politician and Speaker of the House of Commons. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, he initially worked as a teacher in both London and Cardiff...
MP (Speaker of the House of Commons) - Patrick GodfreyPatrick GodfreyPatrick Godfrey is a British actor of film, television and stage.Godfrey was born in the United Kingdom, the son of Lois Mary Gladys and Frederick Godfrey, who was a reverend...
as Rt Hon Michael FootMichael FootMichael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
MP (Leader of the Opposition) - Ron Meadows as Rt Hon Peter ShorePeter ShorePeter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC was a British Labour politician and former Cabinet Minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. His idiosyncratic left-wing nationalism led to comparison with the French politician...
MP (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer) - Renny Krupinski as David LambieDavid LambieDavid Lambie is a former Scottish Labour Party politician.Lambie was educated at Ardrossan Academy and at Glasgow University and Geneva University. He became a teacher and was chairman of the Scottish Labour Party 1965-66....
MP (Labour) - David Fleeshman as Rt Hon Denis HealeyDenis HealeyDenis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
CH MBE MP (Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) - Charles McCurdy as John BrowneJohn Browne (UK politician)John Ernest Douglas Delavalette Browne is a former British politician who is currently acting as a political and financial consultant in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA....
MP (Conservative) - Martin Oldfield as Rt Hon Enoch PowellEnoch PowellJohn Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
MP (Ulster Unionist) - Geoffrey Wilkinson as Sir Anthony MeyerAnthony MeyerSir Anthony John Charles Meyer, 3rd Baronet was a British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative and later Liberal Democrat politician, best known for standing against Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1989...
Bt MP (Conservative) - Alan RothwellAlan RothwellAlan Rothwell is a British actor and television presenter. He was born in Oldham, Lancashire. He first came to fame in 1960, playing the character David Barlow in the then new ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He remained in this role in 1968, and the character was killed off two years later...
as John WellsJohn Wells (politician)Sir John Julius Wells is a former British Conservative Party politician.Wells was educated at Eton College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He served in the RNVR during World War II, as a seaman in 1942, commissioned in 1943 and in submarines until 1946...
MP (Conservative) - Geoff Holman as Rt Hon Tony BennTony BennAnthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
MP (Labour)
DVD release
- Released on Region 2 DVD by BBC Video on 26 March 2007.
- The series was included in the The Falklands 25th Commemorative Box Set with TumbledownTumbledownTumbledown is a 1988 BBC Television drama film set during the Falklands War.-Synopsis:The film centres on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC , an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands Campaign of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, Lawrence is shot in the head by...
.
See also
- TumbledownTumbledownTumbledown is a 1988 BBC Television drama film set during the Falklands War.-Synopsis:The film centres on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC , an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands Campaign of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, Lawrence is shot in the head by...
- An Ungentlemanly ActAn Ungentlemanly ActAn Ungentlemanly Act is a 1992 BBC television film about the first days of the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982.-Production:The film was written and directed by Stuart Urban, and commissioned to mark the tenth anniversary of the Falklands War...
- Cultural impact of the Falklands WarCultural impact of the Falklands WarThe cultural impact of the Falklands War spanned several media in both Britain and Argentina.-Non-fiction:The war provided a wealth of material for writers, and many dozens of books came from it; in the United Kingdom the definitive account became Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins' The Battle for the...