- Radio Times
- Review by:
- Alison Graham
It’s the height of the Suez Crisis and The Hour is about to go on air. “I have 60 minutes to fill!” bleats producer Bel as her running order looks in danger of collapsing. The Government is leaning on the BBC not to broadcast anything that might look like dissent, and the satirical sketch could be the first casualty.
The febrile atmosphere in the TV news studio at least creates some tension; although, as this is the final episode, it’s probably a bit late. But we get a sense of the excitement of a live broadcast where anything could go wrong, coupled with the resolution of the mystery of who is the Soviet mole in the BBC (but you’ve probably guessed already).
“Let’s make an extraordinary show for extraordinary times,” Bel (Romola Garai) pleads with her crew as BBC bosses and the PM’s sinister apparatchik McCain (Julian Rhind Tutt) watch from the wings for the slightest hint of lefty propaganda. They don’t have to wait long…
About this programme
6/6. Tensions run high in the newsroom as the team prepares to defy government instructions and air a controversial episode on the Suez crisis, while Freddie is unsure whether his special guest will turn up. As McCain and Douglas keep an eye on proceedings, all their futures hang in the balance. Last in the series.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Freddie Lyon
- Ben Whishaw
- Bel Rowley
- Romola Garai
- Hector Madden
- Dominic West
- Clarence Fendley
- Anton Lesser
- Lix Storm
- Anna Chancellor
- Angus McCain
- Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Isaac Wengrow
- Joshua McGuire
- Sissy Cooper
- Lisa Greenwood
- Lady Elms
- Juliet Stevenson
- Lord Elms
- Tim Pigott-Smith
- Sir Douglas Owen
- John Bowe
- Marnie Madden
- Oona Chaplin
- Malcolm Lyon
- Robert Demeger
- Wallace Sherwin
- Ken Bones
- Ron
- Paul Chahidi
- Housewife
- Karen Meagher
- Rockabilly
- Sam Palladio
- Rockabilly Girlfriend
- Anna Doolan
- Grey Suited Man
- Michael Jenn
- Admiral Green
- William Hoyland
Crew
- Director
- Jamie Payne
- Producer
- Ruth Kenley-Letts
- Writer
- Abi Morgan
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