- Radio Times
- Review by:
- Jane Rackham
From the apocalyptic opening scene, this political thriller – very loosely based on Chris Mullin’s novel (and then Bafta-winning drama) A Very British Coup – grabs you by the throat and doesn’t release you from its grip for a second. Think State of Play or Edge of Darkness.
Gabriel Byrne plays Deputy Prime Minister Tom Dawkins, who’s been left with a right mess to clear up after an explosion in an American-owned petrochemical factory in Teesside, which has killed several people and devastated the local community.
Journalist Ellis Kane (Gina McKee) smells a conspiracy, but although Dawkins is prepared to listen to her, his colleagues in the corridors of power are more interested in a looming general election. Adding to his problems, MI5 spooks are listening in to and watching his every move, determined to derail any investigations.
Charles Dance as Chief Whip John Hodder (a Francis Urquhart-style puppet master) is wonderfully reptilian, while Sylvestra le Touzel has hewn her tough and ambitious Foreign Secretary character from granite.
About this programme
1/4. Political drama, starring Gabriel Byrne, based on Chris Mullin's novel A Very British Coup. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Dawkins vows to take on an American petrochemical company after a devastating industrial accident on British soil. Following the suspicious death of the PM in a plane crash, his understated ambitions are tested as two colleagues vie for the top job - but neither appears to have justice for those affected by the disaster at the forefront of their campaign. With Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Rupert Graves and Douglas Hodge.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Tom Dawkins
- Gabriel Byrne
- John Hodder
- Charles Dance
- Paul J Clark
- Stephen Dillane
- Felix Durrell
- Rupert Graves
- Anthony Fossett
- Douglas Hodge
- Sgt Wrigglesworth
- Ralph Ineson
- Ros Yelland
- Sylvestra Le Touzel
- Gina Hayes
- Anna Madeley
- Ellis Kane
- Gina McKee
- Agnes Evans
- Ruth Negga
- Lee Foulds
- Jamie Sives
- Joss Leyton
- Al Weaver
- Laura Duchenne
- Lia Williams
- Rachel Gough
- Susan Cookson
- Nills Jacobson
- Russell Kilmister
- Graham Gough
- Tony Pritchard
- Charles Flyte
- Tobias Menzies
- Dr Mark Ashcroft
- Jason Done
- Rosie Miller
- Sophie Ward
- Meeting chairperson
- Paul Elsam
- Meeting protester
- Paul Codman
- Downing St journalist
- Charles De'Ath
- Downing St journalist
- Becky Hindley
- Downing St housekeeper
- Eithne Browne
- Political correspondent
- Andrew Pollard
- Vicar
- Chris Mullin
Crew
- Director
- Ed Fraiman
- Producer
- Johann Knobel
- Writer
- Robert Jones
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