Dead Ringers and Spitting Image actor John Culshaw will play Boris Johnson in a Channel 4 dramatisation of events inside No 10 during lockdown that led to the partygate scandal.
W1A star Ophelia Lovibond and The Chronicles of Narnia actress Georgie Henley will play fictional special advisers in Partygate, which will be shown on the channel from Tuesday.
The trailer has now dropped for the series, which will follow on in the same vein from TV dramas based on political events such as the Brexit vote and 2015 election. Channel 4 said in a statement: “Partygate will tell the inside story, showing the horrors of Covid unfold across the nation, while staff at 10 Downing Street kicked back at a string of parties lubricated by quantities of alcohol.”
The programme, from the makers of the Bafta-winning dramas Killed By My Debt, The Left Behind, and Murdered By My Father, is based on “meticulous research” of real events inside Downing Street, the broadcaster said.
Partygate will feature dramatic re-enactments of boozy parties in Downing Street interwoven with archive news footage and documentary interviews as the British public faced the pandemic.
It will “juxtapose the revelry inside the nation’s seat of power with the hardship and sacrifice being experienced across the rest of the country”, the channel said.
Partygate will also star Quadrophenia’s Phil Daniels, Fleabag star Hugh Skinner, and Fresh Meat actresses Charlotte Ritchie and Kimberly Nixon.
In real life, the events behind closed doors led to the departure of Boris Johnson as prime minister after the Sue Gray report. Here is the full cast set to star in the series which will run over three episodes.
Main cast
Georgie Henley
Henley will play a special advisor called Grace Greenwood, whom the plot centres around, alongside her colleague. Greenwood is a fictional character based upon Johnson’s real-life staff. Henley previously starred in The Chronicles of Narnia as youngest child Lucy back in 2005. To think such an innocent and brave child would grow up to play a role in such government corruption...
Ophelia Lovibond
The co-lead for Partygate is Ophelia Lovibond, who plays another special advisor called Annabel D-acre. Lovibond is best known for her role in BBC mockumentary W1A as secretary Izzy Gould. The 37-year-old Londoner has also played Carina in the film Guardians of the Galaxy
Jon Culshaw
No stranger to political satire, Culshaw will play Boris Johnson, having previously starred in Spitting Image and Dead Ringers. Channel 4 has said he will be the “the voice of the former prime minister” and it is yet to be seen if he will be on camera.
Supporting cast — all with yet-to-be-defined roles
Phil Daniels
The prolific British actor has had many roles on British TV recently, including appearances in I Hate Suzie, Inside No. 9, and The Power.
Rebecca Humphries
Humphries is a well-respected star of the small screen, having featured in The Crown and Ten Percent.
Hugh Skinner
Best known for his grumpy / witty stand-up and cynical performances, Skinner is well-known for his performance in Outnumbered as well as political drama Ballot Monkeys.
Charlotte Richie
Another well-known and respected actress, who has credits in Call the Midwife and You.
Craig Parkinson
The British actor has had a long career on screen, and is best known for roles in films Four Lions and Control.
Tom Durant-Pritchard
Most recently seen in This Is Going to Hurt, the actor has also starred in The Crown and The Windsors.
Anthony Calf
Calf has been cast on screen and stage in a career going back decades.
Alice Lowe
Lowe is best known for writing, directing, and starring in 2016 comedy slasher film Prevenge, which received rave reviews upon release.
