Afternoon Play: Number 10 (Radio)

Basic Info

Genre: Drama (Radio)

Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4

Broadcast dates:

Fridays, 13 November 2009 – 11 December 2009 from 2:15pm – 3:00pm. (5 episodes)

Mondays, 25 October 2010 – 22 November 2010 from 2:15pm – 3:00pm. (5 episodes)

Production Co: Pacificus Productions

2009 Cast:
Antony Sher (Adam), Sasha Behar (Monica), Penny Downie (Polly), Bill Paterson (Bill), Stephen Mangan (Steve), Nicholas Woodeson (Sir Cosmo), Damian Lewis (Simon Laity), Nigel Lindsay (Lewis Smiley MP), Clive Russell (Peter Chadwick ), Joseph Kloska (Palace equerry/TV producer), Scott Cherry & Theo Fraser Steele (Assorted reporters)

2010 Cast:
Damian Lewis (Simon Laity), Haydn Gwynne (Connie), Mike Sengelow (Nathan), Julian Glover (Hugo)
Arsher Ali (Amjad), Ruper Vansittart (Lord Copple), Grant Gillespie (Coffee Exec), Rebecca Saire (Staff Nurse Melford (Staff Nurse Melford), Ayman Hamdouchi (Zamyad)

Crew: Clive Brill (Director), Jonathan Myerson (Scriptwriter)

2009 Summaries

Series of 5 plays by Jonathan Myerson depicting life inside Downing Street.

Episode 1 – “Be A Good Chap” – After a general election, the Tories have won more seats but Labour got the biggest vote. Both need help from the Lib Dems, which will come at a cost. So who will get to form the next government? Broadcast Date: 13 November 2009.

Episode 2 – “And Drugs Won” – In a pact with the Liberal Democrats, Labour have formed a government. But the new Lib Dem home secretary seems determined to stray off message, and the legalisation of drugs is top of her agenda. With Antony Sher, Sasha Behar, Penny Downie, Bill Paterson. Directed by Clive Brill. Broadcast Date: 20 November 2009.

Episode 3 – “The Visigoths Are Coming” – The Angolan Navy have occupied the British territory of St Helena. After six days, the PM and the Angolan Ambassador are locked in talks to try to prevent a declaration of war. But who has prompted this seemingly mad act of aggression? With Antony Sher, Stephen Mangan, Adjoa Andoh, Ray Fearon. Directed by Clive Brill. Broadcast Date: 27 November 2009.

Episode 4 – “A Failed State” – The coalition is unravelling and, as his team scramble for votes to keep the government in place, the PM goes to his constituency and becomes embroiled in a housing issue involving a Somalian single mother. Is it deliberate politics or the last act of a collapsing prime minister? Broadcast Date: 04 December 2009.

Episode 5 – “Immortality at Last” – The removal men are in – Adam Armstrong is finally standing down as PM and the new Conservative leader, Simon Laity, is moving in to Number 10. It seems the whole team will be out of a job – but there is a surprising last-minute offer from an unexpected quarter. Broadcast Date: 11 December 2009.

Source: BBC

2010 Summaries

Episode 1 – Jonathan Myerson’s political drama set at the heart of Downing Street.

Simon Laity- the new Tory PM – is trying to enforce across-the-board spending cuts but his ministers have all gone native. Then it’s leaked that he has commissioned a report which calculates the gain to be made by slashing the armed services budget in half. The Chief of General Staff goes ape.

Meanwhile they are interviewing companies to run the Number 10 coffee bar, and Amjad from Crown Appointments wants Simon to choose a new bishop for Yeovil.

And then there’s a British woman now married to a suspected senior Al-Qaeda terrorist who has just entered the country. She turns out to be here for an NHS kidney transplant. The hospital goes on strike. Broadcast Date: 25 October 2010.

Source: BBC

Reviews

Episode 1 (2009) – “Be A Good Chap” – Six days after the general election and Britain is drifting into disaster as the two main parties squabble over who’s really won, and the Lib Dems plot to capitalise on the chaos. This is series three of this Jonathan Myerson’s political drama, and in these times of dismal economic forecasts, it’s gloomy stuff despite the jokes. The Conservatives have won more seats but Labour Prime Minister Adam Armstrong (Antony Sher) has the majority vote. And while everyone works on buttering up the Queen, there’s a nuclear catastrophe shaping up in Essex. Maybe politics just isn’t funny anymore. — Radio Times reviewer Jacqueline Wheeler