''Margaret'' is a 2009

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

produced by Great Meadow Productions for the BBC. It was first broadcast on 26 February 2009 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. It was made by the same production company as the 2008 television film '' The Long Walk to Finchley'', which fictionalised the start of Thatcher's political career.

Plot

''Margaret'' is a fictionalisation of the life of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

(played by Lindsay Duncan) and her fall from the premiership in the 1990 leadership election, with flashbacks telling the story of Thatcher's defeat of Edward Heath in the 1975 leadership election.

Production

On 9 April 2008, it was announced that Duncan was to play Thatcher, and filming commenced in summer 2008.

Cast

* Lindsay Duncan -

, Prime Minister *

Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in ' ...

- Denis Thatcher, Prime Minister's Spouse *

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

- Willie Whitelaw, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary *

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...

- Charles Powell, Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor and Private Secretary * Rupert Vansittart - Peter Morrison, Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary * Alan Cox -

Gordon Reece Sir James Gordon Reece (28 September 1929 – 22 September 2001) was a British journalist and television producer who worked as a political strategist for Margaret Thatcher during the 1979 general election, which led to her victory over then ...

, Prime Minister's Media Advisor * Christian McKay -

John Whittingdale Sir John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (born 16 October 1959) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon (and its predecessors) since 1992. A member of the Conservative Party, Whittingdale served as the Minister of ...

, Prime Minister's Political Secretary *Oliver Le Sueur - Mark Thatcher, Prime Minister's Son *

Olivia Poulet Olivia Poulet (born 9 July 1978) is an English actress and screenwriter. Early life Poulet was born in south-west London and attended Putney High School. She studied drama at Manchester University. Career After her graduation in 2001, Poulet ...

- Carol Thatcher, Prime Minister's Daughter * Kevin McNally - Kenneth Clarke, Education Secretary * Roy Marsden -

Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit (born 29 March 1931) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trad ...

, former cabinet minister * Nicholas Rowe -

Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament fro ...

, Scotland Secretary *

Michael Maloney Michael Maloney (born 19 June 1957) is an English actor. Life and career Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series ''Telford's Change''. He made hi ...

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

, Chancellor of the Exchequer * Roger Allam - John Wakeham, Energy Secretary (Allam would go on to have a role in '' The Iron Lady'', a big screen portrayal of Thatcher's terms in office) * Nicholas Jones - Tim Renton, Chief Whip (Jones is also in '' The Iron Lady'', as Admiral

Henry Leach Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, (18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011) was a Royal Navy officer who, as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, was instrumental in convincing the British prime minister, ...

) * Tim McMullan - William Waldegrave, Foreign Office Minister * Nicholas Le Provost - Douglas Hurd, Foreign Secretary *

Michael Cochrane Michael Cochrane is an English actor. Biography Cochrane was born in Brighton, East Sussex. He was educated at Cranleigh School. He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'' ...

Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, ...

, Defence Minister and Thatcher Supporter (Cochrane would also go on to have a role in '' The Iron Lady'') *

John Sessions John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist o ...

- Geoffrey Howe, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons (Sessions would also go on to have a role in '' The Iron Lady'') * Philip Jackson - Bernard Ingham, Prime Minister's Press Secretary * Roger Ashton-Griffiths - John Sergeant, ITV Reporter * Oliver Cotton - Michael Heseltine, Former Defence Secretary * Guy Henry - Tristan Garel Jones, Government Whip * Diana Kent - Margaret King * Elizabeth Bennett - Sue Mastriforte * Julian Firth - Norman Lamont, Chief Secretary to the Treasury * Rosemary Leach -

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

*Douglas McFerran - MP2 * Nigel Le Vaillant - Edward Heath, Former Conservative Leader and Prime Minister * Dermot Crowley -

Airey Neave Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 Abingdon by-election, 1953 until Assassination of Airey Neav ...

, Thatcher Campaign Manager in 1975 *Ian Hughes - John Gummer * Nicholas Day -

Cranley Onslow Cranley Gordon Douglas Onslow, Baron Onslow of Woking, (8 June 1926 – 13 March 2001) was a British politician and served as the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP for Woking (UK Parliament constit ...

* Paul Jesson - Kenneth Baker *Charlotte Asprey - Caroline Stephens, Thatcher's secretary, wife of Lord Ryder of Wensum *Jenny Howe - Cynthia Crawford *Tim Wallers - MP1 *Martin Chamberlain -

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margar ...

* Mark Perry -

John MacGregor John MacGregor, John Macgregor or John McGregor may refer to: Sportsmen * John McGregor (footballer, born 1851), Scottish international football player * John McGregor (footballer, born 1900) (1900–1993), English football player * John McGrego ...

*George Pensotti - Speaker of the House of Commons *Francis Maguire - Official Hardy, Fox, Vansittart and Cochrane had all appeared in the 2002 TV production of '' The Falklands Play'', by Ian Curteis, about an earlier period in Thatcher's premiership; although many political figures were featured in both films, none of the four actors played the same roles in both. Allam, Cochrane, Jones and Sessions would go on to appear in the 2011 film '' The Iron Lady'' about Thatcher's rise to power, relationship with her husband, and life after politics.

Reception

The ''Guardian'' critic praised the "deft casting" and stated that the flashbacks were "illuminating and sometimes entertaining" and that some episodes in the drama were "wholly imaginary and thoroughly un-Thatcherite, but ... angaround the mind like cigar smoke".

Media releases

It is currently available for purchase in the UK.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Margaret Thatcher 2009 in British politics 2009 in British television 2009 television films 2009 films BBC television docudramas British television films Films about Margaret Thatcher Films set in 1975 Films set in 1979 Films set in 1990 Films set in London Political history of the United Kingdom Films about elections Films directed by James Kent (director) 2000s British films