docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
originally broadcast on
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
on 1 March 2006. It chronicles the events that led to the drafting of the so-called "Lavender List", a satirical name given to
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor.
Early life
Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-born ...
as
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
*
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Our Friends in the North'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for ''The Lost Prince'' (2003) and ''The Street'' (2 ...
as
Marcia Williams
Marcia Matilda Falkender, Baroness Falkender, CBE (''née'' Field, known professionally as Marcia Williams; 10 March 1932 – 6 February 2019) was a British Labour politician, known first as the private secretary for, and then the political s ...
*
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...
Bernard Donoughue
Bernard Donoughue, Baron Donoughue (born 8 September 1934) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician, academic, businessman and author.Francis Wheen
Francis James Baird Wheen (born 22 January 1957) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster.
Early life and education
Wheen was born into an army familyNicholas Wro"A life in writing" ''The Guardian'', 29 August 2009 and educated at two ind ...
, deputy editor of the satirical magazine ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
''. Wheen said that it was based on the political diaries of two members of Wilson's
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
: press secretary Joe Haines and director of policy
Bernard Donoughue
Bernard Donoughue, Baron Donoughue (born 8 September 1934) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician, academic, businessman and author. It starred
Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor.
Early life
Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-born ...
as Wilson and
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Our Friends in the North'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for ''The Lost Prince'' (2003) and ''The Street'' (2 ...
as
Marcia Williams
Marcia Matilda Falkender, Baroness Falkender, CBE (''née'' Field, known professionally as Marcia Williams; 10 March 1932 – 6 February 2019) was a British Labour politician, known first as the private secretary for, and then the political s ...
, the head of Wilson's political office.
The list
The list itself caused controversy as some of the recipients were wealthy businessmen whose principles were considered antithetical to those held by the Labour Party. One businessman on the list, Lord Kagan, was a friend of Wilson's. He was convicted of fraud in 1980. Another, Sir Eric Miller, committed suicide while under investigation for the same crime in 1977.
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...
and
James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family.
His contr ...
, who had previously given financial assistance to Williams, also featured.
The name of the list originated in a claim made by Haines that the original draft had been written on lavender-coloured notepaper. No documentary evidence has been proffered to support this claim, and Wilson and Williams denied it.
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
''. Other reviews were critical, and drew negative responses from some of those depicted in it. Haines noted what he considered 54 inaccuracies in the production.
The BBC paid Williams £75,000 in damages for claiming that she conducted an adulterous affair with Wilson, and that she exercised undue influence over the compilation of the list. In an out-of-court settlement, the BBC also agreed to pay an estimated £200,000 in costs and promised never to rebroadcast the film.