''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' is a British

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

that aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in 2006. Produced by

Kudos Kudos may refer to: Arts and media * ''Kudos'' (computer game), a life simulation game produced by Positech Games * Kudos (production company), a UK-based film and television production company * Kudos, a fictional currency used by the Dwellers ...

, it was written by

Sally Wainwright Sally Anne Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director from Yorkshire. Early in her career, Wainwright worked as a playwright, and as a scriptwriter on the long-running radio serial drama ''The Archers''. In t ...

and stars

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

in the title role of a woman with no previous political experience who becomes

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

Plot

''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' revolves around

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

manager Ros Pritchard, who, angry with the state of British politics, stands for election as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

in her home town of Eatanswill,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. She soon gains national attention, forming the Purple Alliance alongside former Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and winning the general election, becoming Prime Minister. Over successive episodes, Ros's spontaneous approach to decision making and her promise never to deceive the electorate come under increasing pressure from the demands of government, media scrutiny, and partisan political struggles.

Cast and characters

Main cast

- Prime Minister Rosamund 'Ros' Jane Pritchard *

Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009). Mack ...

- Ian Pritchard *

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Mulli ...

- Emily Pritchard * Jemma McKenzie-Brown - Georgina Pritchard *

Jodhi May Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...

- Miranda Lennox *

Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961"Ms Janet McTeer, OBE"
. ''Derbrett's P ...

- Catherine Walker *

Frances Tomelty Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), ''Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchard ...

- Kitty Porter * Geraldine James - Hilary Rees-Benson *

Selina Cadell Selina Jane Cadell (born 12 August 1953) is an English actress. She is the younger sister of actor Simon Cadell and granddaughter of actress Jean Cadell. She is the great niece of the Scottish artist Francis Cadell. Biography Cadell was born ...

- Dorothy Crowther *

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

- Liz Shannon *

Siobhan Finneran Siobhán Margaret Finneran (born 27 April 1966) is a British actress. She made her screen debut in the 1987 independent film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'', and subsequently worked consistently in television drama including roles in ''Coronation Stre ...

- Beverley Clarke *

Jonathan Aris Jonathan Aris is a British actor who has appeared in films, television and the theatre. He has narrated three TV documentaries produced and aired by the National Geographic Channel, and appears as Philip Anderson in the BBC television series ' ...

- Richard Leavis *

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as T ...

- Meg Bayliss *

Tom Mison Thomas James Mison (born 23 July 1982)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. Ancestry.com; accessed 6 February 2014. is an English film, television, and theatre actor, voice artist, and writer. He has had leading ...

- Ben Sixsmith *

Robert Portal Robert Portal is an English actor. Portal is known for his role as Paul Critchley on the BBC television series ''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' (2006) and as the King in the film '' The Huntsman: Winter's War'' (2016). He is also known for his rol ...

- Paul Critchley *

Dilys Laye Dilys Laye (born Dilys Lay; 11 March 1934 – 13 February 2009) was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for her comedy roles. Early life Laye was born in Muswell Hill, London, the daughter of Edward Lay and his wife Margare ...

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 ...

Characters

Rosamund 'Ros' Jane Pritchard is a supermarket manager who creates her own party, the Purple Democratic Alliance. Ros succeeds

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

, having won the general election by a huge landslide. When she first comes to the job she knows nothing about politics, but with the help of her advisor Catherine Walker, who becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, she warms to the job, dealing with crises such as a plane exploding over Walthamstow and proposing a one-day-a-week car ban. Ian Pritchard is Ros's husband. He doubts her campaign, and later admits that he didn't vote for her. Unknown to Ros at the time, Ian laundered money many years before her taking office, a scandal which, as it starts to emerge, may force her to resign. Emily Pritchard is Ros's older daughter. Emily finds her mother's new fame hard to deal with. Initially a student at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, she soon drops out. A magazine deal sees naked pictures of her projected onto the Houses of Parliament. And when her father admits his money laundering to Emily, it is a secret she finds hard to keep. Catherine Walker is a Conservative front-bencher designated by her party to demolish Ros in debate, but who instead defects to Ros's Purple Alliance. She becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. As a young woman at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Catherine had the chance of a fellowship to study at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

but her then-tutor Hilary Rees-Benson (later a political opponent) recommended another student instead, in part due to jealousy of Catherine—the two remain rivals even when serving together in Ros's cabinet. Catherine was formerly in love with Conservative Party Leader Paul Critchley, but he cheated on her and dropped her. While Chancellor, she conducts a sexual relationship with her speechwriter Ben Sixsmith—21 years her junior—becoming pregnant by him but terminating the pregnancy. Hilary Rees-Benson is the Home Secretary in Ros's government. She was formerly a Liberal Democratic Party Home Affairs spokesman, and has an ongoing personal and political conflict with Catherine Walker (above). Rees-Benson leaks a number of secrets to the writer Alex Rafael about Pritchard's government, which damages it. She almost has to resign but agrees to absolute loyalty to Ros. Hilary makes a success of Ros's controversial proposal for Green Wednesday, a car ban on every Wednesday. Kitty Porter is a wealthy businesswoman who becomes one of Ros's earliest supporters, bankrolling her campaign. But Kitty's behind-the-scenes machinations represent another time bomb waiting to explode. Paul Critchley is the Leader of the Conservative Party and the Leader of the Opposition to Ros's Government. He holds a bitter grudge against Catherine, his former lover, who in his eyes betrayed him and his party by defecting to Ros. Critchley's skill as a parliamentary debater, and his ruthless willingness to throw a politically inconvenient colleague overboard, epitomise the peak of traditional politics, and contrast with the spontaneous, idealistic—if at times naive—approach embodied by Ros, at least in the earlier episodes before political life starts to harden her.

Guests and cameos

Several politicians and journalists made cameo appearances, including

Gavin Esler Gavin William James Esler (born 27 February 1953) is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. He was a main presenter on BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, ''Newsnight'', from January 2003 until January 2014, and pr ...

, Roy Hattersley,

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

, Nick Robinson,

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Beginning his career as a political commentator, he subsequently edited '' The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 1998 and was political editor of BBC ...

Simon McCoy Simon McCoy (born 7 October 1961) is a British journalist and former newsreader on BBC News and Sky News and presenter at GB News. Early life McCoy was born on 7 October 1961 in Hammersmith. He was educated at the independent Sherborne School ...

Sarah Montague Sarah Anne Louise Montague, Lady Brooke (born 8 February 1966),''Who's who'' is a British journalist and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 current affairs programme ''The World at One''. For 18 years, prior to April 2018, she was a regular presenter ...

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its la ...

and

Kirsty Wark Kirsteen Anne "Kirsty" Wark FRSE (born 3 February 1955) is a Scottish television presenter with a long career at the BBC. Starting on Radio Scotland, where she became a producer, Wark switched to television, presenting The Late Show and Newsnig ...

Production

Development

Sally Wainwright stated her motivation for writing the series was the realisation that: : "During the last election I found that I didn't really want to vote for anybody because they all seemed as bad as each other. I thought it would be great fun to write an epic story with a central character who was prepared to stand up and point this out. Mrs Pritchard is bold enough, or some may say daft enough, to stand for parliament on the assumption that she can do just as badly as any of them but at least she will be honest". ''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' was filmed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in April 2006, and the episodes were broadcast at 9:00 pm on Tuesdays. It fared poorly in the ratings, attracting 3.5 million viewers in the final episode.

Episodes

Home media

''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' was released on DVD in the US (Region 1) on 30 October 2007.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MV8Z9K/ Amazon.com

References

External links

*
Purple Alliance

Petition to move Parliament to Bradford
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing Mrs Pritchard, The 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series 2000s British political television series 2000s British television miniseries BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas Television series about prime ministers Television series created by Sally Wainwright British political drama television series 2006 in British politics Television shows set in London Works about prime ministers of the United Kingdom