Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'', MacDonald appears as a significant character in the early episodes and is played by
Robert James.
*In
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's 1934 novel ''
It's a Battlefield'', MacDonald's name repeatedly appears in newspapers and on billboards in reference to a visit to
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth ( gd, Inbhir Losaidh) is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over ...
. He is also mentioned and featured in
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
's film ''
This Happy Breed''.
*In the twenty-fourth episode of ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus
''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became ...
'', original footage of MacDonald entering No. 10 Downing Street is followed by a black-and-white film of him (played by
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries.
Palin w ...
) doing a striptease, revealing garter belt, suspender and stockings.
*In the 1983 television series ''
Number 10'', he was portrayed by
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor.
He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...
.
*In
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...
's ''
Gravity's Rainbow
''Gravity's Rainbow'' is a 1973 novel by American writer Thomas Pynchon. The narrative is set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II and centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by the German military. In particular, ...
'', Old Brigadier Ernest Pudding during his initial interwar retirement "started in on a mammoth work entitled ''Things That Can Happen in European Politics''. Begin, of course, with England. 'First,' he wrote, 'Bereshith, as it were: Ramsay MacDonald can die.' By the time he went through resulting party alignments and possible permutations of cabinet posts, Ramsay MacDonald had died."
Neville Chamberlain
Chamberlain has been portrayed in the following films and television productions:
*
E. G. Miller in ''
Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' (1941)
*
Robin Bailey
William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.
Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's '' ...
in ''
The Gathering Storm'' (1974)
*
Edward Jewesbury
Reginald Edward Oliphant Jewesbury (6 August 1917 – 31 March 2001) was an English actor, notable for his film, stage and television work and as a member of the Renaissance Theatre Company. In 1982, he appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Compa ...
in ''
Churchill and the Generals
''Churchill and the Generals'' is a 1979 BBC television drama concerning the relationship between Winston Churchill and generals of the Allied forces, set in the Cabinet Office and War Rooms between 1940 and 1945. It was written by Ian Curteis ...
'' (1979)
*
Eric Porter
Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television.
Early life
Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents hope ...
in ''
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'' (1981)
*
Michael Aldridge
Michael William ffolliott Aldridge (9 September 1920 – 10 January 1994) was an English actor. He was known for playing Seymour Utterthwaite in the television series ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from 1986 to 1990 and he had a long career as a ...
in ''
Countdown to War
''Countdown to War'' is a television film made in 1989 as a co-production by Granada Television and PBS. It recounts the events that occurred between 15 March 1939, when the German army commanded by Adolf Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and created ...
'' (1989)
*
Richard Clarke in ''
The Kennedys of Massachusetts'' (1990)
*
Patrick Cargill in ''
Heil Honey I'm Home!
''Heil Honey I'm Home!'' is a British sitcom, written by Geoff Atkinson and produced in 1990, which was cancelled after one episode. It centres on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein. Th ...
'' (1990)
*
Roger Brierley
David Roger Brierley (2 June 1935 – 23 September 2005) was an English actor.
Career
Brierley appeared in dozens of television productions over a forty-year period. He twice appeared in ''Doctor Who'', as Trevor in ''The Daleks' Master Pl ...
in ''
Mosley'' (1998)
*
Christopher Good in ''
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. '' (2004)
*
Oliver Muirhead in ''
An American Carol
''An American Carol'' (released as ''Big Fat Important Movie'' in other territories) is a 2008 American satirical comedy film directed by David Zucker and written by Zucker, Myrna Sokoloff and Lewis Friedman. Using the framework of Charles Dicke ...
'' (2008)
*
Jack Shepherd in ''
Into the Storm'' (2009)
*
Roger Parrott in ''
The King's Speech
''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...
'' (2010)
*
Rupert Frazer
Rupert Frazer (born 12 March 1947) is a British actor.
Career
His work in theatre includes performances at the Citizens Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre. In 1975, he played the title role in the first British st ...
in ''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'' (2015)
*
Ronald Pickup
Ronald Alfred Pickup (7 June 1940 – 24 February 2021) was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in ''Doctor Who''. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific sta ...
in ''
Darkest Hour'' (2017)
Winston Churchill
Clement Attlee
Literature
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
composed this limerick about himself to demonstrate how he was often underestimated:
An alternative version also exists, which may reflect Attlee's use of English more closely:
Drama
* Played by
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...
in ''
Edward & Mrs. Simpson''.
* Played by
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...
in the 1974 BBC-TV production ''
The Gathering Storm''.
* A character in the play ''Tom and Clem'', by
Stephen Churchett
Stephen George Churchett (10 April 1947 – 11 January 2022) was an English actor and writer.
Life and career
One of his most notable roles was as solicitor Marcus Christie in ''EastEnders'', on and off from 1990 to 2004. He reprised the role ...
. In the original production in 1997,
Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions.
Early life
McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dance ...
played Attlee, and
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...
played
Tom Driberg.
* Played by
Alan David in the final episode of
the BBC
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
sitcom ''
Goodnight Sweetheart'',
* The main character in the BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play ''That Man Attlee''. Broadcast on 15 September 2007, it was written by
Robin Glendinning, with
Bill Wallis
William Wallis (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was a British character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre.
Biography
Wallis was born in Guildford in Surrey, the only son of A ...
playing Attlee.
* Played by his grandson Richard Attlee, in the TV series ''
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. '' in 2004, and in Jerome Vincent's 'Stuffing Their Mouths with Gold'; the story of how the National Health Service came to be. Broadcast on Radio 4 on 4 July 2008, the day before the 60th anniversary of the founding of the NHS.
* Played by
Bill Paterson in ''
Into the Storm'' (2009).
* Played by Michael Sheldon in 'Three Days in May' by
Ben Brown on a national tour and at Trafalgar Studios (2011–12).
* Played by
Simon Chandler
Simon Chandler (born 1953) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He often plays senior establishment figures such as Members of Parliament and senior civil servants.
Biography
Born in 1953 and educated at Bedford School, Chandler's ...
in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
series ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
'' (2016).
Film
* Attlee is portrayed by
David Schofield in ''
Darkest Hour'' (2017).
Anthony Eden
Literature
*Eden appears as a character in
James P. Hogan's science-fiction novel ''
The Proteus Operation
''The Proteus Operation'' is a science fiction alternate history novel written by James P. Hogan. The plot focuses on an Anglo-American team of soldiers and civilians sent back in time from the Nazi-dominated world of 1975
to prevent an Axis v ...
''.
*In
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...
's novel, ''
The Big Switch
''The Big Switch'' is a 1968 British crime film directed, written and produced by Pete Walker and starring Sebastian Breaks, Virginia Wetherell and Jack Allen.McFarlane & Slide p.718
Plot
Playboy John Carter is implicated in the murder of a ...
'', Eden appears as a member of a group of disgruntled MPs who are gathered together by
Ronald Cartland
Major John Ronald Hamilton Cartland (3 January 1907 – 30 May 1940) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for King's Norton in Birmingham from 1935 until he was killed in action, aged 33. He was th ...
after Britain allies with Germany in mid-1940.
*In Harry Turtledove's
Worldwar series
The Worldwar series is the fan name given to a series of eight alternate history science fiction novels by Harry Turtledove. Its premise is an alien invasion of Earth during World War II, and includes Turtledove's ''Worldwar'' tetralogy, as ...
of alternate history science-fiction novels, Eden first appears as the representative of the United Kingdom at the peace talks with the alien Race in Cairo. As it does not have nuclear weapons at that point in the story, the United Kingdom is not fully recognised by the Race, but is also too powerful for them to fully discount. Eden attempts to secure full recognition of the United Kingdom by the Race, but fails. Atvar, the Race's commander, notes that Eden is highly competent but attempting to negotiate from a position of weakness. In the succeeding series, ''Colonization'', Eden is Prime Minister in 1962, leading a government which cultivates close relations with the German Reich. When Germany and the Race go to war, Eden refuses to lend British military assistance to the Reich, though formally supports German efforts against the Race.
Music
*Eden is mentioned in a song by
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...
, "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina", from the album ''
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
'' (1969).
Plays
*Eden appears as a character in the play ''
Never So Good'' (2008)—portrayed as a hysterical, pill-addicted wreck, spying on members of his own Cabinet by ordering government chauffeurs to report on their comings and goings. He is shown being overwhelmed by the chaos of the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
and eventually forced out of office by his
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
colleagues, at the urging of the American government.
*Eden appears in
Peter Morgan
Peter Julian Robin Morgan, (10 April 1963) is a British screenwriter and playwright. He is the playwright behind '' The Audience'' and '' Frost/Nixon'' and the screenwriter of ''The Queen'' (2006), '' Frost/Nixon'' (2008), '' The Damned Unit ...
's stage play ''
The Audience'' (2013); in the premiere, he was played by
Michael Elwyn). In the 2015 West End revival version, featuring
Kristin Scott Thomas
Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress who also holds French citizenship. A five-time BAFTA Award and Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Four Weddings ...
as the Queen, Eden is portrayed by Scottish actor
David Robb
David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor.
Early life
Born in London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley, Robb grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II in a school product ...
. His scene in the play is a prediction of Eden's audience with the Queen the day before the invasion of Anglo-French forces in Egypt. The conversation that takes place features Eden attempting to feed selected information to the Queen rather than the whole facts about the Suez crisis and the Queen's reaction to the proposed invasion. In the play's 2015 rewrite, the Queen makes reference to
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 ...
, seen in a flashback, and his proposal to send troops to Iraq, likening it to the conversation she'd had with Eden 50 years previously about Suez.
Television
*As Secretary of State for War in 1940, Eden authorised the setting-up of the
Local Defence Volunteers
The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers or LDV) was an armed citizen militia supporting the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard had 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible f ...
(soon renamed the Home Guard). In the film of the TV sitcom ''
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...
'', the (fictional) Walmington-on-Sea platoon is formed in response to Eden's radio broadcast. Platoon second-in-command
Sergeant Wilson
Sergeant Arthur Wilson is a fictional Home Guard platoon sergeant and bank chief clerk, first portrayed by John Le Mesurier in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''.
Background
Wilson was born in 1887, and is carefree, cheerful and well ...
is flattered when his resemblance to Eden is remarked upon.
*Eden is portrayed by
Jeremy Northam
Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor and singer. After a number of television roles, he earned attention as Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Emma''. He has appeared in the films '' An Ide ...
in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
television series ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
''.
*Eden is portrayed by
Anthony Calf
Anthony Calf (born 4 May 1959) is an English actor. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He has recurring roles in the television medical drama ''Holby City'', as Michael Beauchamp, and ''New Tricks'' as D ...
in the BBC television series ''
Upstairs Downstairs (2010 edition)''.
*The first season of the UK TV series ''
The Hour'' revolves around the Suez Crisis and the effect of journalism and censorship on the public's perception of Eden and his government, as a metaphor for modern Western military involvement in the Middle East.
*In the
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis (1 May 1935 – 24 November 2021) was a British dramatist and television director.
Life and career
Curteis was born in London on 1 May 1935, and began his career as an actor, joining Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the m ...
television play ''Suez 1956'' (1979),
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...
portrayed Eden.
['Personal Choice', ''The Times'' (London, 24 November 1979), 11.]
*In the 1978 television series ''
Edward & Mrs Simpson
''Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' is a seven-part British television series that dramatises the events leading to the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson.
The series, made by T ...
'' he was portrayed by
Hugh Fraser
Film
*Eden is portrayed by
Samuel West
Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...
in ''
Darkest Hour'' (2017).
Harold Macmillan
*''Beyond the Fringe'' (1960–1966)
**During his premiership in the early 1960s Macmillan was savagely satirised for his alleged decrepitude by the comedian
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...
in the stage revue ''
Beyond the Fringe''. 'Even when insulted to his face attending the show,' a biographer notes, 'Macmillan felt it was better to be mocked than ignored.' One of the sketches was revived by Cook for television.
*''Suez 1956'' (1979)
**
Richard Vernon
Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...
stars as Macmillan, with
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...
as Eden, in a three-hour-and-ten-minute BBC television play by
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis (1 May 1935 – 24 November 2021) was a British dramatist and television director.
Life and career
Curteis was born in London on 1 May 1935, and began his career as an actor, joining Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the m ...
.
*''Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'' (1981)
**Macmillan appears as a supporting character, played by
Ian Collier
Ian Gordon Arthur Collier (25 January 1943 – 1 October 2008) was a British actor.
He appeared on stage in Tony Richardson's production of "Hamlet" in 1969 at London's Roundhouse, and at the Lunt-Fontanne theater in New York City. Other repe ...
, in the 1981 miniseries ''
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'' produced by
Southern Television
Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was co ...
for
ITV.
*''A Letter of Resignation'' (1997–98)
**Set in 1963 during the
Profumo scandal,
Hugh Whitemore's play ''A Letter of Resignation'', first staged at the
Comedy Theatre
The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011, in October 1997, dramatises the occasion when Macmillan, staying with friends in Scotland, received a political bombshell, the letter of resignation from Profumo, his war minister.
**
Edward Fox portrayed Macmillan with uncanny accuracy, but the play also explores the involvement of
MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
and the troubled relationship between Macmillan and his wife (
Clare Higgins
Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins (born 10 November 1955) is an English actress. Her film appearances include ''Hellraiser'' (1987),
'' The Worst Witch'' (2017 - 2020) '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988), ''Small Faces'' (1996) and '' The Golde ...
) who had made no secret of her adultery with the wayward Tory MP,
Robert Boothby. The play was directed by
Christopher Morahan
Christopher Thomas Morahan CBE (9 July 1929 – 7 April 2017) was a British stage and television director and production executive.
Biography Early life and career
Morahan was born on 9 July 1929 in London, the son of film production designer ...
.
*''Eden's Empire'' (2006)
**Macmillan was played by Kevin Quarmby in Gemma Fairlie's production of James Graham's play ''Eden's Empire'' at the
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...
, London, in 2006.
*''Never So Good'' (2008)
**''
Never So Good'' is a four-act play by
Howard Brenton
Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chu ...
, a portrait of Macmillan against a backdrop of fading Empire, two world wars, the Suez crisis, adultery and Tory politics at the Ritz.
**Brenton paints the portrait of a brilliant, witty but complex man, tragically out of kilter with his times, an Old Etonian who eventually loses his way in a world of shifting values.
**The play premiered at the
National Theatre in March 2008, directed by
Howard Davies with
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
as Macmillan.
*''The Crown'' (2016)
**Macmillan is portrayed by
Anton Lesser
Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is an English actor. He is well known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', as Thomas More in ''Wolf Hall'', as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', as Prime Minister ...
in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
series ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
''.
*''Pennyworth'' (2019)
**Macmillan is portrayed by
Richard Clothier in the
Epix
Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's ...
series ''
Pennyworth''.
Alec Douglas-Home
*''The Night They Tried to Kidnap the Prime Minister'' (2009), played by
Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny ( ; born 18 September 1956) is an English actor. He is known for his many roles on stage and television, including as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Darling in the 1980s British sitcom ''Blackadder''.
Early life
McInnerny was bor ...
– a
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
drama based on a real-life kidnapping attempt in 1964.
* ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
'' (2016), played by David Annen.
Harold Wilson
Television
* ''
The Lavender List
''The Lavender List'' is a docudrama originally broadcast on BBC Four 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's controversial 1976 resignation ...
'' (2006), played by
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-bor ...
– a
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 fictionalised account by
Francis Wheen of the Wilson Government of 1974–1976, with
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'' ...
as Marcia Williams and
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 ...
as Wilson's wife. The play concentrated on Wilson and Williams' relationship and her conflict with the Downing Street Press Secretary
Joe Haines.
* ''The Plot Against Harold Wilson'' (2006), played by
James Bolam – aired on BBC Two on 16 March 2006. The drama detailed previously unseen evidence that rogue elements of MI5 and the British military plotted to take down the Labour Government, believing Wilson to be a Soviet spy.
* ''
Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the mee ...
'' (2006), played by
Robert Pugh
Robert Pugh (born 11 October 1950) is a Welsh actor, known for his many television appearances, including the role of Craster in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''.
Life and career
Pugh was born in the Tynte, Mountain Ash and grew up in Cilf ...
–
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
drama on the life of
Lord Longford
Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...
. In one scene, Wilson was seen dismissing Longford from his cabinet in 1968, in part because of the adverse publicity the latter was receiving for his public campaign supporting
Myra Hindley
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
, then incarcerated for her involvement in the
Moors Murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
.
* In series 3 of ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
'', Harold Wilson is portrayed by
Jason Watkins
Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...
.
Film
* ''
The Boat That Rocked
''The Boat That Rocked'' (titled ''Pirate Radio'' in North America) is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis about pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of P ...
'' (2009), played by
Stephen Moore (character not actually addressed or credited by name, only as 'Prime Minister')
* ''
Made in Dagenham
''Made in Dagenham'' is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It ...
'' (2010), played by
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 ...
Other
* A
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
in the
Asterix
''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...
story ''
Asterix and the Great Crossing
''Asterix and the Great Crossing'' is the twenty-second volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations).
Plot summary
Unhygienix has run out of fresh fish. Since his stock has to be transp ...
'' (1975) is named Haraldwilssen in the English translation, because the translators felt his physical features resembled Wilson.
* ''
The Audience'' (stage play, 2013, played in the premiere production by
Richard McCabe
Richard McCabe (born William McCabe; 18 August 1960) is a Scottish actor who has specialised in classical theatre. He is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
Career
McCabe is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare ...
)
* In ''
The Alteration
''The Alteration'' is a 1976 alternative history novel by Kingsley Amis, set in a parallel universe in which the Reformation did not take place. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1977.
Creative origins
In his biography of Kings ...
'' by
Kingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social ...
, set in an parallel universe dominated by the Papacy, Pope John XXIV is depicted as a Machiavellian Yorkshireman (a thinly-veiled portrayal of Wilson) who controls the population of Europe through
Malthusian
Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, ...
means including the use of bacteriological warfare and war with the Ottoman Empire.
* He is briefly referenced in the
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
song "
Taxman", together with his political opponent
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
.
Edward Heath
* ''
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week.
For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sund ...
'' (2002), played by
Corin Redgrave
Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist.
Early life
Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kem ...
* ''
The Long Walk to Finchley
''Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley'', subtitled in the initial credits ''How Maggie Might Have Done It'', is a 2008 BBC Four television drama based on the early political career of the young Margaret Thatcher (née Roberts), from her ...
'' (2008), played by
Samuel West
Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...
* ''
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...
'' (2009), played by
Nigel Le Vaillant
* ''
The Iron Lady'' (2011), played by
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 ...
* ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
'' (2016), played by
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 ...
James Callaghan
* ''
The Audience'' (stage play, 2013, played in the premiere production by David Peart)
Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
David Cameron
Theresa May
*
Gillian Bevan
Gillian Bevan (born 13 February 1956) is an English actress, best known for her roles in British television shows and West End theatre.
In 1988 she played Dorothy in the Royal Shakespeare Company's revival of their version of '' The Wizard of O ...
played Theresa May in the second series of the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
comedy ''
The Windsors''.
*
Jacqueline King
Jacqueline King is a British stage and television actress known for her role in Alan Ayckbourn's theatre production of '' GamePlan'' and as recurring character Sylvia Noble in ''Doctor Who'' from 2006 to 2023.
Career
King trained at the Brist ...
played Theresa May in the 2017 docudrama ''Theresa v Boris: How May Became PM'' which chronicled the
2016 Conservative leadership election.
Boris Johnson
References
{{List of UK Prime Ministers
Lists of prime ministers of the United Kingdom