Margaret (2009 film)
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''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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. 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 an ...
. It was made by the same production company as the 2008 television film ''
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 ...
'', 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 (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
(played by
Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by H ...
) 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 Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by H ...
-
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 (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
, 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 Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was an English businessman and the husband of Margaret Thatcher, who served as the first female British prime minister from 1979 to 1990; in turn, he became the first male prime m ...
, 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 William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as ''de fac ...
, 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 ''Performanc ...
- Charles Powell, Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor and Private Secretary *
Rupert Vansittart Rupert Nicholas Vansittart (born 10 February 1958) is an English character actor. He has appeared in a variety of roles in film, television, stage and radio, often playing comic characters. He is best known for his role as Lord Ashfordly in the ...
-
Peter Morrison Sir Peter Hugh Morrison (2 June 1944 – 13 July 1995) was a British Conservative politician, MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Background and education 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 p ...
, Prime Minister's Media Advisor *
Christian McKay Christian Stuart McKay (born 30 December 1973) is an English stage and screen actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Orson Welles in the 2008 film ''Me and Orson Welles'', for which he was nominated for over two dozen awards includi ...
-
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 Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His early career ...
, 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 Carol Jane Thatcher (born 15 August 1953) is an English journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and Denis Thatcher. She has written biographies of both he ...
, Prime Minister's Daughter *
Kevin McNally Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, att ...
-
Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...
, Education Secretary *
Roy Marsden Roy Marsden (born Roy Anthony Mould; 25 June 1941) is an English actor who portrayed Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations (1983–1998) of P. D. James's detective novels, and Neil Burnside in the spy drama ''The Sandbagg ...
-
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 from ...
, Scotland Secretary * Michael Maloney -
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 (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
, Chancellor of the Exchequer *
Roger Allam Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical '' Les Misérables'', First Officer ...
-
John Wakeham John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, (born 22 June 1932) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. Between 1998 and 2012, he was chancellor of Brunel University, and since then has been its chancellor emeritus. He was a director of E ...
, 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 Ronald Timothy Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, (28 May 1932 – 25 August 2020) was a British Conservative politician. Early life Tim Renton, who rarely used his first name of Ronald, was born in London. He won scholarships to Eton C ...
, Chief Whip (Jones is also in '' The Iron Lady'', as Admiral
Henry Leach Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, (18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011) was a Royal Navy officer who, as First Sea Lord, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, was instru ...
) * Tim McMullan - William Waldegrave, Foreign Office Minister *
Nicholas Le Provost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 1964. A ...
-
Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and political secretary to P ...
, 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, Tra ...
, 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 Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. Howe was Margaret Thatcher ...
, 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 Sir Bernard Ingham (born 21 June 1932) is a British journalist and former civil servant. He was Margaret Thatcher's chief press secretary throughout her time as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. He was knighted in Thatche ...
, Prime Minister's Press Secretary *
Roger Ashton-Griffiths Roger Ashton-Griffiths (born 19 January 1957) is an English character actor, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his role as Mace Tyrell in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Born in Hertfordshire, ...
- John Sergeant, ITV Reporter *
Oliver Cotton Oliver Charles Cotton (born 20 June 1944) is an English actor, comedian and playwright, known for his prolific work on stage, TV and film. He remains best known for his role as Cesare Borgia in the BBC's 1981 drama series '' The Borgias''. Early ...
-
Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...
, Former Defence Secretary * Guy Henry -
Tristan Garel Jones William Armand Thomas Tristan Garel-Jones, Baron Garel-Jones, PC (28 February 1941 – 23 March 2020) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Watford from 1979 to 1997, befo ...
, Government Whip * Diana Kent - Margaret King * Elizabeth Bennett - Sue Mastriforte *
Julian Firth Julian Firth (born 8 January 1961) is an English actor, best known for his roles as troubled inmate Davis in the cinematic version of the film '' Scum'' and as Brother Jerome in the long-running television series '' Cadfael''. Firth has enjoye ...
-
Norman Lamont Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer in ...
, Chief Secretary to the Treasury *
Rosemary Leach Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...
-
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 Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
*Douglas McFerran - MP2 * Nigel Le Vaillant -
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 (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
, Former Conservative Leader and Prime Minister *
Dermot Crowley Dermot Crowley (born 19 March 1947) is an Irish stage, film and television actor. Life and career Theatre Crowley's stage work has included a leading role in an Olivier Award winning production of Conor McPherson's ''The Weir'', which played ...
-
Airey Neave Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war ...
, Thatcher Campaign Manager in 1975 *Ian Hughes -
John Gummer John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords. He was Conservative Party Chairman from 1983 ...
* 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 Paul Jesson is an English stage, television and film actor and an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has played leading roles at the National Theatre and the RSC and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supp ...
- 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 Margaret ...
* Mark Perry - John MacGregor *George Pensotti -
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
*Francis Maguire - Official Hardy, Fox, Vansittart and Cochrane had all appeared in the 2002 TV production of ''
The Falklands Play ''The Falklands Play'' is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had incre ...
'', 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 ...
, 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.


See also

* '' Thatcher: The Final Days'', a 1991 film also depicting the final days of Thatcher's premiership *
Cultural depictions of Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. Her portrayal in the arts and popular culture has been mixed. In the words of one critic she attracted "musical opprobrium like no other British political leader". Such ...


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