Ready for your first taste of the provocative new drama?
New Channel 4 drama Partygate is sure to get people talking, and is a culmination of research, real-life testimony and some surprising facts about the events in Downing Street during the period of Covid-19.
The new drama is led by Jon Culshaw as Boris Johnson, and follows fictional special advisors Grace Greenwood (Georgie Henley) and Annabel D’acre (Ophelia Lovibond).
Aside from a raucous trailer, not much is currently known about the show, which is set to land on our screens tomorrow (Tuesday 3rd October).
Well, RadioTimes.com has an exclusive first look for you all, providing a sneak peek at one of the upcoming long-winded speeches to take place in the series, as delivered by Culshaw’s Johnson.
In the clip, we see that it’s actually party number four, and takes place on 13th November 2020.
Johnson is giving a speech to his excited group of special advisors and colleagues in one of the rooms at Downing Street, with drinks flowing and social distancing not being observed.
In the speech, he thanks his cohort for working together, and makes reference to Dominic Cummings’s exit from Downing Street that day.
He continues: “I should add, I think this is probably the most unsocially distanced party in the country right now.” And it’s that line in particular, like many to come in the new drama, that is reportedly taken from reality.
The sentence in question is footnoted as being a reference from the House of Commons investigation. The cheering for Johnson continues as he exits the room and goes up the stairs, while we hear chants of “Boris!” and a backing track of ABBA’s The Winner Takes It All.
Watch the clip for yourself below.
The new factual drama was announced back in April 2023 and, according to the synopsis, tells “the inside story in dramatic re-enactments interwoven with news archive footage and documentary interviews, showing the horrors of Covid unfold across the nation, while staff at Number 10 kicked back at a string of parties lubricated by quantities of alcohol”.
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At the time of the show’s commission, Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, said in a statement: “This is a slate of programmes that shows Channel 4 is as disruptive, original and purposeful as it has ever been.
“From holding politicians to account over partygate to examining the vexed debate over gender identity, from exposing the unspoken side-effects of the pill to seeking solutions to avert climate disaster, these are shows that speak to the concerns of young British viewers and create real world impact.”
Partygate will air on Channel 4 at 9.30pm on Tuesday 3rd October. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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