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Margaret Thatcher - The Long Walk To Finchley


2008 - BBC4

Andrea Riseborough ... Margaret Thatcher
Philip Jackson ... Alfred Roberts
Michael Gould ... John Miller
Jonathan Aris ... Stanley Soward
Rory Kinnear ... Denis Thatcher
Samuel West ... Ted Heath
Lydia Leonard ... Joyce
Marcia Warren ... Old Dear
Michael Cochrane ... Sir Waldron Smithers
Sylvestra Le Touzel ... Patricia Hornsby-Smith
Christian Rodska ... Lieutenant Colonel Digby
Robert Whitelock ... Bert
Geoff McGivern¹ ... Dartford Returning Officer/TV & Radio Announcer
James Laurenson ... Leslie Thomas
Claire Vousden ... Nanny
Rob Edwards ... Hemel Member/John Wells/Sumner
Geoffrey Whitehead ... Entwistle/Lt Col Allason
Kim Wall ... Lichfield/Horsfield/Orpington Member
Angela Sims ... Beckenham Constituent
Michael Selwood ... Mark Thatcher
Julia Joyce ... Carol Thatcher
Oliver Ford Davies ... Sir Donald Kaberry
Geoffrey Palmer ... Sir John Crowder
Georgie Glen ... Miss Harris
Jeremy Child ... Langton
Geoffrey Beevers ... Head Panellist - Finchley
Elizabeth Bennett ... Doreen/Interviewer

The Long Walk to Finchley begins the night that 24 year-old Margaret Roberts first met her husband-to-be Denis Thatcher. Writer Tony Saint has brilliantly woven a story – part fact, part fiction – about what might have happened when, with Denis’ love and support, the young and attractive Margaret took on that most established and reactionary of all British institutions – the British Tory Party – and battled for ten years to be accepted as a credible Parliamentary candidate.

A witty and wild fantasy about the root of the infamously rancorous relationship between Margaret and Ted Heath - the man destined to become Prime Minister before Margaret Thatcher and the man Margaret Thatcher was herself destined to supplant.

An extraordinary portrait of a vibrant young woman, utterly obsessed with politics. Andrea Riseborough (herself only 25 when she played the role), created a young Margaret Thatcher that has to be seen to be believed - a performance that is at once hilarious and touching. Rory Kinnear’s Denis is a charming mixture of wry humour and practical tolerance, but most especially of quiet support and love towards his obsessive wife. Sam West’s Ted Heath is a brilliant portrayal of a man wrestling with his sexuality whilst utterly convinced of his political abilities. And a dream supporting cast of the ‘elder statesmen’ of British stage and screen headed by Oliver Ford-Davies and Geoffrey Palmer, playing the grey-suited Grandees of the 1950s Tory party. Their performances are flawless and funny.

BAFTA Awards 2009
Nominated, BAFTA TV Award Best Actress Andrea Riseborough
Nominated, BAFTA TV Award Best Director Fiction/Entertainment Niall MacCormick
Nominated, BAFTA TV Award Best Editing Fiction/Entertainment Anthony Combes
Nominated, BAFTA TV Award Best Make Up & Hair Design Christine Allsopp
Nominated, BAFTA TV Award Breakthrough Talent Tony Saint

2009 Broadcasting Press Guild Award
Winner: Best Single Drama
Winner: Best Multichannel Programme
Winner: Best Actress Andrea Riseborough

Royal Television Society, UK 2009
Nominated, Best Single Drama (Great Meadow Productions)
Winner; Best Costume Design: Drama Charlotte Holdich



Original Music - Srdjan Kurpjel and Mario Takoushis
Director of Photography - Jan Jonaeus
Editor - Anthony Combes
Casting Director - Rachel Freck
Production Designer - Simon Beresford
Art Director - Andrew Rothschild
Costume Designer - Charlotte Holdich
Hair and Make Up Designer - Christine Allsopp

Writer: Tony Saint
Director: Niall MacCormick
Producer: Madonna Baptiste

Executive Producers: Robert Cooper and Kate Triggs

Sales: BBC Worldwide

Margaret Thatcher – The Long Walk to Finchley transmitted on BBC4 in June 2008 to an audience of nearly 1 million viewers, the third highest viewing figure achieved by the channel at that time.

Productions from Great Meadow