Margaret (2009 film)

Margaret is a 2009 television film produced by Great Meadow Productions for the BBC. It is a fictionalisation of the life of Margaret Thatcher (played by Lindsay Duncan) 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.^[1] It was first broadcast on 26 February 2009 on BBC Two. It was made by the same production company as the 2008 television film The Long Walk to Finchley, which fictionalised the start of Thatcher's political career.

Production

On 9 April 2008, it was announced that Duncan was to play Thatcher, and filming commenced in summer 2008.

Cast

Hardy, Fox, Vansittart and Cochrane had all appeared in the 2002 TV production of The Falklands Play, by Ian Curteis, 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, 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 ... [hang] around the mind like cigar smoke".^[2]

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

References

External links

• Margaret at BBC Programmes
  
• Margaret at the Internet Movie Database
• White, Michael (17 February 2009). "The lady's not for turning off: Drama shows the chinks in Thatcher's armour". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2009. 
• Aaronovitch, David (23 February 2008). "Portillo on Thatcher as Tory pin-up". The Times. Retrieved 5 June 2008. 
• Holmwood, Leigh (29 May 2008). "A Free Country: BBC lines up new series by Tony Saint". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2008. 
• Marcus, Sarah (28 April 2008). "Lindsay Duncan to play Margaret Thatcher". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2008. 

Margaret Thatcher
13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–90) Leader of the Conservative Party (1975–90) MP for Finchley (1959–92) Death and funeral (2013)
Member of Parliament	Finchley Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 Shadow Cabinet
Ideology	Thatcherism Conservatism ‎
Premiership	First ministry (1979–83) Second ministry (1983–87) Third ministry (1987–90) Cold War 1981 United Kingdom budget 1981 Irish hunger strike The lady's not for turning Falklands War Brighton hotel bombing Opposition to trade unions Miners' strike Local Government Act Westland affair Sermon on the Mound 1988 broadcasting restrictions Poll tax (riots) Gulf War Resignation Honours
Party elections	1975 1989 1990
General elections	1979 1983 1987
Books	The Downing Street Years The Path to Power Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World
Family	Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt (husband) The Hon. Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Bt (son) The Hon. Carol Thatcher (daughter) Alfred Roberts (father)
Cultural depictions	Film and television Thatcher: The Final Days The Falklands Play Pinochet in Suburbia The Long Walk to Finchley Margaret The Iron Lady The Hunt for Tony Blair In Search of La Che Statues Statue of Margaret Thatcher, Palace of Westminster Statue of Margaret Thatcher, London Guildhall Associated performers Steve Nallon Janet Brown Meryl Streep
Book Category