Harriet Walter is playing the Iron Lady - and she's so convincing!
If you don’t remember the now infamous 1989 interview between journalist Brian Walden and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Harriet Walter is here to remind you of it. The 74-year-old actor is stepping into Thatcher’s shoes for a new Channel 4 drama and judging by the new trailer that’s just been released, she’s doing a very convincing job of it (see the helmet-style hairdo and those mannerisms).
Starring alongside Steve Coogan as Walden, the pair are bringing to life the dramatic 45-minute showdown that triggered the downfall of the Iron Lady. At the time, the interview became a national talking point and helped set in train a series of events that ended with Thatcher’s resignation.
Several big name actors have played Thatcher previously including Meryl Streep in 2011’s The Iron Lady, which earned her an Oscar for the role, as well as Lesley Manville in the 2009 docudrama The Queen and Lindsay Duncan in the 2009 TV film Margaret. And while Walter has said she had “to travel a great distance to reach Maggie Thatcher,” we think she’s absolutely nailed it!
Here's everything else we know about the upcoming Channel 4 drama….
What is Brian and Maggie about?
Written by Sherwood’s James Graham, Brian and Maggie tells the story of Brian Walden, the ‘much feared inquisitor’ and journalist whose 1989 interview with then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher led to her demise. Walden was said to be Thatcher’s favourite interviewer, but after the interview, the pair never spoke again.
Graham has described the two-part drama as “a chance to bring to life the intimate and complicated relationship between Brian Walden and Margaret Thatcher – interrogator, and Prime Minister. An epic one of love and betrayal, and I think an audience will be surprised by a lot of it. I know I was.”
Who stars in Brian and Maggie?
Harriet Walter and Steve Coogan will be joined by the following cast members:
Emma Sidi (Ghosts)
James Fleet (The Vicar of Dibley)
Karan Gill (I May Destroy You)
Tom Mothersdale (Bodies)
Ivan Kaye (The Green Green Grass)
Simon Paisley Day (This England)
Paul Clayton (The Full Monty)
Marcia Lecky (Holby City)
How can I watch it?
While we don’t have an exact air date for Brian and Maggie just yet, we do know it’s coming soon to Channel 4. Watch this space!
You Might Also Like
