Succession actress Harriet Walter to play Margaret Thatcher in Channel 4 series

Lead actress Harriet Walter takes on the role of Margaret Thatcher in the spectacular drama series Brian and Margaret. The series will air on Channel 4 and is directed by Stephen Frears, written by James Graham and stars Steve Coogan. Coogan's BBC Studios-backed Baby Cow produces.



Unveiled with three weeks to go until the general election, the two-part series is a dramatization of the story behind and occasion of Thatcher's (Walter, pictured) last television interview, the deeply damaging ITV chat with her old friend Brian Walden (Coogan), which is seen by some as the final nail in her coffin as Prime Minister.

The pair were cozy in the run-up to the interview and had faced off on the small screen before, but Walden - who was one of the most feared political interviewers of his day - traded a number of blows, most notably with a question about recent resignation of Thatcher's chancellor, Nigel Lawson. Thatcher resigned a year after the 1989 interview and never spoke to Walden again.

The project was revealed in its infancy to Deadline a year ago by Baby Cow CEO Sarah Monteith, who described a Thatcher series in development that would “say something about the nature of debate in our country.” You can watch the Thatcher-Walden interview in full at the bottom of the page.

Brian and Margaret is based on two chapters from ex-BBC producer Rob Burley's book Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me and is similar to Netflix's Scoop about the infamous Prince Andrew interview. Political interviews are in the spotlight as current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor leader Keir Starmer are questioned by contemporary Walden aspirants such as the BBC's Nick Robinson and Sky's Beth Rigby.

Walter was Emmy nominated for her role as Logan Roy's ex-wife Lady Caroline Collingwood in the hit HBO series Succession, while she has also appeared in Killing Eve, Silo and The Crown and is a celebrity on the West End stage.

She takes on a role that has been played by many over the years. Gillian Anderson won an Emmy for her role in The Crown and Meryl Streep won an Oscar twelve years ago for The Iron Lady. Others who have portrayed one of Britain's longest-serving prime ministers include Lesley Manville in Frears' The Queen, Andrea Riseborough and Lindsay Duncan. Lesley-Anne Down will soon be seen as Thatcher in Sean McNamara's upcoming biographical film about Ronald Reagan.

With her left-wing political leanings, Walter joked that she “has to travel a great distance to reach Maggie Thatcher.” “But with James’s brilliant script, Stephen Frears to guide me and Steve Coogan to accompany me I have the dream team to help me achieve it,” she added.

Coogan said: “It’s great to be telling a story from the era of the sorely missed forensic interview – two giants of their time locking horns to determine the future of Britain. To act opposite Harriet Walter with a script by James Graham directed by Stephen Frears is a challenge of the very best kind.”

Sherwood creator Graham, who was unveiled yesterday as the Edinburgh TV Festival 2024 MacTaggart lecturer, said the show will “bring to life the intimate and complicated relationship” between Walden and Thatcher.

Graham has had an iron grip on the British political television drama and theater scene of late, while two-time Oscar nominee Frears has helmed many a political project over the years.

Brian and Margaret is the first go-ahead for newly appointed Film4 director and head of Channel 4 Drama, Ollie Madden, who took over the combined role earlier this year. Madden is the client together with Ben Wadey. Executive producers are Monteith, Delyth Scudamore and Rupert Majendie, while Dan Winch is producer. BBC Studios sells internationally.