Channel 4 announces original political drama Coalition (w/t)

21 August 2014

“I believe the way things are, is not the way things have to be. We have a chance to do things differently, for once…” Nick Clegg, May 2010

In May 2010, after decades of single party rule and amidst growing disillusionment, all eyes turned to one man. A man who found himself with the power to change the landscape of British politics – and his career – forever. But at what cost?

In an original single drama for Channel 4, Coalition (w/t), critically-acclaimed writer James Graham (Privacy, This House, Tory Boyz) explores the emotionally wrought, politically-charged and often frenzied moments leading up to Nick Clegg’s astonishing rise from rank outsider to the man who would decide the fate of the country.

As he took to the podium for the UK’s first ever televised leader’s debate, Nick Clegg had been an MP for just five years and was the new kid on the Westminster block. Living in the shadow of Brown and Cameron his Lib Dem party was relegated to the political side-lines. But as he finished his impassioned speech something powerful had emerged. Something which awoke a British public desperate for change, and threatened to shake the current political system to its core: Clegg-mania.

The election failed to produce a majority and left Cameron and Brown courting one man. Suddenly Clegg found himself faced with an almost impossible, yet perhaps irresistible, choice – one that would allow him to achieve what had been unthinkable just a few weeks before… To govern. But it was a choice that came at a cost. Would Clegg become the hero of a new politics – or the destroyer of his own party? Blue…or red? Left…or Right?

Delving into the individual decisions, personal sacrifices and divisive compromises made in a pivotal few days, Coalition (w/t) exposes the game of building governments in backrooms, and will be a penetrating insight into one of the most influential and significant political decisions of recent years.

Coalition (w/t) writer James Graham says: "In May 2010, British politics was faced with a dilemma it hadn't had to face in peacetime for over 75 years… The public were asked ‘who should govern’, and they came back with the answer – ‘we don't know’. Those historic, dramatic few days put personalities at the heart of politics – and the choices made, I believe, changed the face of British politics forever. What we try to capture in this drama is the tension, the high stakes, and the frequent farcical and absurd nature of what happens when a power is wrangled, negotiated and fought over like children trading cards in the playground."

Informed by extensive research, Graham’s 90 minute single drama will be directed by BAFTA-winning Alex Holmes (Dunkirk, House of Saddam) and produced by Cuba Pictures (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Broken), who previously collaborated with Channel 4 on the award-winning Boy A. Sarah Curtis and Dixie Linder are producing with Nick Marston Executive Producing.

Coalition (w/t) was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Head of Drama for Channel 4, with Sophie Gardiner the Commissioning Editor for Channel 4. It joins a canon of ambitious political dramas from Channel 4, including the BAFTA-winning singles Mo starring Julie Walters, last year’s Complicit written by Guy Hibbert, and Peter Morgan’s The Deal, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Michael Sheen and David Morrissey.