Harriet Walter to Play Margaret Thatcher in James Graham's 'Brian & Margaret'

James Graham's Sherwood was one of the best shows anywhere on TV in 2022. An unflinching portrayal of what Margaret Thatcher's administration was allowed to do to the working classes to break the miner's strike and sow acrimony between those who could unite against her and her party of wealthy elites, it was as much damning of those who fell for her trap as the abuses those in power freely allowed to happen. But Graham's series aimed most of its rage at Thatcher, her strike-breaking goons, and the horror of the Spy Cops program. 

Now, with Sherwood Season 2 in the can and prepped to air in the latter half of 2024, he's turning his pen directly on the woman once called The Iron Lady, with a new drama called Brian & Margaret, dramatizing the last-ever television interview Thatcher gave as Prime Minister to journalist Brian Walden, with Dame Harriet Walter signed on to play Thatcher in her final months in office. This might not seem like the most promising of subjects to an American viewership, but for British viewers of a certain age, that 1989 interview, which lasted 45 minutes in primetime on the BBC, was a stunner, going viral across the country in a time before the internet was in common use or "viral video" existed as a term. 

Part of why viewers were so shocked at how the interview played out: Thatcher and Walden were known to be old friends, and the assumption was that this would be a friendly, almost softball sitdown. So when Thatcher began stumbling right out of the gate on the easy stuff, and Walden, sensing he had history in the making on his hands, went for it, and took the Prime Minister apart live on air, it wasn't just watching a public figure get mauled by a BBC interviewer, it was watching her get figuratively taken down by someone who was supposed to be on her side.

Here's the limited series synopsis:

1989. When two old friends, the 'much-feared inquisitor,' Brian Walden, and 'Iron Lady' Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, come together for their last ever TV interview, little do they realize they're about to embark on one of the most infamous political exchanges of all time. The 45-minute showdown became a national talking point and set in train a series of events that ended with Margaret’s resignation.

Afterward, they never spoke again…

Walter will co-star with comedian Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) doing a dramatic turn as Brian Walden. Further casting is expected to be announced when filming commences.

Based on the book with the truly awesome title of Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me: Searching for the Truth on Political TV, written by former BBC editor of live political programs Rob Burley, the limited series is a two-parter. Graham penned both installments, director Stephen Frears (A Very English Scandal) will helm both halves, and Dan Winch is producing. Executive producers are Sarah Monteith, Delyth Scudamore, and Rupert Majendie for Baby Cow Productions, a BBC-owned studio.

No American distributor has been announced as yet, but PBS needs to get on this before BritBox snaps it up. Someone tell Masterpiece: get moving!