My Dad's the Prime Minister
| My Dad's the Prime Minister | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Ian Hislop Nick Newman |
| Written by | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman |
| Directed by | Juliet May |
| Starring | Robert Bathurst Carla Mendonca Jasper Britton Joe Prospero Emma Sackville |
| Theme music composer | Steve Brown |
| Composer | Steve Brown |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Sophie Clarke-Jervoise Ian Gordon Elaine Sperber |
| Producer | Matthew Francis |
| Cinematography | Chris Goodger |
| Editor | Jake Bernard |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | CBBC[1] BBC Entertainment[2] |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One[3] CBBC Channel[4] |
| Release | 23 March 2003 – 31 December 2004 |
My Dad's the Prime Minister is a 2003–2004 British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and was a co-production between CBBC and BBC Entertainment.[5] It centres on the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast include Robert Bathurst, Joe Prospero, Carla Mendonça, Brian Bovell and Emma Sackville.
It was filmed at Bushey in Watford, and extras included students of the nearby Bushey Hall School and Bushey Meads School.
Series 1 was shown on BBC One as part of its CBBC strand, in April and May 2003. Season 2 was promoted to a primetime slot on BBC One, airing in November and December 2004. Series 1 focused more on Dillon (the Prime Minister's son), while the second season had greater coverage of the life of the Prime Minister.
Synopsis[edit]
Dillon Phillips is twelve years old, and also burdened with a father who is the Prime Minister and has just been voted "Naffest Man in Britain" by his favourite pop magazine. His dad's smarmy and unlikeable spin doctor, Duncan Packer, interferes with everything and the slightest bit of bad behaviour may trigger an international crisis. Dillon's mother, Clare, is a successful businesswoman and has little time for him, while his older sister, Sarah, is annoyingly bossy and dismissive of her brother and his problems: however, the pair do occasionally join forces in order to fight against their oppressive regime, and especially against Packer. At school, Dillon's only real friend is a boy known as 'Geezer', the other boys (a boy known as 'Flash', his main nemesis, in particular) frequently picking on him because of his father's position, especially when the latter shows him up, for example by arriving at the school's sports day in a helicopter. Dillon achieves some solace through imagining himself as a feisty, Jeremy Paxman-style, newsreader and interviewer, constantly interrogating his parents and sister and the odious Packer on matters that impinge on him. Most episodes open and close with these 'fantasy' newsflashes. He also occasionally gets some support from his kindly paternal grandmother, who takes surprisingly little interest in Michael's political career, preferring instead to focus on the achievements of her other son and her grandchildren.
Cast[edit]
- Robert Bathurst – Michael Phillips
- Joe Prospero – Dillon Phillips
- Carla Mendonca – Clare Phillips
- Emma Sackville – Sarah Phillips
- Jasper Britton – Duncan Packer
- Brian Bovell – Detective Andy Sharp (Series 1)
- Paterson Joseph – Detective Gary McRyan (Series 2)
- Simeon Gunn – JJ
- Joe Gunn – Geezer
- Liam Hess – Dom Clackson
- Luke Newberry – Lighthouse
- Leagh Conwell – James "Flash" Gordon
- Eugene Simon – Harry
- Marcia Warren – Granny Phillips
- Robert Vansittart – Chancellor
- Michael Cronin – Mr Speaker
- Michael Fenton Stevens – Home Secretary
- Neil McCaul – Foreign Secretary
- Jane Bertish – Education Secretary
- Martin Chamberlain – Trade and Industry Secretary
- Steve Toussaint – Transport Secretary
- Amanda Holt – Health Secretary
- Albert Welling – Opposition Leader
- Kenny Ireland – Union Leader
List of Episodes[edit]
Series overview[edit]
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 6 | 23 March 2003 | 27 April 2003 | |
| 2 | 7 | 5 November 2004 | 31 December 2004 | |
Series 1 (2003)[edit]
| Episode number |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sports Day" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 23 March 2003 | |
| The Prime Minister's son Dillon anticipates sports day humiliation. | |||||
| 2 | "The Party" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 30 March 2003 | |
| In an attempt to restore his credibility, the Prime Minister organises a celebrity party at Downing Street. | |||||
| 3 | "Ghosts" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 6 April 2003 | |
| During a weekend at Chequers, Dillon has to show that he is not afraid of ghosts, while the Prime minister Must prove that he's not scared of his Belgian counterpart. | |||||
| 4 | "The School Play" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 13 April 2003 | |
| As rehearsals for the school's stage production begin, Dillon is hiding something and Granny's arrival does not help. Will things be all right on the night? | |||||
| 5 | "The Project" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 20 April 2003 | |
| Dillon is working hard on his project. | |||||
| 6 | "Homework" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 27 April 2003 | |
| Can Dillon and his new friend foil the PM's plans to introduce an extra hour's homework a day - just for boys? | |||||
Series 2 (2004)[edit]
| Episode number |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Election" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 5 November 2004 | |
| Father and son clash at the general election polls. | |||||
| 2 | "Exam" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 12 November 2004 | |
| Is the PM's arithmetic up to a GCSE maths test? Can Dillon avoid a date with Amanda Gruntly? | |||||
| 3 | "Desert Island" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 26 November 2004 | |
| The offer of a holiday puts Michael in a tight spot. | |||||
| 4 | "Marathon" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 3 December 2004 | |
| The PM tries to prove his fitness when rumours of ill health dog Downing Street. | |||||
| 5 | "Jobless" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 10 December 2004 | |
| A temporarily suspended Clare spends more time with her family, but they are keen as she returns to work. | |||||
| 6 | "Diaries" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 17 December 2004 | |
| The PM confronts the serious business of having his portrait painted. | |||||
| 7 | "Powerless" | Juliet May | Ian Hislop and Nick Newman | 31 December 2004 | |
| The last-ever episode of the children's political comedy-drama. | |||||
Home Media releases[edit]
Series 1 was released on DVD and video in 2004 by DD Video, under license from the BBC.
