BBC’s new drama about a scandal-hit MP is bound to invite parallels with the current political climate.
But is Roadkill, a thriller written by David Hare, based on real events?
Writer David Hare has insisted none of the characters in Roadkill are based on fact.
In a press statement, he said: “So much television drama is now based on documentary events that it is hard to remember the primary trigger for fiction is meant to be the imagination.
“My hero, Peter Laurence, is not based on anyone. Nor are the other characters.
“Mine is a parallel world to the real one, and there is no secret passage between the two.
“You will be wasting your time if you think that the purpose of the series is to work out who everyone is ‘meant to be’.
“In Roadkill, neither Covid nor Brexit consume every politician’s waking hour.”
In the new drama, Hugh Laurie takes the lead as Peter while Helen McCrory plays prime minister, Dawn Ellison, and Pippa Bennett-Warner stars as barrister Rochelle Madeley.
Roadkill is a fictional thriller about a self-made, forceful and charismatic politician Peter Laurence, played by Hugh Laurie.
When revelations about his public and private life come to the surface, Peter’s every move are picked apart by his enemies.
With his enemies so close to home, can he ever out-run his own secrets to win the ultimate prize?
Laurence must assess the price he is prepared to climb the career ladder.
Writer Hare said: “I first worked with Hugh Laurie in 1987 when he set off on his riveting change of direction from adroit comedian to commanding dramatic actor.
“I can’t wait to see him embody the fictional future of the Conservative party in Roadkill.”
McCrory, who plays the Prime Minister in the drama says: “It’s Europe in economic free fall with the same problems that have been facing Britain for the last 10, 20, 30 years; what we do about prisons, what do we do about the NHS.
“The same problems every government faces really, so it’s recognisable in that way.
“These aren’t real people and this is not a revelatory piece about something that David Hare discovered, this is a discussion in his mind about how to go about and what politicians are really like.”
This four-parter will kick off tonight (Sunday, October 18, 2020).
It will be on at 9pm on BBC One.
Each episode will be available on the BBC iPlayer after it has aired.
