Theresa May is dramatised on-screen in a new BBC drama-documentary about her ascent to power during last year’s tumultuous Conservative Party leadership campaign.
Theresa Vs Boris: How May Became PM was commissioned before Mrs May called the recent snap election.
It stars Doctor Who actress Jacqueline King as Mrs May, Will Barton as Boris Johnson and John Seaward as Michael Gove.
The drama-documentary focuses on the 20 days between Brexit and Mrs May becoming leader of the Conservative Party.
First-look images show Mrs May at a hustings during her leadership bid, Mr Gove casting an awkward glance at Mr Johnson and the latter holding a curry night before he pulled out of the race to become the next British prime minister.
The BBC said the programme was based on “exhaustive research and first-person testimonies” and would “lay bare the politicking and positioning, betrayals and blunders” of the time.
Previously given the working title 20 Days – Battle For Supremacy, it will also feature interviews with those involved in the campaigns jockeying for power.
BBC Two controller Patrick Holland previously said of the drama: “It gives the audience a way of getting to the heart of that story. There are revelations that will be compelling and intriguing.”
But he added: “It’s a fusion of drama and documentary. It’s not a full drama doing The West Wing for the Conservative Party.”
Asked in April whether the story would be of little interest if Mrs May did not get into power at the next election, he said: “Not at all. What happened after Brexit is an extraordinary drama.”
:: Theresa Vs Boris: How May Became PM airs on Sunday at 9pm on BBC Two.
