Major New Margaret Thatcher TV Project Coming In 2012

New TV drama from 1066 Productions will focus on the run-up to Thatcher's election as leader of the Conservatives. Well, everyone needs an origin story these days...

By Simon Gallagher /

News has just reached us that next year will see the production of a major new TV drama centred on Margaret Thatcher's rise to power - sort of like an Iron Lady Begins that will fill the gaps left out by the more retrospectively focused Pathés biopic starring Meryl Streep, due for cinema release in December. Forging the Iron Lady, set to be made by London-based 1066 Productions will swerve the controversy currently meeting that other Thatcher project by settling on slightly less inflammatory material. The project will deal with the extraordinary four-month period that ended with her winning the Conservative Party leadership in 1975. 1066 CEO Chris Hastings confirmed the direction the show would take:
It€™s an amazing story that has never been fully dramatised before, and I think most people will surprised at what actually happened. There have been a number of TV dramas on other parts of Thatcher€™s career - the Falklands War, her downfall, and even how she got into Parliament €“ but this fills a significant gap in the sequence.
He went on to reassure Thatcherites and historians alike that, unlike The Iron Lady, which has found criticism recently from test audiences for distorting the facts in the good name of entertainment (especially in terms of her relationship with husband Denis), Forging The Iron Lady would stick with more accurate detail:
It€™s perfectly true that Denis was incredibly supportive of his wife€™s political career, and that comes across very strongly in our script. But what also comes across is that at this stage in her career she was not yet the Iron Lady. She was a softer, more feminine, almost vulnerable character, much more inclined to listen to and lean on those around her, and not yet steeled by events or her own success.
Intriguingly, Hastings ends on a particularly exciting point, especially for British History fans, stating that the TV production would take into account the volatile backdrop to the election, and the sustained campaign on the British mainland by Irish terrorists, including the infamous Birmingham, Guildford, and Woolwich pub bombing atrocities in which hundreds were killed:
We couldn€™t ignore this. The script skilfully works them into the plot in a way that will surprise most people, but they really are part of the story.
We're sold so far - though I'm still looking for a definitive Red Riding Trilogy style portrait of the Mining Strikes and Thatcher's relationship with the Unions - and will definitely be looking forward to the 2012 production getting off the ground. And just one last thing: if money was no object, I'd love nothing more than to see this lady in the role: