Absolute Power (series)
Encyclopedia
Absolute Power is a British
comedy
series, set in the offices of Prentiss McCabe, a fictional public relations
company (or 'government-media relations consultancy') in London
, run by Charles Prentiss (Stephen Fry
) and Martin McCabe (John Bird
).
It started in 2000 on BBC Radio 4
, with the fourth and last radio series broadcast in 2004. A six-part television
series ran on BBC Two
towards the end of 2003; the second six-episode television series ran on BBC Two on Thursdays at 10 pm from 21st July to 25th August 2005. A one-off radio episode was broadcast on 3rd November 2006.
The title is taken from a quotation by the historian Lord Acton
that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
, and logically follows the series In the Red, In the Balance, In the Chair, and In the End which he wrote with Peter Baynham
. In some of these, Prentiss and McCabe (again played by Fry and Bird) are elevated members of the BBC
, before getting kicked out. The idea is that after this they created Prentiss McCabe, which is the subject of Absolute Power. The tone and style of Absolute Power is so different from the In the... series that it can be regarded as a totally different programme. It was produced by Dawn Ellis.
Prentiss is a man without morals, whose only objectives are money and power. He is portrayed as being the brains, while McCabe, though an excellent speech-writer, lacks his motivation and insight. McCabe's ambitions include retiring and drinking claret
, and he spends his life in a state of cynicism, lack of energy and boredom. McCabe (who describes himself as "a first class mind") does sometimes have good ideas, but they usually become Prentiss's ideas by the time they are presented to the client, and he lacks the energy to make more than mild objections. McCabe is also more likely to baulk at a scheme for moral reasons than Prentiss.
Stephen Fry said of Charles Prentiss, "He's a brute of a man, out to win, with no morals; he's completely shameless. There's not much to say that's nice about him, except that there is some pleasure in watching a natural born killer at work and knowing whatever happens he will win".
Prentiss and McCabe often find themselves working on behalf of two rival clients, one of whom is often the shadier side of the Labour Government
, often called their "Downing Street Retainer". This is usually something of an inconvenience as Prentiss is met by Archie Hilditch (Tony Gardner
, Alex Lowe
), a faceless member of the Government, in a deserted location (such as Frank Dobson
's campaign headquarters), and told he needs to ruin the popularity of the organisation that he has spent half the programme building up. For example, in one episode they're employed by the government to increase the popularity of the European Union
, while also being employed by the Eurosceptic
newspaper The Sun
to increase sales. It is probably a good thing in the end, as the firm relies on these payments since neither Prentiss nor McCabe seems to want to do any real work.
The third member of the company is Sandy (Siobhan Hayes
), who is there as the office trainee, getting work experience for her NVQ
level 2. She usually does all the work that the partners in the firm cannot be bothered to do, such as filling out thousands of public opinion polls in different handwritings, though she will only agree to do something if it can be twisted into one of the 'nine levels of competence' of her NVQ. Another member of the office is the useless Clive (Tom George
) or as Martin calls him, 'young, er, thing', who often turns publicity stunts into bloodbaths. He first appears in series three, after Sandy leaves the company to become a nurse (although due to her fiddling with the accounts, she still gets paid).
Another regular character is Maurice, the waiter at McCabe's club. Each time he serves McCabe's claret, he corrects the English pronunciation of Maurice (Morris) to the French (Maur-ees), and each time Prentiss puts him down with a verse like "One man by circumstance is in splendour set; whilst another irons pants in a laundrette. Go and iron my pants, Morris".
In series 1, one of the running jokes is the company trying to avoid working on "The Sir Harold Dixon Account." Although he is never heard, it is known that he is a Conservative
politician. As the series goes on, Sandy becomes more frustrated, and in the last episode she changes jobs and starts working for Sir Harold. However, after allegations of sleaze, Sir Harold is made bankrupt and Sandy returns to Prentiss McCabe.
In series 2, another character was created, Gayle Shand, played by Tamsin Greig
. Gayle was a former employee of Prentiss McCabe and Charles's former girlfriend, with whom she had a heavily sexual relationship (they often made love whilst listening to classical music). However, the relationship fell apart after Gayle told Charles that she was already married to an insect specialist from Philadelphia. She now runs a rival firm to Prentiss McCabe, which is a much larger company, and is often trying to win Archie's contract, or is the agent of a rival client to Prentiss McCabe's current one. For example, whilst Charles and Martin work for the PM via Archie, Gayle is the spin doctor for the Chancellor of the Exchequer
. Prentiss McCabe always come up with a plan to keep Archie on their side, despite Gayle's attempts to stop them, even trying to make Charles a partner in her firm.
Also introduced was her assistant, Janice, who suspected that Gayle's personal rivalry with Charles did not lead to the best decisions.
In the last episode of series 2, Gayle was leaving for America, and made one last bet with Charles. She bet her company against Charles's testicles that he could not make the Home Secretary
say, "Prison doesn't work". Despite Charles's best attempts, Gayle won because she bribed the Home Secretary, as she was having an affair with someone in the Home Office. Luckily, she called off the bet providing Charles could make love to her to the tune of the 1812 overture
. Charles managed to get his own back, however, by planting some Class A Drugs in her suitcase as she left for America. Charles may nevertheless still have some feelings for her, and sometimes reminisces about their relationship.
A one-off special episode was broadcast on the 3 November 2006, with Tony Gardner playing Archie. In the special, Martin goes to jail for seven years for fraud (having been implicated in the Cash for Peerages
scandal). Archie, who has left New Labour, then blackmails Charles into giving him a job in order to prevent any more embarrassing information getting out about the company.
However, Charles soon learns that in fact Archie has framed both Martin and himself, with the assistance of Martin's girlfriend, and they are planning to take over Prentiss McCabe. After Charles finds proof, Archie goes to jail and Martin gets released, but as he has been moved to an open prison, he does not feel like leaving too soon.
The radio series is sometimes repeated on BBC 7
as part of their, "Comedy Club". These repeats are some of the most listened shows on BBC Radio, attracting over 70,000 listeners a week.
, Mark Lawson
and Andrew Rattenbury
, and had the tag "spin
is dead, long live PR
". Unlike most radio to TV sitcom transfers, none of the TV episodes were based on a radio episode. There are many differences to the radio version. Prentiss McCabe is a much more powerful and respected organisation than in the radio series. Martin McCabe is much more worldly wise. The secret meetings with government representatives are gone and replaced with more cups of coffee with newspaper editors and private secretaries.
While the radio series has one trainee, the TV version has several young professionals working at the agency. Most notable are Jamie Front (James Lance
) and Alison Jackman (Zoe Telford
). While Jamie is a brilliant liar and naturally devious, Alison is very intelligent but too honest and somewhat literal-minded. Charles Prentiss said of her, "Most of the young people here at Prentiss McCabe don't know their arse from their elbow, but with Alison, at least you know she'll join the Royal Arse Society and get a book about elbows from the library". Also in the firm are Cat Durnford (Sally Bretton
), the young party girl, and Nick Mayer (Nick Burns), Charles's personal assistant.
Instead of political schemes, the agency concentrates on working with celebrities: something that is rare in the radio version. In the radio episode where McCabe works with a Big Brother
contestant, this is shown as an exceptional event, but would be normal behaviour in the TV series. Contrariwise, in the TV episode "The House of Lords", Charles is mildly surprised to be contacted by a government spin doctor.
Notable cameo
and guest-starring roles in the television series have included:
attempted to buy British Airways
) was replaced by an episode from later in the series. The bin Laden episode was aired several weeks later.
Series 2
Series 3
Series 4
Special Episode - (3 November 2006)
Series Two
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
series, set in the offices of Prentiss McCabe, a fictional public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
company (or 'government-media relations consultancy') in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, run by Charles Prentiss (Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
) and Martin McCabe (John Bird
John Bird (actor)
John Bird is an English satirist, actor and comedian.-Early life:Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and educated at High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham, Bird briefly joined the Socialist Party of Great Britain, while still at school...
).
It started in 2000 on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, with the fourth and last radio series broadcast in 2004. A six-part television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series ran on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
towards the end of 2003; the second six-episode television series ran on BBC Two on Thursdays at 10 pm from 21st July to 25th August 2005. A one-off radio episode was broadcast on 3rd November 2006.
The title is taken from a quotation by the historian Lord Acton
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO, DL , known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer...
that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
Radio version
The series was devised and written by Mark TavenerMark Tavener
Mark Tavener was a British novelist who also wrote for radio and television. Born and brought up in Plymouth, educated at Plymouth College and Peterhouse Cambridge. His 1989 satirical novel In the Red was adapted for radio in 1995, and television in 1998...
, and logically follows the series In the Red, In the Balance, In the Chair, and In the End which he wrote with Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham is a screenwriter and a British comedian, writer, and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and has worked with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places...
. In some of these, Prentiss and McCabe (again played by Fry and Bird) are elevated members of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, before getting kicked out. The idea is that after this they created Prentiss McCabe, which is the subject of Absolute Power. The tone and style of Absolute Power is so different from the In the... series that it can be regarded as a totally different programme. It was produced by Dawn Ellis.
Prentiss is a man without morals, whose only objectives are money and power. He is portrayed as being the brains, while McCabe, though an excellent speech-writer, lacks his motivation and insight. McCabe's ambitions include retiring and drinking claret
Claret
Claret is a name primarily used in British English for red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.-Usage:Claret derives from the French clairet, a now uncommon dark rosé and the most common wine exported from Bordeaux until the 18th century...
, and he spends his life in a state of cynicism, lack of energy and boredom. McCabe (who describes himself as "a first class mind") does sometimes have good ideas, but they usually become Prentiss's ideas by the time they are presented to the client, and he lacks the energy to make more than mild objections. McCabe is also more likely to baulk at a scheme for moral reasons than Prentiss.
Stephen Fry said of Charles Prentiss, "He's a brute of a man, out to win, with no morals; he's completely shameless. There's not much to say that's nice about him, except that there is some pleasure in watching a natural born killer at work and knowing whatever happens he will win".
Prentiss and McCabe often find themselves working on behalf of two rival clients, one of whom is often the shadier side of the Labour Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, often called their "Downing Street Retainer". This is usually something of an inconvenience as Prentiss is met by Archie Hilditch (Tony Gardner
Tony Gardner
Tony Gardner is an English actor and doctor. He qualified as a doctor at Guy's Hospital in 1987, then as a General Practitioner in 1993...
, Alex Lowe
Alex Lowe (actor)
Alex Lowe is an English actor and comedian, who is best known as the creator and voice behind the character 'Barry from Watford' on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 show and Absolute Radio's Iain Lee Show-Barry from Watford:...
), a faceless member of the Government, in a deserted location (such as Frank Dobson
Frank Dobson
Frank Gordon Dobson, is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras since 1979...
's campaign headquarters), and told he needs to ruin the popularity of the organisation that he has spent half the programme building up. For example, in one episode they're employed by the government to increase the popularity of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, while also being employed by the Eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
newspaper The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
to increase sales. It is probably a good thing in the end, as the firm relies on these payments since neither Prentiss nor McCabe seems to want to do any real work.
The third member of the company is Sandy (Siobhan Hayes
Siobhan Hayes
Siobhan Hayes is an actress best known for her role as Abi Harper in the British television series My Family.Hayes portrayed Abi Harper as a dimwitted and clumsy student in the British sitcom My Family, a role she has reprised since 2002 to 2008 when the character was written out of the programme...
), who is there as the office trainee, getting work experience for her NVQ
National Vocational Qualification
National Vocational Qualifications are work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification ....
level 2. She usually does all the work that the partners in the firm cannot be bothered to do, such as filling out thousands of public opinion polls in different handwritings, though she will only agree to do something if it can be twisted into one of the 'nine levels of competence' of her NVQ. Another member of the office is the useless Clive (Tom George
Tom George
Thomas "Tom" George was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. As a member of the Michigan State Senate, he represented Kalamazoo County as well as an eastern portion of Van Buren County...
) or as Martin calls him, 'young, er, thing', who often turns publicity stunts into bloodbaths. He first appears in series three, after Sandy leaves the company to become a nurse (although due to her fiddling with the accounts, she still gets paid).
Another regular character is Maurice, the waiter at McCabe's club. Each time he serves McCabe's claret, he corrects the English pronunciation of Maurice (Morris) to the French (Maur-ees), and each time Prentiss puts him down with a verse like "One man by circumstance is in splendour set; whilst another irons pants in a laundrette. Go and iron my pants, Morris".
In series 1, one of the running jokes is the company trying to avoid working on "The Sir Harold Dixon Account." Although he is never heard, it is known that he is a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. As the series goes on, Sandy becomes more frustrated, and in the last episode she changes jobs and starts working for Sir Harold. However, after allegations of sleaze, Sir Harold is made bankrupt and Sandy returns to Prentiss McCabe.
In series 2, another character was created, Gayle Shand, played by Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing...
. Gayle was a former employee of Prentiss McCabe and Charles's former girlfriend, with whom she had a heavily sexual relationship (they often made love whilst listening to classical music). However, the relationship fell apart after Gayle told Charles that she was already married to an insect specialist from Philadelphia. She now runs a rival firm to Prentiss McCabe, which is a much larger company, and is often trying to win Archie's contract, or is the agent of a rival client to Prentiss McCabe's current one. For example, whilst Charles and Martin work for the PM via Archie, Gayle is the spin doctor for the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. Prentiss McCabe always come up with a plan to keep Archie on their side, despite Gayle's attempts to stop them, even trying to make Charles a partner in her firm.
Also introduced was her assistant, Janice, who suspected that Gayle's personal rivalry with Charles did not lead to the best decisions.
In the last episode of series 2, Gayle was leaving for America, and made one last bet with Charles. She bet her company against Charles's testicles that he could not make the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
say, "Prison doesn't work". Despite Charles's best attempts, Gayle won because she bribed the Home Secretary, as she was having an affair with someone in the Home Office. Luckily, she called off the bet providing Charles could make love to her to the tune of the 1812 overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
. Charles managed to get his own back, however, by planting some Class A Drugs in her suitcase as she left for America. Charles may nevertheless still have some feelings for her, and sometimes reminisces about their relationship.
A one-off special episode was broadcast on the 3 November 2006, with Tony Gardner playing Archie. In the special, Martin goes to jail for seven years for fraud (having been implicated in the Cash for Peerages
Cash for Peerages
Cash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
scandal). Archie, who has left New Labour, then blackmails Charles into giving him a job in order to prevent any more embarrassing information getting out about the company.
However, Charles soon learns that in fact Archie has framed both Martin and himself, with the assistance of Martin's girlfriend, and they are planning to take over Prentiss McCabe. After Charles finds proof, Archie goes to jail and Martin gets released, but as he has been moved to an open prison, he does not feel like leaving too soon.
The radio series is sometimes repeated on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
as part of their, "Comedy Club". These repeats are some of the most listened shows on BBC Radio, attracting over 70,000 listeners a week.
Hutton Report
The first episode of series 4 was controversially edited because of references to the Hutton Report. The words "manipulation and lying" was cut from Prentiss's line: "There's nothing Prentiss McCabe can teach this Prime Minister about deception, manipulation and lying, except how to do it properly".TV series
The television series was written by Guy AndrewsGuy Andrews
Guy Andrews, educated at Cranleigh School and St. Peter's College, Oxford University, is a British television writer who has written for television programmes including "Lost in Austen", "Absolute Power", "Agatha Christie's Poirot", and "Chancer"....
, Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson
Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author.-Life and career:Born in Hendon, London, Lawson was raised in Yorkshire and is a Leeds United fan. He was educated at St Columba's College in St Albans and took a degree in English at University College London, where his lecturers...
and Andrew Rattenbury
Andrew Rattenbury
Andrew Rattenbury is a British television writer who has written for several television programmes including Absolute Power, Monarch of the Glen, Casualty, Holby City, Primeval, Teachers, and, Peak Practice.-External links:...
, and had the tag "spin
Spin (public relations)
In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure...
is dead, long live PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
". Unlike most radio to TV sitcom transfers, none of the TV episodes were based on a radio episode. There are many differences to the radio version. Prentiss McCabe is a much more powerful and respected organisation than in the radio series. Martin McCabe is much more worldly wise. The secret meetings with government representatives are gone and replaced with more cups of coffee with newspaper editors and private secretaries.
While the radio series has one trainee, the TV version has several young professionals working at the agency. Most notable are Jamie Front (James Lance
James Lance
James Lance is a British actor who is best known for his appearances in a number of British comedy series. James Lance attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School...
) and Alison Jackman (Zoe Telford
Zoe Telford
-Television:Telford has appeared in the following:Absolute Power, Teachers, Agatha Christie's Poirot - Death on the Nile, Afterlife, Cutting It, The Golden Hour, Lewis, Agatha Christie's Marple - The Sittaford Mystery, as Eva Braun in Hitler: The Rise of Evil, as Abigail Thomas in The Palace, as...
). While Jamie is a brilliant liar and naturally devious, Alison is very intelligent but too honest and somewhat literal-minded. Charles Prentiss said of her, "Most of the young people here at Prentiss McCabe don't know their arse from their elbow, but with Alison, at least you know she'll join the Royal Arse Society and get a book about elbows from the library". Also in the firm are Cat Durnford (Sally Bretton
Sally Bretton
Sally Bretton is an English actress best known for appearing in television sitcoms including the BBC's Absolute Power, Channel 4's Green Wing, the BBC's The Office, and, most recently, the BBC's Not Going Out....
), the young party girl, and Nick Mayer (Nick Burns), Charles's personal assistant.
Instead of political schemes, the agency concentrates on working with celebrities: something that is rare in the radio version. In the radio episode where McCabe works with a Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
contestant, this is shown as an exceptional event, but would be normal behaviour in the TV series. Contrariwise, in the TV episode "The House of Lords", Charles is mildly surprised to be contacted by a government spin doctor.
Notable cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
and guest-starring roles in the television series have included:
- Fern BrittonFern BrittonFern Britton is an English television presenter, known as the former main co-presenter on the ITV magazine programme This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She left the show on 17 July 2009, her 52nd birthday.- Early life :...
- Tim Brooke-TaylorTim Brooke-TaylorTimothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
- Angus DeaytonAngus DeaytonGordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
- Gareth David-LloydGareth David-LloydGareth David-Lloyd is a Welsh actor best known for his role as Ianto Jones in the British science fiction television programme Torchwood.- Early life :...
- Huw EdwardsHuw Edwards (journalist)Huw Edwards is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast...
- Sharon HorganSharon HorganSharon Horgan is an Irish actress, writer and comedienne.Horgan was born in London and moved to Dublin at age seven. She grew up in Bellewstown, Co. Meath, Ireland. She went to school in the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Drogheda. Later she went on to an English degree at Brunel University...
- Gareth HuntGareth HuntAlan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
- Mark LawsonMark LawsonMark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author.-Life and career:Born in Hendon, London, Lawson was raised in Yorkshire and is a Leeds United fan. He was educated at St Columba's College in St Albans and took a degree in English at University College London, where his lecturers...
- Dermot MurnaghanDermot MurnaghanDermot Murnaghan is a British journalist and television presenter.He is well known for his work as a presenter of ITV and BBC News as well as the shows Eggheads and Treasure Hunt . He co-presented BBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins...
- Geoffrey PalmerGeoffrey Palmer (actor)Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
- Anneka Rice
- Chipo ChungChipo ChungChipo Chung is a Tanzanian-born actress raised in Zimbabwe. She currently lives in London.-Background:Chipo Chung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She is half-Zimbabwean and half-Chinese. She spent her first two years in refugee camps in Mozambique with thousands of young people...
- Phillip SchofieldPhillip SchofieldPhillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...
- John SessionsJohn SessionsJohn Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
- Ray StubbsRay StubbsRaymond "Ray" Stubbs is a broadcaster and former footballer. He works for ESPN, presenting live Premier League and Scottish Premier League matches, having joined the satellite sports channel from the BBC in 2009.-Football career:...
- Anthea TurnerAnthea TurnerAnthea Millicent Turner is an English television presenter and media personality.-Education:Turner was educated at the independent St. Dominic's High School in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent....
- Kirsty WarkKirsty WarkKirsteen Anne Wark is a British journalist and television presenter best known for fronting the BBC Two's news and current affairs programme Newsnight since 1993, and its weekly arts annexe Newsnight Review which is now relaunched as "The Review Show".-Biography:Wark was born in Dumfries to Jimmy...
- Matthew Wright
The London bombings
Owing to the terrorist attacks on London on the 7th and 21 July 2005, the first episode of the second series (in which a member of the bin Laden familyBin Laden family
The bin Laden family , also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. The family was thrown into media spotlight through the activities of one of its members, Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks...
attempted to buy British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
) was replaced by an episode from later in the series. The bin Laden episode was aired several weeks later.
The Radio Series
Series 1- S01 E01 - Conservative Party (5 January 2000)
- S01 E02 - Relaunch of the Sun (12 January 2000)
- S01 E03 - Mayor of London (19 January 2000)
- S01 E04 - The Church of England (26 January 2000)
- S01 E05 - Radio 3 (2 February 2000)
- S01 E06 - English Sporting Success (9 February 2000)
Series 2
- S02 E01 - Martin is Bored (30 January 2001)
- S02 E02 - Promoting Philosophy (6 February 2001)
- S02 E03 - Relaunching a Literary Career (13 February 2001)
- S02 E04 - The Elderly Initiative (20 February 2001)
- S02 E05 - Prison Reform (27 February 2001)
- S02 E06 - Gayle Shand (6 March 2001)
Series 3
- S03 E01 - Poking the PM (1 January 2002)
- S03 E02 - Health Service (8 January 2002)
- S03 E03 - Big Brother (15 January 2002)
- S03 E04 - A Tennis Star (22 January 2002)
- S03 E05 - Men (29 January 2002)
Series 4
- S04 E01 - The BBC (5 February 2004)
- S04 E02 - The Notion of Nation (12 February 2004)
- S04 E03 - Healthy Eating (19 February 2004)
- S04 E04 - US Presidential Campaign (26 February 2004)
Special Episode - (3 November 2006)
The Television Series
Series One- S01 E01 - History Man (10 November 2003)
- S01 E02 - Pope Idol (17 November 2003)
- S01 E03 - Tory Woman (24 November 2003)
- S01 E04 - Mr Fox (1 December 2003)
- S01 E05 - Country Life (8 December 2003)
- S01 E06 - Crash and Burn (15 December 2003)
Series Two
- S02 E04 - Identity Crisis (21 July 2005) (brought forward from 11 August)
- S02 E02 - The Trial (28 July 2005)
- S02 E03 - Blood Bank (4 August 2005)
- S02 E01 - The Nation's Favourite (11 August 2005) (held back from 21 July)
- S02 E05 - Spinning America (18 August 2005)
- S02 E06 - The House of Lords (25 August 2005)
Critical reception - Television series
- - The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 8 November 2003. - - Stuart Price in the Independent on Sunday, 9 November 2003.
- - Pete Clark in the London Evening Standard, 11 November 2003.
- - Terry Ramsay in the London Evening Standard, 11 August 2005.
- - Terry Ramsay in the London Evening Standard, 21 July 2005
External links
- Absolute Power at the BBC Comedy Guide (Wayback Machine)