As a school dropout, the teenage John Major could simply never have dreamt that he would one day become a powerful political leader and get elected as Britain's Prime Minister. Major became Her Majesty's ninth Prime Minister.
John Hume saw that by harnessing the political influence of the Irish American diaspora in Washington, it was possible to overcome the legacy of conflict and achieve peace. Exploring the decades-long campaign by the Nobel Prize winner, filmmaker Maurice Fitzpatrick reveals how Hume - inspired by Martin Luther King - became the moral architect for peace in Northern Ireland. In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America is a compelling feature documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson, with dramatic footage and stirring interviews with Presidents Clinton and Carter, US senators and congressmen, and Irish and British leaders. Reminding us of the redemptive powers of politics to overcome division. It is a timely story that profiles creative leadership, international cooperation and the U.S. contribution to peace and stability on the island of Ireland.
The story of cricketer Ian Botham's stunning comeback performance against Australia in the summer of 1981 during the Ashes Test Series.
With Britain's first-ever political leaders' television debate imminent, award-winning reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers what it's like to take part in these contests and how leaders try to win them. He tells the inside story of why it has taken so long for such debates to arrive in the UK. The programme features candid interviews with US Presidents and their advisers on the tricks of the debate trade. Blending new film and behind-the-scenes footage, some never seen before, it's a tragicomic tale of high politics and low cunning. From John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon through to Barack Obama, candidates are seen being prepared for their debates, then in the sometimes funny, sometimes disastrous results on live television. Cockerell shows why for our would-be next Prime Ministers - Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg - the three debate stages across Britain will be what one former US President calls 'Tension City'.
Michael Cockerell tells the story of how prime ministers have coped with life after Number Ten, after Tony Blair became the youngest member of the ex-PMs' club for a hundred years. The film reveals who left office bankrupt, who did TV commercials for Cheshire cheese, who had his own chat show and who has never had a single happy day since leaving Number Ten. Cockerell, who met the eight PMs prior to Blair, looks at what Tony planned do next and just how many millions he could make from being an ex-PM.
Parliamentary correspondent Robert Orchard reviews the highs and lows of Tony Blair's tumultuous relationship with Parliament.
Ten years after he stepped to power as Labour leader, Tony Blair remains a national enigma. His persona as a fresh-faced idealist and man of the people has been shattered, most significantly by the war on Iraq. Now many are struggling to understand what remains behind the faltering smile.
Last December's "Cheriegate" affair did little to abate the rampant public cynicism reserved for politicians - a mistrust evidenced in the turnout at the 2001 general election, which was the lowest for more than 80 years. In this documentary, Michael Cockerell talks to figures including Edwina Currie, Max Clifford, Geoffrey Robinson and Neil Hamilton in an effort to see if spin, sleaze and ministerial failure is to blame, or whether the media's sneering political coverage is most at fault.
A revealing one-off documentary that provides an inside view of how Tony Blair and former prime ministers - including Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher and John Major - have run their cabinet, the highest decision-making body in the land. Through candid interviews, rare archive footage and filming inside No 10, presenter Michael Cockerell opens the door to the Government's own chamber of secrets as he seeks the answer to the question: is the notion of cabinet government an obsolete concept?
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