My Dad's the Prime Minister

My Dad's the Prime Minister
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Ian Hislop Nick Newman
Written by	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman
Directed by	Juliet May
Starring	Robert Bathurst Carla Mendonca Jasper Britton Joe Prospero Emma Sackville
Theme music composer	Steve Brown
Composer	Steve Brown
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Sophie Clarke-Jervoise Ian Gordon Elaine Sperber
Producer	Matthew Francis
Cinematography	Chris Goodger
Editor	Jake Bernard
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	CBBC BBC Entertainment
Original release
Network	BBC One CBBC Channel
Release	23 March 2003 (2003-03-23) – 31 December 2004 (2004-12-31)

My Dad's the Prime Minister is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and was a co-production between CBBC and BBC Entertainment. It centres on the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast include Robert Bathurst, Joe Prospero, Carla Mendonça, Brian Bovell and Emma Sackville.

It was filmed at Bushey in Watford, and extras included students of the nearby Bushey Hall School and Bushey Meads School.

Series 1 was shown on BBC One as part of its CBBC strand, in April and May 2003. Season 2 was promoted to a primetime slot on BBC One, airing in November and December 2004. Series 1 focused more on Dillon (the Prime Minister's son), while the second season had greater coverage of the life of the Prime Minister.

Synopsis

Dillon Phillips is twelve years old, and also burdened with a father who is the Prime Minister and has just been voted "Naffest Man in Britain" by his favourite pop magazine. His dad's smarmy and unlikeable spin doctor, Duncan Packer, interferes with everything and the slightest bit of bad behaviour may trigger an international crisis. Dillon's mother, Clare, is a successful businesswoman and has little time for him, while his older sister, Sarah, is annoyingly bossy and dismissive of her brother and his problems: however, the pair do occasionally join forces in order to fight against their oppressive regime, and especially against Packer. At school, Dillon's only real friend is a boy known as 'Geezer', the other boys (a boy known as 'Flash', his main nemesis, in particular) frequently picking on him because of his father's position, especially when the latter shows him up, for example by arriving at the school's sports day in a helicopter. Dillon achieves some solace through imagining himself as a feisty, Jeremy Paxman-style, newsreader and interviewer, constantly interrogating his parents and sister and the odious Packer on matters that impinge on him. Most episodes open and close with these 'fantasy' newsflashes. He also occasionally gets some support from his kindly paternal grandmother, who takes surprisingly little interest in Michael's political career, preferring instead to focus on the achievements of her other son and her grandchildren.

Cast

• Robert Bathurst – Michael Phillips
• Joe Prospero – Dillon Phillips
• Carla Mendonca – Clare Phillips
• Emma Sackville – Sarah Phillips
• Jasper Britton – Duncan Packer
• Brian Bovell – Detective Andy Sharp (Series 1)
• Paterson Joseph – Detective Gary McRyan (Series 2)
• Simeon Gunn – JJ
• Joe Gunn – Geezer
• Liam Hess – Dom Clackson
• Luke Newberry – Lighthouse
• Leagh Conwell – James "Flash" Gordon
• Eugene Simon – Harry
• Marcia Warren – Granny Phillips
• Robert Vansittart – Chancellor
• Michael Cronin – Mr Speaker
• Michael Fenton Stevens – Home Secretary
• Neil McCaul – Foreign Secretary
• Jane Bertish – Education Secretary
• Martin Chamberlain – Trade and Industry Secretary
• Steve Toussaint – Transport Secretary
• Amanda Holt – Health Secretary
• Albert Welling – Opposition Leader
• Kenny Ireland – Union Leader

List of Episodes

Series overview

Series	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	6		23 March 2003 (2003-03-23)	27 April 2003 (2003-04-27)
2	7		5 November 2004 (2004-11-05)	31 December 2004 (2004-12-31)

Series 1 (2003)

Episode number	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Sports Day"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	23 March 2003 (2003-03-23)
The Prime Minister's son Dillon anticipates sports day humiliation.
2	"The Party"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	30 March 2003 (2003-03-30)
In an attempt to restore his credibility, the Prime Minister organises a celebrity party at Downing Street.
3	"Ghosts"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	6 April 2003 (2003-04-06)
During a weekend at Chequers, Dillon has to show that he is not afraid of ghosts, while the Prime minister Must prove that he's not scared of his Belgian counterpart.
4	"The School Play"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	13 April 2003 (2003-04-13)
As rehearsals for the school's stage production begin, Dillon is hiding something and Granny's arrival does not help. Will things be all right on the night?
5	"The Project"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	20 April 2003 (2003-04-20)
Dillon is working hard on his project.
6	"Homework"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	27 April 2003 (2003-04-27)
Can Dillon and his new friend foil the PM's plans to introduce an extra hour's homework a day - just for boys?

Series 2 (2004)

Episode number	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Election"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	5 November 2004 (2004-11-05)
Father and son clash at the general election polls.
2	"Exam"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	12 November 2004 (2004-11-12)
Is the PM's arithmetic up to a GCSE maths test? Can Dillon avoid a date with Amanda Gruntly?
3	"Desert Island"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	26 November 2004 (2004-11-26)
The offer of a holiday puts Michael in a tight spot.
4	"Marathon"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	3 December 2004 (2004-12-03)
The PM tries to prove his fitness when rumours of ill health dog Downing Street.
5	"Jobless"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	10 December 2004 (2004-12-10)
A temporarily suspended Clare spends more time with her family, but they are keen as she returns to work.
6	"Diaries"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	17 December 2004 (2004-12-17)
The PM confronts the serious business of having his portrait painted.
7	"Powerless"	Juliet May	Ian Hislop and Nick Newman	31 December 2004 (2004-12-31)
The last-ever episode of the children's political comedy-drama.

Home Media releases

Series 1 was released on DVD and video in 2004 by DD Video, under license from the BBC.

External links

• My Dad's the Prime Minister at IMDb
• Short description and history of the show at BBC Comedy"
• BBC Press Office for "My Dad's the Prime Minister"