Michael Cockerell

Award-winning political documentary maker Michael Cockerell talks about a lifetime spent stripping the gloss off our prime prime ministers. And he will be showing revealing clips from his films, some never seen publicly before.

Cockerell has filmed and interviewed all of the last ten prime ministers. He reveals how Thatcher flirted with him on screen but attacked him in the Commons, how Blair said he would willingly ‘pay the blood price’ demanded by Bush over Iraq, and how Johnson admitted he had doubts about his ability to be prime minister. And he is full of stories about the clashes between principles and power, loyalty and intrigue, and the cheers and the tears – both in politics and working in political television.

‘Michael Cockerell is the David Attenborough of the political animal kingdom – endlessly fascinated and fascinating.’ Rory Bremner

Cockerell has spent more than 50 years as a political reporter for television, radio and newspapers. His documentaries have won many awards including an Emmy, a Royal Television Society Award for Best Documentary and the James Cameron Special Award for Reporting.