All six series of Christopher Lee's enthralling parliamentary drama—plus Christmas Special.

Suave, unflappable and ambitious, veteran politician Charles Bannister knows his way around the corridors of power. As chief whip, he's adept at keeping MPs in line and squashing potential scandals—aided by his brother-in-law, MI6 Agent Henry Colvil, who whispers useful titbits of information in his ear. His position seems invincible—but nothing is forever, and when the tides of politics turn, Charles finds himself under threat....

In these six series, we follow his fortunes and those of his close friend Home Secretary Dougal Baxter. Together, the duo rise, fall and rise again, as they fight off plots, counter-plots and conspiracies while struggling to secure their political futures. Promoted to party chairman, Charles finds himself beset by domestic dramas, dogged by rumours of an affair with glamorous Opposition MP Juliet Cameron, and under increasing pressure at Westminster. Will he stick it out and run for the top job—or decide to spend more time with his family? Meanwhile, Dougal makes no secret of his desire to become PM—but will his potentially explosive relationship with his mistress, Kay, put an end to his dreams of advancement?

Written by award-winning author and historian Christopher Lee, this captivating tale of ministerial manoeuvring and machinations was adapted as a best-selling novel and spawned the spin-off mystery series Colvil & Soames. Julian Glover stars as Charles Bannister, with Timothy West as Dougal Baxter and Christopher Benjamin as Henry Colvil.

Production credits:

Written by Christopher Lee. Produced by Pete Atkin and Neil Cargill.

Cast:

Charles Bannister—Julian Glover

Dougal Baxter—Timothy West/Peter Kelly

Mary Bannister—Sarah Badel/Isla Blair

Henry Colvil—Christopher Benjamin

Denis Wigton—David Ryall/Trevor Peacock

Juliet Cameron—Siobhan Redmond

Rose—Sheila Reid

Arthur—James Garbutt

Polly Bannister—Ruth Gemmell

Gerald Mossman—David Neville

Merffyn Edwards—Ray Smith/Douglas Blackwell

Kay Bennett—Jane Booker

Nick—Julian Dutton

Eamon—Shaun Prendergast

Alex—Caroline Bliss

Sharp—Norman Bird

With Brian Redhead, Laurie Macmillan, Stuart Organ, Graham Blockey, Rupert Baker, Joan Matheson, Ken Cumberlidge, Danny Schiller, John Fortune, Iain Cuthbertson, Dennis Ramsden, Charles Simpson, Christopher Scott, Michael Kilgarriff, Ian Targett, David Goudge, John Bull, David King, Brian Miller, David McAlister, Terence Edmonds, Brett Usher, John Grieve, Richard Caldicot, Bill Wallis, Stephen Greif.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19th August-7th October 1989 (Series 1), 25th December 1989 (Christmas Special), 17th September-5th November 1991 (Series 2), 16th March-20th April 1992 (Series 3), 28th October-2nd December 1992 (Series 4), 17th June-22nd July 1993 (Series 5), 9th June-14th July 1994 (Series 6).