New BBC2 drama will show ‘betrayals and blunders’ of 2016 Tory leadership campaign

THE story of David Cameron’s resignation and Theresa May’s ascent to power is being brought to the small-screen in a new BBC drama-documentary.

The programme, telling the story of the Conservative Party’s tumultuous 2016 leadership campaign, will air after the next General Election.

BBC2 said the programme was based on “exhaustive research and first-person testimonies” and would “lay bare the politicking and positioning, betrayals and blunders” of the time.

A cast has not yet been announced for 20 Days – Battle For Supremacy, which will also feature interviews with those involved in the campaigns jockeying for power.

BBC2 controller Patrick Holland said viewers would “gain a really rich understanding of the backroom deals that took place in those 20 days between Brexit and Theresa May becoming leader of the Conservative Party, what happened with Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, what happened between Johnson and May’s camps.”

He said: “It gives the audience a way of getting to the heart of that story. There are revelations that will be compelling and intriguing.”

A “full cast” will track “all of the stories that happened at the time”.

But Mr Holland added: “It’s a fusion of drama and documentary. It’s not a full drama doing The West Wing for the Conservative Party.”

Asked whether the story would be of little interest if Mrs May did not get into power at the next election, he said: “Not at all. What happened after Brexit is an extraordinary drama.”

The programme was announced at the unveiling of the channel’s spring-summer line-up.

New shows announced include Breadline, a series “exploring what it means forfamilies to be living and working on the poverty line”.

The films take an “unflinching” look at poverty and will chart people’s lives across the UK over the course of a year.

Mr Holland said the production company, Keo Films, bring “humour” to their work, but dismissed any criticism that it could be accused of “poverty porn”.

“It’s not laughing at, it’s being inside those people’s lives,” he said.

“It’s an intimate, powerful, human, documentary series. It’s the way that you deal with it. A lot of people in this country live in poverty. It’s a massive issue, it’s about engaging with that with humanity.

“You can engage with the issue of poverty without exploiting people.”

Asked about comparisons to controversial Channel 4 show Benefits Street, which sparked accusations of exploitation, he added: “It’s a very different piece of television”.

Other shows include a film telling “the inside story” of the murder of Jo Cox, which will include testimony from the late MP’s family as well as those who knew her murderer, Thomas Mair.

A new profile of writer John Le Carre, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the story of the creation of the first secret service and a documentary Brexit Means Brexit, about the vote on June 23 last year, are also in the works.