Brexit: The Uncivil War on Channel 4: Everything you need to know about the new drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch
The two-hour film will see the Sherlock actor play Leave campaigner Dominic Cummings
Benedict Cumberbatch is swapping his deerstalker for a balding head in Channel 4’s forthcoming drama about the Brexit campaign.
Brexit: The Uncivil War will star Cumberbatch as Leave campaigner Dominic Cummings, in a two-hour film penned by James Graham, the writer of hit politically themed West End plays Ink and This House.
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Here’s everything you need to know…
When is Brexit: The Uncivil War on TV?
Channel 4 has confirmed that the two-hour political drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch will air in the UK at 9pm on 7 January 2019.
HBO meanwhile will broadcast the film in the USA at 9pm on 19 January, and will be repeated several times in the weeks after that.
In Australia, Brexit: the Uncivil War will premiere at 8:30pm on 30 March on BBC First, and is repeated at 6:50pm on Tuesday 2 April.
The writer previously revealed that the script for the drama was "stolen and leaked".
What is Brexit: The Uncivil War about?
Brexit: The Uncivil War is a drama based on first-hand accounts from key players in both the Leave and Remain camps, and will explore how the opposing data-driven campaigns were run and the behind-the-scenes decisions that led to Britain’s historic decision to leave the EU.
It will look at how the two sides plotted to usurp each other through media and social media activities, while examining the public role played by politicians and each campaign’s controversial financial backers.
Who will star in Brexit: The Uncivil War?
Cumberbatch will star as Dominic Cummings, the real-life campaign director of Vote Leave.
Black Mirror’s Rory Kinnear will play Craig Oliver, former Prime Minister David Cameron’s Director of Communications and Cummings’ counterpart in the Remain camp.
The Crown’s John Heffernan will play political lobbyist Matthew Elliott, Call the Midwife’s Liz White will Mary Wakefield – a journalist and Dominic Cummings’ wife – and Kyle Soller (Poldark) will take the role of Zack Massingham, founder of a data technology company that helped target voters through social media.
Politicians will be portrayed by Richard Goulding (The Windsors) as Boris Johnson, Oliver Maltman (The Crown) as Michael Gove and Paul Ryan (The Five) as Nigel Farage.
Is Brexit: The Uncivil War based on a book?
Yes – in fact, it’s based on two. One is All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class by political editor of the Sunday Times Tim Shipman.
And the other is Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit, penned by David Cameron’s former spin doctor Craig Oliver, who is played by Rory Kinnear in the drama.
Is there a trailer for Brexit: The Uncivil War?
Indeed there is...
This article was originally published in July 2018
