Bill Brand – the screenplays.

This latest volume in the Trevor Griffiths series contains all eleven episodes of the celebrated 1976 Thames TV series Bill Brand, which was the fictional account of a young left-wing Labour MP entering Parliament for the first time and attempting to influence the policies of his largely right-wing Labour government.

The series was conceived on election night in 1974, written and produced over the following two years and transmitted in 1976. This was a time of great political and industrial unrest in Britain; it produced the first minority government (under Harold Wilson) since 1931, and Bill Brand was watched with extreme interest by both the political classes and the wider population. At times it seemed almost uncannily prophetic; and many of the issues it dealt with remain of great contemporary relevance.

The series starred Jack Shepherd as Bill Brand, Arthur Lowe as the Prime Minister, Alan Badel, Peter Howell, Lynne Farleigh, Cherie Lunghi and many other distinguished actors.

Bill Brand has never been shown again, nor is it at present available commercially on dvd. This book is therefore a unique record of a unique television event.

‘… tells us more about Parliament, constituency politics and the Labour Party than the combined writings of most of the Westminster drama critics who masquerade as political commentators.’ New Statesman

‘The most remarkable serial ever seen on the box.’
Sunday Times

978 085124 763 2 - £18.00 - 300 pages - paperback - Available to BUY NOW.

*****
In April 2009, Trevor Griffiths attended a screening of his 1997 BBC film, Food for Ravens, at Side Cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. Exploring the difficulties in making this wonderful drama about Aneurin Bevan, his talk became an impassioned critique of the way British television has gone.

To watch this video (December 2009 only) please go to http://www.sidetv.net/.

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