Channel 4’s new factual drama Partygate premiered on Tuesday night and viewers took to social media to give their verdict.
The feature-length docudrama depicts the controversial scandal that took place in building number 10 during the coronavirus pandemic and is interspersed with archival news footage and documentary interviews.
WATCH: Trailer for Channel 4’s Partygate
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers praised the compelling piece, with one person writing: “#Partygate now on Channel 4 is pretty good. It’s a dramatized but essentially factual re-enactment of what happened in Downing Street during the lockdown with lots of quotes from the Sue Gray report. Compared to the sacrifices real people actually made. Very well done,” while another added: “Wow. @Channel4 #partygate was fantastic.”
© Channel 4Georgie Henley and Ophelia Lovibond star in Partygate
A third viewer tweeted: “Compelling, heartbreaking, infuriating and perfectly crafted drama,” while another wrote: “Wow. #Partygate is already great. Way to go @Channel4.”
Other viewers found the drama emotional viewing and recalled painful memories from that time. One person wrote: “Finding #partygate surprisingly emotional,” while another added: “#Partygate is creepy. The real sense of dread is overwhelming because it brings back such terrible memories.”
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Everything you need to know ahead of All Creatures Great and Small series four – cast changes, plot and moreA third person commented: “This hits a lot harder than I thought. Really quite emotional and angrier than I thought about this #Partygate.”
What is Partygate about?
Partygate tells the “real, untold story” behind the Downing Street scandal, “contrasting the revelry inside the seat of national power with the hardships and sacrifices facing the rest of the country.”
The synopsis reads: “As the horrors of COVID unfolded – three national lockdowns, PPE, 40,000 deaths in care homes, socially distanced funerals, a peak of more than 1,000 deaths a day by January 2021 – Downing Street staff hit back a series of parties lubricated by quantities of alcohol.”
© Channel 4Charlotte Ritchie plays Helen MacNamara
Who stars in Channel 4’s Partygate?
Georgie Henley (Chronicles of Narnia) and Ophelia Lovibond (W1A) lead the cast as the fictional counselors, Grace Greenwood and Annabel D’acre.
Meanwhile, impressionist Jon Culshaw appears as the voice of Boris Johnson, Grantchester star Charlotte Ritchie plays Helen MacNamara and Ten percent actress Rebecca Humphries portrays Carrie Symonds.
© Channel 4Tom Durant-Pritchard and Ophelia Lovibond in Partygate
Other cast members include Phil Daniels as Mickey Port, Hugh Skinner as Josh Fitzmaurice, Tom Durant-Pritchard as Rory Baskerville and Alice Orr-Ewing as Alice Lyons.
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What happened in the Partygate scandal?
Back in November 2021, it was announced that staff at Downing Street no. 10 held a Christmas party in 2020 despite the restrictions that were in force at the time. Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, denied the reports.
Shortly afterwards, footage of a mock press conference was released, showing Downing Street press secretary Allegra Stratton joking about partying with another senior staff member.
© GettyBoris Johnson was prime minister at the time of the scandal
Allegra resigned from her position and civil servant Sue Gray launched a Cabinet Office inquiry into the scandal. In its report, which looked at 15 events between May 2020 and April 2021, it found a “serious failure” to meet the “standards expected of the whole British population”, with “excessive consumption of alcohol” at several events in 2020.
She also concluded that Johnson attended eight events, along with other senior government officials.
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Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education