My Dad's the Prime Minister is a 2003–2004 British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and was a co-production between CBBC and BBC Entertainment. It centres on the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast include Robert Bathurst, Joe Prospero, Carla Mendonça, Brian Bovell and Emma Sackville.
It was filmed at Bushey in Watford, and extras included students of the nearby Bushey Hall School and Bushey Meads School.
Series 1 was shown on BBC One as part of its CBBC strand, in April and May 2003. Season 2 was promoted to a primetime slot on BBC One, airing in November and December 2004. Series 1 focused more on Dillon (the Prime Minister's son), while the second season had greater coverage of the life of the Prime Minister.
Contents
Synopsis
Dillon Phillips is twelve years old, and also burdened with a father who is the Prime Minister and has just been voted "Naffest Man in Britain" by his favourite pop magazine. His dad's smarmy and unlikeable spin doctor, Duncan Packer, interferes with everything and the slightest bit of bad behaviour may trigger an international crisis. Dillon's mother, Clare, is a successful businesswoman and has little time for him, while his older sister, Sarah, is annoyingly bossy and dismissive of her brother and his problems: however, the pair do occasionally join forces in order to fight against their oppressive regime, and especially against Packer. At school, Dillon's only real friend is a boy known as 'Geezer', the other boys (a boy known as 'Flash', his main nemesis, in particular) frequently picking on him because of his father's position, especially when the latter shows him up, for example by arriving at the school's sports day in a helicopter. Dillon achieves some solace through imagining himself as a feisty, Jeremy Paxman-style, newsreader and interviewer, constantly interrogating his parents and sister and the odious Packer on matters that impinge on him. Most episodes open and close with these 'fantasy' newsflashes. He also occasionally gets some support from his kindly paternal grandmother, who takes surprisingly little interest in Michael's political career, preferring instead to focus on the achievements of her other son and her grandchildren.
Cast
Robert Bathurst as Michael Phillips
Joe Prospero as Dillon Phillips
Carla Mendonça as Clare Phillips
Emma Sackville as Sarah Phillips
Jasper Britton as Duncan Packer
Brian Bovell as Detective Andy Sharp (Series 1)
Paterson Joseph as Detective Gary McRyan (Series 2)
Simeon Gunn as JJ
Joe Gunn as Geezer
Liam Hess as Dom Clackson
Luke Newberry as Lighthouse
Leagh Conwell as James "Flash" Gordon
Eugene Simon as Harry
Marcia Warren as Granny Phillips
Robert Vansittart as Chancellor
Michael Cronin as Mr Speaker
Michael Fenton Stevens as Home Secretary
Neil McCaul as Foreign Secretary
Jane Bertish as Education Secretary
Martin Chamberlain as Trade and Industry Secretary
Steve Toussaint as Transport Secretary
Amanda Holt as Health Secretary
Episodes
Home release
Series 1 was released on DVD and video in 2004 by DD Video, under license from the BBC.