The Alan Clark Diaries

*The Alan Clark Diaries*
The Alan Clark Diaries
Genre	Drama
Written by	Jon Jones
Directed by	Jon Jones
Starring	John Hurt ; Jenny Agutter ; Hugh Fraser ; Nicholas Jones ; Jeremy Clyde ; Paul Brooke ;
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producers	Richard Fell; Phillippa Giles; Laura Mackie;
Cinematography	Ian Moss
Editor	Sue Wyatt
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC Four
Release	15 January 2004

Last updated November 29, 2023

The Alan Clark Diaries is a 2004 BBC television serial dramatising the diaries of the controversial British Conservative politician Alan Clark. The six-episode series debuted on BBC Four on 15 January 2004, and was later repeated on BBC Two.

Episodes

March of the Grey Men

In the run up to the 1983 general election Clark dreams of escaping the backbenches and becoming a minister. Clark is returned as MP for Plymouth Sutton and subsequently appointed Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Employment by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher but finds his secretary disdainful and his briefs turgid and devious. Furthermore, Sir Robert Armstrong, head of the civil service, warns Clark about his personal conduct. Clark attends a wine tasting prior to reading his first bill at the House of Commons and is called up on a Point of Order by opposition MP Clare Short for being incapable. The sudden arrival of Leader of the House John Biffen is a clear indication to Clark that he is to be dismissed at the first opportunity.

The Lady

Ian Gow offers Clark a way to escape the department he has grown to loathe and make his way to the centre of power. Clark submits suggestions for the reform of the Prime Minister's office and enlists Jonathan Aitken in his plot but fails to get the appointment to head it. Clark makes his first appearance on BBC Question Time hosted by Sue Lawley where he criticises the decision of Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine to purchase a missile system from the US. Clark leaves the 1984 Brighton conference early narrowly avoiding the Provisional Irish Republican Army hotel bombing but is overlooked in the resulting reshuffle. Racist comments from Clark about Britain's black community result in a press outrage. The resignations over the Westland affair result in Clark's appointment as Minister for Trade.

Foreign Parts

Clark takes up his new position as Minister for Trade where he dreams of a position in the cabinet as he sets out on an arduous tour of European states plagued by reports that he is anti-European. Returning home Clark feels worn down by his constant travels and his relationship with Jane is under strain. Re-elected in the 1987 general election but overlooked for cabinet once again Clark holds on determined to get through his anti-fur legislation but following his return from a controversial trip to Chile the Prime Minister under pressure from Canada forces him to drop the legislation. A reshuffle gives Clark his long dreamed of position at the Ministry of Defence but it is under new Defence Secretary Tom King a man he considers ghastly.

Defence of the Realm

Clark has finally made it into the coveted Ministry of Defence but his triumph is short-lived when he finds himself once again walking on thin ice with his old rival Tom King. All the while, the political temperature is rising — poll tax riots rage, the Gulf War breaks out, and The Lady's iron grip on the Tory party appears to be slipping fast.

Into the Wilderness

With Thatcher gone and his estate in terminal decline Clark remains in curiously high spirits. In the resulting leadership election Clark supports the ultimately successful John Major but still finds himself out of favour as he criticises Britain's NATO allies in the run up to the Gulf War and a younger generation of ministers rises up. An affair puts Clark under personal as well as professional pressure and in the mistaken belief that the Conservatives would lose the 1992 general election he announces his decision not to stand for re-election. Clark is thrust once again into the headlines as he finds himself in court over the Matrix Churchill scandal. Abandoned and alone in retirement at Saltwood Castle Clark regrets his decision to leave politics.

Leaving Home

Rotting away in retirement Clark dreams of a victorious return to the House of Commons. When Chelsea MP Sir Nicholas Scott finds himself embroiled in scandal Clark starts pushing for the seat. Despite attempts to make Clark the scapegoat for the Arms-to-Iraq scandal the Scott Inquiry clears him. Initially rejected by Chelsea further scandals for Scott result in Clark's eventual selection for the newly merged seat of Kensington and Chelsea. The 1997 general election sees Clark's victorious return to the House of Commons but the Conservatives devastatingly defeated by New Labour. Diagnosed with brain cancer, Clark chooses to disappear from public life.

Filming locations

Saltwood Castle featured as itself during the series after Clark's widow, Jane, gave her support for the production and welcomed the team into her home.^[1] The castle remains owned by the Clark family, and is rarely opened to the public. Alan Clark often used to visit Hythe seafront and this is represented in the first episode of the series.^[1]

External links

Press release at BBC Press Office
The Alan Clark Diaries at IMDb

Related Research Articles

James Norwich Arbuthnot, Baron Arbuthnot of Edrom,, is a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Wanstead and Woodford from 1987 to 1997, and then MP for North East Hampshire from 1997 to 2015.

Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1983 to 1992, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bridgwater in Somerset from 1970 to 2001. He was made a life peer in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blairism</span> Political ideology of Tony Blair

In British politics, Blairism is the political ideology of Tony Blair, the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, and those that support him, known as Blairites. It entered the New Penguin English Dictionary in 2000. Elements of the ideology include investment in public services, expansionary efforts in education to encourage social mobility, and increased actions in terms of mass surveillance alongside a ramping up of law enforcement powers, both of these latter changes advocated in the context of fighting organized crime and terrorism. Blairites have additionally been known for their contrast with the traditional support for socialism by those believing in left-wing politics, with Blair himself and others speaking out against the nationalisation of major industries and against also heavy regulations of business operations.

The Westland affair in 1985–86 was an episode in which Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and her Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Heseltine, went public over a cabinet dispute with questions raised about whether the conventions of cabinet government were being observed and about the integrity of senior politicians.

Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade and Defence. He became a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1991.

Sir Alan James Carter Duncan is a British former politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Melton from 1992 to 2019.

Sir Michael Cathel Fallon is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks from 1997 to 2019, having previously served as MP for Darlington from 1983 to 1992.

Sir John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon since 1992. A member of the Conservative Party, Whittingdale has been the Minister of State for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries since May 2023, serving in the position while Julia Lopez is on maternity leave. He previously served in the position as the Minister of State for Media and Data at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) from 2020 to 2021. He also served at the DCMS as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the Cabinet from 2015 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Maples</span> British politician (1943–2012)

John Cradock Maples, Baron Maples was a British politician and life peer who served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 1989 to 1992. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham West from 1983 to 1992 and Stratford-upon-Avon from 1997 to 2010.

Andrew John Bower Mitchell is a British politician currently serving as the Minister of State for Development and Africa since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001 having previously served as the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1997. Mitchell served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2010 to 2012 and then briefly as Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons in late 2012.

Ian Reginald Edward Gow was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974 until his assassination by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1990, in which a bomb under his car exploded outside his home in East Sussex.

Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher; his sister is Carol Thatcher.

<i>First Among Equals</i> (novel) Novel by Jeffrey Archer

First Among Equals is a 1984 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer, which follows the careers and personal lives of four fictional British politicians from 1964 to 1991, with each vying to become Prime Minister. Several situations in the novel are drawn from Archer's own early political career in the British House of Commons, and the fictional characters interact with actual political figures from the UK and elsewhere including Winston Churchill, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, Douglas Hurd, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Gary Hart and Queen Elizabeth II.

Gregory William Hands is a British politician serving as Minister for London and Minister of State for Trade Policy since November 2023. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as its Chairman from February to November 2023. Hands has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy under four prime ministers, holding the office on four occasions, and also served as Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth from 2021 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington and Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997–2010

Kensington and Chelsea was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 1997–2010. It was one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997 became a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary Michael Portillo and the former Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind all holding the seat for the Conservatives. The seat was abolished for the 2010 election, when the 1974–1997 Kensington constituency was recreated and Chelsea formed a new constituency together with the southern part of the former Hammersmith and Fulham constituency, called the Chelsea and Fulham constituency.

<i>Alan Clark Diaries</i> Book by Alan Clark

British politician Alan Clark kept a regular diary from 1955 until August 1999 when he was incapacitated due to the onset of the brain tumour which was to be the cause of his death a month later. The last month of his life would be chronicled by his wife, Jane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Morrison</span> British politician

Sir Peter Hugh Morrison was a British Conservative politician, MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Penelope Mary Mordaunt is a British politician who serves as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth North since May 2010.

The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election. The Conservative Party was returned to power with a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons. Initially the ministers were largely identical to those at the end of the first Johnson ministry, but changed significantly in cabinet reshuffles in February 2020 and September 2021.

References

1 2 Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Alan Clark Diaries Focus".

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[auto-1] 1 2 Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Alan Clark Diaries Focus".

[1]