Miranda
Richardson, Michael Gambon, Gina McKee and Tom Hollander head the
cast of Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince
´óÏó´«Ã½
ONE, Sunday 19 January, 8.30pm. Concludes Sunday 26 January.
Press
pack available
Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Gina McKee and Tom Hollander
head the cast of award-winning writer/director Stephen Poliakoff's
The Lost Prince, a two-part drama from TalkBack
Productions, starting on Sunday 19 January 2003.
Following
the triumphant success of his ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO dramas, Perfect Strangers
and Shooting The Past, Poliakoff tells the little-known story of
Edwardian royal, Prince John, the youngest child of George V and
Queen Mary.
Prince
John's short life spanned one of the most momentous periods in history
– the political build-up to the First World War and the machinations
of European royalty in the early part of the 20th century.
Set
against a backdrop of unprecedented upheaval in Britain, The Lost
Prince tells the very human story of a unique family and an extraordinary
boy.
Diagnosed
as an epileptic, and suffering from autistic-like learning difficulties,
Prince John was unable to participate in public life and became
increasingly isolated from his family.
Miranda
Richardson plays Queen Mary, who tries to understand the needs of
her youngest child; Gina McKee is Prince John's devoted nanny, Lalla;
Tom Hollander plays George V, whose blood ties to his cousins, the
Emperor of Germany and the Tsar of Russia, cannot prevent his country
entering a calamitous world conflict.
Michael
Gambon is Prince John's grandfather, Edward VII, with veteran Bergman
film actress, Bibi Andersson, as his wife, Queen Alexandra.
John
Sessions plays the young royal's exasperated tutor, Mr Hansell.
Bill Nighy plays Stamfordham, King George's socially and politically
adept Private Secretary. Frank Finlay and Ron Cook also star.
More
than 600 boys were auditioned for the part of Prince John before
Matthew Thomas, who had a small role in ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films' Billy Elliot,
was chosen for the role.
Daniel
Williams plays John at an earlier age. Rollo Weeks and Brock Everitt-Elwick
play his ever-loving brother, Prince George.
Producer,
John Chapman, says: "Stephen Poliakoff has written for the
first time about events inspired by a true story and, like everything
with him, his research was meticulous and included time spent at
the Royal Archives at Windsor.
"From
this he has created an extraordinarily poetic screenplay in his
unique style which offers a fascinating insight about this traumatic
period in history, much of which is virtually unknown."
"Prince
John had epilepsy and possibly autism, and became a forgotten boy,"
says Poliakoff.
"We
saw past events through the eyes of a child in Perfect Strangers
and, in this drama, that happens on an epic scale. It is history
seen through a half-open door."
Jane
Tranter, Controller for Drama Commissioning for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Television,
says: "Following the success of Shooting The Past and Perfect
Strangers, both of which were shown on ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO, it's brilliant to
have Stephen working on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE, and for his new piece of work to
be tackling such a little-known piece of history with all his usual
perspicacity, originality and skill as a dramatist.
"This
is a big and ambitious drama for early next year on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE, which
continues the themes of the previous two in that it examines how
much children are influenced by their parents."
Notes
to Editors
The
Lost Prince is a TalkBack production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE.
The
executive producers are Peter Fincham and Joanna Beresford (TalkBack),
and David M Thompson (´óÏó´«Ã½).
The
Lost Prince marks producer John Chapman's third collaboration with
Stephen Poliakoff.
Previous
credits are the Royal Television Society and Prix Italia-winning
Shooting The Past and Perfect Strangers, which won this year's RTS
awards for Best Serial and Single Drama and Best Writer for Stephen
Poliakoff.
At
the recent Bafta 2002 ceremony, Stephen Poliakoff received the prestigious
Dennis Potter Award and Michael Gambon received Best Actor for his
role as Raymond in Perfect Strangers.
The
Lost Prince is the first of a number of original historical dramas
for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ next year.
Others
include a four-part serial about the life of King Charles II by
the award-winning screenwriter Adrian Hodges; a two-part drama about
Byron, with Jonny Lee Miller in the title role, which portrays him
as the ultimate rebel whose overnight success brought him instant
celebrity status; Cambridge Spies, a fresh take on the Cambridge
spy ring by Peter Moffatt; and The Other Boleyn Girl, the story
of Mary Boleyn, who was mistress to Henry VIII before he married
her sister Anne.
In
addition, a two-part drama about James I and the Gunpowder Plot,
written by Jimmy McGovern, is currently in development.
Accompanying
Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince, and using rehearsal scenes
from the drama, The King,The Kaiser And The Tsar, is a 60-minute
documentary for ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE which examines why the monarchy in Britain
survived when nearly all the others failed.
When
George V and Queen Mary appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
at the end of the First World War, the crowds cheered them wildly.
The monarchy had never been more popular.
Yet
the lives of many of their European cousins were changing forever,
as some of the oldest monarchies in the world found themselves swept
away by the war and subsequent social unrest and revolution.
The
screenplay of The Lost Prince, with an introduction by Stephen Poliakoff,
is to be published by Methuen, price £9.99. ISBN number 0
413 773078.
A video
and DVD of The Lost Prince will also be released by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide,
price VHS £12.99, DVD £15.99. Catalogue numbers: ´óÏó´«Ã½V7373
´óÏó´«Ã½DVD1203.
Bonus
extras on the DVD include a photo gallery of the spectacular stills
taken on set and an informative commentary by Stephen Poliakoff,
composer Adrian Johnston and Jean-Paul Kelly, the production designer.
There
is also an exclusive interview with Poliakoff.
To
coincide with The Lost Prince on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE, ´óÏó´«Ã½ FOUR presents a season
of Stephen Poliakoff's dramas including Caught On A Train (1980),
She's Been Away (1989) and Shooting The Past (1999).
There
will also be a profile documentary, Shooting The Present, in which
Poliakoff discusses his life and career, with contributions from
leading British actors such as Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Matthew
Macfadyen, Clive Owen and Timothy Spall.
The
Lost Prince press pack is available below, in . You may require Adobe Acrobat Software to read PDF files
which can be obtained .
A synopsis
is available, for media use only, from the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Press Office.
Production
notes (94 KB)
Principal
cast and production credits (141 KB)
Cast
interviews (673 KB)
Family
tree (47 KB)
Miranda
Richardson, Michael Gambon and Gina McKee head the cast of Stephen
Poliakoff's The Lost Prince for ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE (06.06.02)
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