Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing during lockdown. And that’s because, for the majority of us non-critical workers, we were at home, likely making sourdough bread, watching Tiger King or bouncing along to a Joe Wicks PE lesson on YouTube.

The government told us to isolate ourselves from the world in a bid to help curb the pandemic, and so we did. Those in power, however, did not; indeed, the Metropolitan police investigation into rule breaches in No 10 and Whitehall concluded with 126 fines for 83 people. The prime minister received a single fixed-penalty notice for his birthday party. And Sue Gray’s now legendary 60-page report into ‘Partygate’ identified “a serious failure” to abide by the “standards expected of the entire British population”, painting a shocking picture of drunkenness, vomiting and damage at the illegal events and the abuse of cleaners who objected to them while the country obeyed lockdown restrictions.

Is it any wonder, then, that the makers of the Bafta-winning dramas Killed By My Debt, The Left Behind and Murdered By My Father are transforming this monumental betrayal of public trust (or a total f**king omnishambles, if you prefer to channel The Thick Of It’s Malcolm Tucker) into a docudrama of its very own?

Watch the trailer for Partygate below:

As per the official synopsis for the eagerly anticipated Channel 4 project, Partygate is centred around two fictional special advisors: Grace Greenwood and Annabel D’acre.

Based on meticulous research of real events inside Downing Street, it “will tell the inside story in dramatic re-enactments interwoven with news archive footage and documentary interviews, showing the horrors of Covid unfold across the nation, while staff at No 10 kicked back at a string of parties lubricated by quantities of alcohol.”

Georgie Henley (The Chronicles Of Narnia) and W1A’s Ophelia Lovibond lead the cast, alongside Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia), Rebecca Humphries (Ten Percent), Hugh Skinner (The Windsors) and Charlotte Richie (Ghosts).

The ensemble is rounded off beautifully by Craig Parkinson (Line Of Duty), Tom Durant-Pritchard (The Windsors), Anthony Calf (New Tricks), Alice Lowe (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch), Kimberly Nixon (Fresh Meat), Alice Orr-Ewing (This Is Going to Hurt), Naomi Battrick (Jamestown) and Edwin Flay. And, yes, impressionist Jon Culshaw will star as the voice of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Announcing the project earlier this year, Channel 4 said: “This meticulously researched docudrama takes viewers inside No 10 as staff partied while the Covid death toll soared and the country diligently observed lockdown restrictions.” 

The broadcaster added that the programme would contrast “the revelry inside the nation’s seat of power with the hardship and sacrifice experienced across the rest of the country”.

Intrigued? You can tune into Partygate on 3 October at 9.30pm.

Images: Getty