It’s unnerving to think that it’s only been three and a half years since the pandemic first gripped the UK, leading to lockdowns across the nation and heartbreak as thousands of people lost their lives.
While many were sticklers for the rules – making sure not to break gathering restrictions even for important events such as weddings, births and funerals – others were found to have disobeyed social-distancing orders from the authorities, sometimes leading to hefty fines.
They included several people at itself, such as former Prime Minister , who was issued a fixed penalty notice in April 2022 and became the first PM in British history to be convicted of breaking the law.
’s new drama Partygate doesn’t hold back from shining a spotlight on the rule breaks that occurred behind closed doors at Downing Street, which were first brought to the attention of the public when an article was published by the Daily Mirror in November 2021.
The drama flits between dramatised scenes imagining what it was like when government aides partied away while strict gathering rules were in place, and accounts from real people talking about the difficulties that they faced at the height of the pandemic.
Using information directly from civil servant Sue Gray’s partygate report, which was published in May 2022, the cast depict scenes of aides dancing sweatily in the basement of Downing Street, singing karaoke, vomiting, bringing in a wine fridge, drinking excessively, hooking up and demonstrating huge levels of disrespect to the cleaning and security staff.
While it’s based on true events, the two leads of the drama are fictional characters – The Chronicles of Narnia star Georgie Henley, who plays keen-to-please Grace Greenwood, and This England star Ophelia Lovibond, who portrays snooty Annabel D’acre.
The Special Advisors come from different backgrounds, but forge what one could call a workplace friendship as they shop together for wine for the illicit gatherings and gossip about their fellow coworkers, all the while spending time with ‘The Boss’ Boris.
It’s infuriating how out-of-touch they and their colleagues are, as scenes of raucous bashes are juxtaposed with real people sharing how they weren’t able to be with loved ones when they died, witnessed deaths on the frontline or were forced to have funerals condensed to a mere 20 minutes.
The pair’s relationship comes to a head when Grace begins to find her morals being questioned by the frequent parties, and Annabel manipulatively warns her that her career could be in jeopardy if she decides to leak anything to the media, after emphasising that the rules don’t apply to them.
Boris appears in the drama as well, both through archival footage of the infamous PM’s press conferences and the performance of impressionist Jon Culshaw, who voices him in dramatised scenes.
The way in which the fictional aides suck up to the former leader of the Tory is sickening to say the least… but given the findings of Sue Gray’s report, sadly it doesn’t feel like an unrealistic depiction of what might have taken place.
The format of Partygate can be slightly jarring to watch at times, with its mixture of dramatisations, true-life anecdotes from real people, educational captions and breaking of the fourth wall.
But that feeling of unease simply adds to the despicable nature of the story that sadly will remain a pivotal moment in our nation’s history forever.
Partygate airs on Tuesday October 3 at 9.30pm on Channel 4.
