Vote Howard

Mark Dexter playing the PM in Coalition.

27 March, 2015

Fans of Red Dwarf X will no doubt recall the superb performance of Mark Dexter as Howard Rimmer, and in particular how good he was at playing an unlikable posh bloke who had been elevated to a position that many felt was far above his actual capabilities.

In unrelated news, Mark's latest major TV role sees him taking on the role of current Prime Minister David Cameron, in Channel 4's one-off drama Coalition. The special tells the story of the days immediately following the 2010 general election, as the leaders of the various British political parties attempted to form a new government. As we all know, of course, the ultimate result was the titular coalition between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties - but not before there'd been a frantic, back-and-forth scrabble between them all.

Mark takes the lead role of Conservative leader Cameron (spoilers: he wins in the end), admitting that his obvious resemblance to the PM was something of a double-edged sword - but in advance reviews, he's already attracted significant acclaim for his portrayal. He's joined by Ian Grieve as Labour leader and outgoing PM Gordon Brown, Bertie Carvel as the Lib Dems' Nick Clegg, and Mark Gatiss as scheming Labour politician Peter Mandelson.

The drama, written by political playwright James Graham, airs this Saturday 28th March at 9pm on Channel 4. We'd expect it's also likely to be available on the channel's 4OD on-demand platform for a short while afterwards, so even if you're busy on Saturday, it's still well worth a look.

Find out more at the Channel 4 website!