Churchill’s Secret – Michael Gambon as Winston Churchill © ITV
Director: Charles Sturridge
Writer: Jonathan Smith (Novel), Stewart Harcourt (Adaption)
Starring: Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Romola Garai, Matthew Macfadyen, Daisy Lewis, Daisy Lewis, Rachael Stirling, Tara Fitzgerald
Production Company: Daybreak Pictures, Masterpiece
Kent Locations: Chartwell, Westerham
Set in 1953, ITV’s Churchill’s Secret is a feature length drama which tells the little known story of Winston Churchill’s (Michael Gambon) second time as Prime Minister when he suffered a life-threatening stroke, which is kept from the public.
Based on Jonathan Smith’s book, The Churchill Secret: KBO, the drama is told from the perspective of Churchill’s family, his doctor and young Nurse, Millie Appleyard (Romola Garai). Whilst his political peers plot his succession, family tensions surface when his long suffering wife, Clemmie (Lindsay Duncan) calls his children to visit him at his Chartwell home in Kent, unsure if he will survive.
Michael Gambon (Harry Potter series, Gosford Park) plays Sir Winston Churchill with a supporting cast including Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, Alice in Wonderland), Romola Garai (The Hour, Emma), Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street, Anna Karenina), Daisy Lewis (Downton Abbey, Pusher), Rachael Stirling (Snow White and the Huntsman, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) and Tara Fitzgerald (Game of Thrones, Legend).
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- Churchill’s Secret at Chartwell © ITV
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- Churchill’s Secret at Chartwell DAISY LEWIS as Mary, LINDSAY DUNCAN as Clementine and CHRISTIAN MCKAY as Christopher Soames © ITV
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- Churchill’s Secret – LINDSAY DUNCAN as Clementine Churchill, MICHAEL GAMBON as Winston and ROMOLA GARAI as Millie Appleyard © ITV
The film is adapted by Stewart Harcourt (Treasure Island, Dracula) and directed by Charles Sturridge (Gulliver’s Travels, Lassie).
Chartwell was the real life Churchill family home from 1924 until Winston Churchill’s death in 1965 and was naturally chosen by the production to feature as the Churchill home. Exteriors of the house and garden were filmed on location at Chartwell, whilst the interiors were recreated at West London Film Studios.
Set in delightful gardens, Chartwell is a National Trust property in Westerham and the rooms remain much as they were when Churchill lived there. Chartwell has previously been used as a film location by productions such as The Gathering Storm (2002).
Churchill’s Secret will be shown on ITV1 on Sunday 28th February 2016 at 20:00.
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.
