The Press Stories
The most anticipated political series on the road is set to air on the BBC every Sunday. In this series Hugh Larry plays Peter Lawrence, an attractive Conservative transport secretary who is trapped in a web of lies and deception. Fans are curious to know if the series is based on a true story and has been investigated by Express.co.uk.
Based on a true story on the road?
Rodgill is a new four-part series that tells the story of Minister Peter Lawrence and how he balances his personal and professional life.
Fans of the first episode will see how he looks on the brink of promotion, and the maximum continues as he celebrates winning a defamation suit against a newspaper.
But a woman who claims to know Peter reveals a secret about her past that could turn his world upside down.
The series touches on themes within the government, including crime and corruption, and plunges it into the world of Conservative leadership.
Both the creators and the actors explained that no matter how the series touches on the things we read every day, it may not be based on real events.
Read more: Actors on the Road: Who are the actors on the Road?
The BBC calls the series a “fantasy thriller” that refers to not being inspired by a real-life event or character.
The show was written by David Hare, and he gave an introduction to the series, explaining that there are very few myths about the Conservative-led government.
He explained: “With so much television drama now based on documentary events, it’s hard to remember that the primary stimulus of fiction should be fiction.
“My hero, Peter Lawrence, is not based on anyone. There are no other characters. Mine is a world parallel to the real, there is no secret passage between the two.
“You’ve wasting your time thinking that the purpose of this series is to make everyone think ‘should be’. On the road, Govt or Brexit does not use every politician’s awake time.”
He said that writing about the Conservatives gave him “great pleasure” and that it pushed him towards results that fans did not expect.
Fans meet Peter Lawrence, who goes from cabinet level to a higher position in government, at any cost.
He is not one to show any level of guilt or remorse, and sometimes puts the price of success above the feelings of those who truly care about him.
Actress Helen McRae, who plays Prime Minister Don Ellison in the series, said being outspoken in writing about right-wing politics attracted her to the role.
In this series, the political climate is similar to what Britain has seen in the last 30 years.
MacRory added: “These are not real people. It’s not a revelation of something that David Hare invented, it’s a debate in his mind about how politicians go about what politics really is like.”
With this in mind, the series features an imaginary fly-wall look at what happens behind closed doors.
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The main themes of the series include ambition and the fight we want to present in order to win anything.
Chapters will explain the risks politicians take to get to where they want to be on the political ladder and what they have to pay to get there.
Pippa Bennett-Warner plays high-flying barrister Rochelle Madeleine in the series and explains a little more about when the series is set. He said: “I think this show does a good job of referring to what is happening in our political environment at the moment, but David himself has said that it is not based on anything and that it is set in an imaginary universe.”
Fans and critics who have already been given a first look at the series have said they have high hopes for the show. One said on Twitter: “David Haren ‘on the road’ is very promising. It feels like a House Cards (BBC edition) effort into this wonderful modern age. The character of Hugh Laurie is basically a Johnson / Farage hybrid.
Audiences are looking forward to Larry playing a new role because he played a named character in the House-Medical drama series.
He starred in The Night Manager and Black order, and was the father of the 1999 film Stuart Little.
Fans of the new series have already expressed their excitement on Twitter: “I’m looking forward to #Rodkill. Hugh Larry … a slippery MP, yes please!”
The series stars Lilly as the daughter of The Last Kingdom actress Millie Brady Peter and Saskia Reeves as his wife Helen.
Dublin murders and normal folk actress Sarah Green plays a journalist named Charmaine Pepper, who plans to take Peter to a place.
Starts tonight, October 18 at 9pm on BBC One on the Road
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