The first trailer for Sir Kenneth Branagh’s new Sky drama This England has been released, in which the Belfast actor plays Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The drama depicts Johnson’s leadership during the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, with the actor having made a striking transformation to inhibit the part.
The new teaser trailer for the five-part series This England, which was previously titled This Sceptred Isle, sees Sir Kenneth portraying the Prime Minister during the daily Downing Street press briefings.
Under prosthetics and heavy make-up, the 60-year-old acting veteran is uncanny as Johnson, matching his facial expressions and forward leaning walk.
The series is directed by Michael Winterbottom, who will also co-write, while Tim Shipman, the political editor of The Sunday Times, acted as a consultant.
The limited series also stars Ophelia Lovebond as the politician’s wife Carrie Johnson and Andrew Buchan as former health secretary Matt Hancock
In the first footage released for the show the camera takes viewers for a behind-the-scenes look at the corridors of No. 10.
In words that echo Johnson’s triumphant speeches after clinching a majority in the General Election, a voiceover is heard at the start of the trailer saying: “A new dawn is breaking. 2020 will be a year of prosperity.”
Sir Kenneth's Johnson leads one of the many press briefings before a crowd of reporters ready to quiz the PM on the response to the explosion of coronavirus cases.
The voiceover continues, building the magnitude of the situation, as they reference ‘500,000 deaths’, a ‘worst case scenario’ and Johnson’s infamous mantra early in the pandemic that the ‘single best thing we can all do is wash our hands’.
Another voice ominously warns: “Johnson will come to regret securing the premiership,” before the trailer ends with the May 2020 news broadcast: “The United Kingdom has overtaken Italy to report the highest official death toll.”
The trailer concludes with the Prime Minister standing at his lectern, with two Union Jack flags flanking him behind, as he looks up at the press pack.
The upcoming limited series will follow Boris Johnson’s first months as the Prime Minister, taking the government into the start of the pandemic in 2020.
This England will also focus on Johnson’s personal life, the aftermath of Brexit as well as the melodrama and intrigue behind the scenes in Parliament.
It will also detail Johnson falling ill with the virus, as well as the arrival of his son, Wilfred.
This England premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW later this year.
