Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: Number 10, steven moffat

Doctor Who, Sherlock Writer Steven Moffat to Tackle "Number 10" Drama

Steven Moffat's new Channel 4 series Number 10 sounds like "Upstairs Downstairs" at the British Prime Minister's office and home.

Sherlock co-creator and former Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat is opening the doors to Number 10 Downing Street in a drama series for Channel 4. Number 10 will be produced by Moffat and producer Sue Vertue's ITV Studios-owned production company, Hartswood Films. The show is, in effect, an Upstairs Downstairs-style drama looking to the activities of many people inside the property, which houses the British Prime Minister and their family during their terms. Politics will be put to aside as Moffat focuses on the fictional personalities that make up the home.

Number 10 & Steven Moffat: "West Wing" meets "Upstairs Downstairs"

As the official synopsis goes: "10 Downing Street. There's a Prime Minister in the attic, a coffee bar in the basement, and a wallpapered labyrinth of romance, crisis, and heartbreak in between. Set in the only terrace house in history with mice and a nuclear deterrent, it's the only knock-through in the world where a hangover can start a war."

The synopsis continues: "The government will be fictional, but the problems will be real. We'll never know which party is in power, because once the whole world hits the fan, it barely matters. This is a show about the building and everyone inside. Not just the Prime Minister upstairs, but the conspiracy theorist who runs the cafe three floors below, the man who repairs the lift that never works, the madly ambitious 'advisors' fighting for office space in cupboards. Oh, and of course, the cat."

Let's remember that Moffat is a fan of The West Wing, so imagine the pitch: "It's 'West Wing' meets 'Upstairs Downstairs' in Number 10 Downing Street!" "SOLD!" That's totally what this is!

Moffat will executive produce with his wife and Hartswood co-chief, Sue Vertue, with Lawrence Till (who worked on The Devil's Hour, The Young Offenders) as the producer. The director is Ben Palmer (a deft hand at drama and comedy and combining both in Moffat's previous series Douglas is Cancelled, and The Inbetweeners). Gwawr Lloyd, Acting Head of Channel 4 Drama, commissioned Number 10, because Channel 4 gets all the interesting dramas from the top writers, like Russell T Davies, which the BBC doesn't greenlight now.

Vertue shared that Number 10 was a "passion project for Steven – He says there are three famous doors in the world: he's done 221B Baker Street and the TARDIS – now he's going to do the real one." Gwawr Lloyd added: "We're thrilled to be bringing Number 10 to Channel 4, a bold, brilliant and witty new drama from the exceptional mind of Steven Moffat and the powerhouse team at Hartswood Films. Number 10 will offer a rare glimpse behind the doors of the world's most iconic political residences, which will take viewers from the high-stakes decisions of leadership to the lives of the staff who keep the house running. An insightful and entertaining twist on a state of the nation drama."

The resulting series could end up being cringe, but no matter what, it's guaranteed to be hugely entertaining, because this is Moffat. He can't help but write funny lines, even when he tries to stop. What's in store for Number 10? What if he writes a heroic and principled British Prime Minister? That would be the biggest shock of all, and total fantasy, of course.

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