Emma Thompson plays 'rebel, trickster and terror' MP in BBC drama Years & Years
Emma Thompson leads a political revolution in a new BBC drama that follows Britain into the future through 15 turbulent years.
Thompson plays Vivienne Rook, an unscrupulous MP, in BBC One’s state-of-the-nation series Years & Years.
As imagined by Russell T Davies, the writer whose previous credits include Doctor Who and Queer as Folk, “Britain is rocked by unstable political, economic and technological advances” as the country leaves the European Union, the US goes rogue and China asserts itself as the great superpower.
Thompson’s character is “one of that new breed of politician - an entertainer, a rebel, a trickster and a terror”. Her rise to power will be set against the everyday lives of a family in Manchester. Rory Kinnear and Anne Reid are also in the cast.
Davies said: “I’ve wanted to write this for 20 years or so. And as the world accelerates like crazy around us, I’d better get on with it.”
The six-part series is a co-production between the BBC, HBO and French broadcaster Canal+.
The BBC is hailing Years & Years as one of the drama highlights of 2019. Its latest drama serial, Andrew Davies’s adaptation of Les Miserables, launched on Sunday night with 4.5 million viewers - lower than recent Sunday night offerings such as The Little Drummer Girl and The Cry, but the most popular programme in its 9pm time slot.
It was beaten in the ratings by Antiques Roadshow, which was the most watched show of the day with an audience of 4.9 million.
