Channel 4's Ukip: The First Hundred Days imagines Nigel Farage in power – and reveals a Britain in meltdown
The drama-documentary, which portrays many of the party's supporters as racist, is likely to infuriate its leader
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Three months into Britain’s first Ukip government, pubs are again filled with cigarette smoke, border guards are forcibly repatriating illegal immigrants, and the streets are filled with violent protests. Prime Minister Nigel Farage is accused of dividing the nation with his “racist” policies.
This is the provocative scenario played out in a “plausible” Channel 4 drama-documentary, Ukip: The First Hundred Days, which imagines the effect on Britain of a Ukip win in May.
Produced by the team behind the “disaster” film Blackout, which explored the effects of a cyber-attack on Britain’s electricity grid, the Ukip film combines archive footage and scripted drama to depict civil unrest as the party tries to enact its policies.
The film, which portrays many Ukip supporters as racist, is likely to infuriate Nigel Farage, who was invited to discuss the scenario in a Channel 4 interview with Jeremy Paxman after the programme, which will be broadcast at 9pm tomorrow.
Nick Mirsky, Channel 4 head of documentaries, defended the film from charges of anti-Ukip scaremongering. “A lot of research has gone into it. We wanted to create a drama that feels plausible,” he said. The writers extrapolated from Ukip policies, such as a guarantee that those who have served in the armed forces for 12 years will be offered a job in a border force.
Channel 4 hopes the film will attract a young audience, who might not normally watch a political programme. Richard Bond, the producer at Raw TV, said he would like to attempt a similar film about the Greens but Ukip had been chosen because their surge in popularity made the party the “story” of the election.
Mr Bond said: “I hope Nigel Farage watches it. I think he will find it plausible. We explore the policies Ukip are clear about, and imagine what would happen if they were implemented.”
The post-screening interview offer appears to have been shelved after Channel 4 and the Ukip leader could not come to an agreement. The docudrama is not required to show balance as it is being shown outside the election period. A drama about the 2010 formation of the coalition will follow soon.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments