Boris Johnson’s handling of coronavirus is being adapted into a TV drama

Michael Winterbottom is set to direct, but there is no word yet on who will portray the PM

Michael Winterbottom is set to direct a TV drama about Boris Johnson‘s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

To create the series, the Bafta-winning 24 Hour Party People filmmaker will team up with Freemantle, Revolution Films and True Detective production company Passenger.

The series will reportedly follow the UK Prime Minister from his appointment to office through to the thick of the pandemic, including the point in which Johnson was hospitalised after being infected with the virus.

Passenger’s Richard Brown described the concept as “a story which appears to demonstrate that fact is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction”.

The Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman will serve as a consultant to the creators. Last year’s Channel 4 drama Brexit: The Uncivil War was based on Shipman’s book All Out War: The Full Story of Brexit.

Freemantle’s group COO Andrea Scrosati added: “There are rare moments in history when leaders find their private lives uniquely connected to national events, where personal experience and official role collide in an unusual way. The last few months in the life of the UK prime minister clearly mark one of these moments.”

No title or casting news has yet been announced – including for the role of Johnson himself.

Under Johnson’s leadership, the UK has been one of the worst-affected countries in the world by the deadly virus, and has suffered the highest death toll in Europe. Johnson’s aide Dominic Cummings was widely criticised in May for his decision to flout governmental lockdown rules during a trip to Durham. It has not been revealed whether this incident will feature in the series.