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Portrait of Winston

Dan Stevens and Benjamin Whitrow star in Jonathan Smith's drama about a controversial portrait of Winston Churchill painted by leading British artist Graham Sutherland.

By Jonathan Smith. Dan Stevens and Benjamin Whitrow star in an entertaining drama about a portrait of Winston Churchill by leading British artist Graham Sutherland.

For his 80th birthday on 30th November 1954, an all-party committee of MPs decided to present Churchill, still the Prime Minister, with a portrait of himself. It was to be Churchill's for his lifetime but then to hang in the House of Commons. The commission was given to Graham Sutherland, aged 51, then at the height of his fame. It was a painting which was to prove highly controversial.

Producer/director: Bruce Young

"A Portrait Of Winston" is a follow-up to Jonathan Smith's previous Radio 4 play about Winston Churchill, "The Last Bark Of the Bulldog" which dealt with Churchill's stroke in 1953 while he was still Prime Minister. "The Last Bark Of the Bulldog" - which also starred Benjamin Whitrow as Churchill - was first broadcast in 2003.

Jonathan Smith is a former Head of English at Tonbridge School in Kent. He has written many radio plays over the years, including two series of plays about a headmaster, "The Head Man". His most recent plays for Radio 4 are "The Trenches Trip" (2010) and "The Tennis Court" (2008). His latest book, "The Following Game" was published recently.

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 4 Apr 2014 14:15

Credits

Role Contributor
Winston Churchill Benjamin Whitrow
Graham Sutherland Dan Stevens
Clementine Churchill Diane Fletcher
Kathleen Sutherland Katherine Igoe
Actor Gerard McDermott
Actor James Lailey
Actor Carl Prekopp
Writer Jonathan Smith
Director Bruce Young
Producer Bruce Young

Broadcasts

  • Tue 13 Sep 2011 14:15
  • Fri 4 Apr 2014 14:15

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