Matthew Macfadyen to lead ITV, BritBox International’s John Stonehouse drama

Matthew Macfadyen in Stonehouse

ITV and BritBox International are working on a drama about the life and times of disgraced politician John Stonehouse, with married actors Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) and Keeley Hawes (It’s A Sin) starring.

In Stonehouse, Macfadyen will play the high-flying member of Harold Wilson’s government, who vanished from the beach of a large luxury hotel in Florida in November 1974, leaving a neatly folded pile of clothes as he swam into the sea, intent on faking his own death.

Streamer BritBox International will be the exclusive home to the series in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Banijay will be responsible for the international distribution of the three-part drama.

Written by writer John Preston (A Very English Scandal), directed by Jon S Baird (Stan & Ollie) and produced by Snowed-In Productions and Clearwood Films, it tells the story of how the MP for Walsall North left behind his loving wife Barbara (Hawes) and three young children as a shocked public and media presumed he had drowned or been killed by sharks.

As the drama unfolds, it becomes apparent his reputation as a devoted family man masked the truth, as he’d embarked on an extramarital affair with his secretary and acted as a spy for the Czech Secret Service in the 1960s.

As his complex finances and relationships caught up with him, Stonehouse deliberately stole the identity of a recently deceased constituent and sought a new life in Australia, where he was eventually arrested.

Brought back to the UK by Scotland Yard detectives, Stonehouse ended up being crucial to keeping the Labour government in power with its wafer-thin majority.

Stonehouse has been commissioned for ITV by its head of drama, Polly Hill, who will oversee the production from the channel’s perspective.

The drama will also star Emer Heatley (Showtrial) as Stonehouse’s mistress Sheila Buckley, Kevin R McNally (The Crown) as Harold Wilson, Dorothy Atkinson (All Creatures Great & Small) as Betty Boothroyd and Igor Grabuzov (Voskresenskiy).

Macfadyen, who also starred in hit ITV drama Quiz, said: “What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of legend. I’ve always been intrigued by what motivated him to fake his own death and leave behind the family he loved and doted upon and a promising political career. John Preston’s script truly captures the man and his colourful life, and I’m looking forward to taking on his character.”