David Tennant won high praise for Broadchurch, but what about The Politician's Wife?
David Tennant stars in The Politician's Husband, the BBC's belated follow-up to Paula Milne's 1995 drama The Politician's Wife. The Scottish actors plays a senior cabinet minister and political rising star while Emily Watson - who won a BAFTA for Appropriate Adult - plays his wife and fellow politician Freya Gardner.
In a slick opening episode, Tennant's Aiden Hoynes resigns from the government seemingly in protest at the PM's immigration policy, though really because he is challenging for the leadership himself. The whole thing backfires in a big way, mainly because his pal over at the work and pensions department Bruce Babbish hangs him out to dry. All the while, his wife's career goes through the roof, despite the fact she's always put the stoppers on any ascendancy to support her husband. The Guardian's critic Sam Wollaston praised the opening episode, writing, "There is heaps to enjoy in The Politician's Husband. Well, him and her, Tennant and Watson; they're both great, and great together, convincing as a couple. I like - no, not like, approve of - the fact that their son Noah has Asperger's. That also makes them more convincing, more real - even before the massive (question mark-shaped?) cracks begin to appear in their relationship."
The Daily Mail offered cautious praise, writing, "Watson, in her first appearance since her acclaimed role in Appropriate Adult was, predictably, excellent.As was Peter Allam (who, ironically, played Peter Mannion MP in the superlative political satire The Thick Of It) giving a veritable master-class in languorous menace," though suggesting that it was "somewhat distracting. to see David Tennant so soon after his eight week run in Broadchurch." Tennant - the new golden boy of television - was excellent on the ITV crime-drama series, which was likened to The Killing and The Bridge during its thrilling run.
Is The Politician's Husband the real deal, or a House of Cards imitator?
David Tennant [L] Stars Opposite Emily Watson [R] In The Politician's Husband On BBC1
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