The Politician's Husband
| The Politician's Husband | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Paula Milne |
| Directed by | Simon Cellan Jones |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) | Adrian Johnston |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
David Aukin Paula Milne |
| Producer(s) | Hal Vogel |
| Running time | 57 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Daybreak Pictures |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 25 April – 9 May 2013 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Politician's Wife |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Politician's Husband is a three-episode British television miniseries, first shown on BBC Two between 25 April and 9 May 2013. Written by Paula Milne, it makes a pair with her 1995 drama The Politician's Wife.
Senior Cabinet minister Aiden Hoynes (David Tennant) and his wife Freya Gardner (Emily Watson) are a high-flying golden political couple. Hoynes resigns from his post as part of a planned leadership bid, which is thwarted when his friend, the equally ambitious Bruce Babbish (Ed Stoppard), condemns Aiden's resignation and inflammatory resignation speech. Babbish is aided by Chief Whip Marcus Brock (Roger Allam), who plans to help the former in his own leadership bid. Freya, who had to temporarily stall her career to look after her and Aiden's two children, Noah and Ruby, replaces Aiden in Cabinet. Away from Westminster, husband and wife face an uncertain future as they come to terms with the diagnosis that Noah (Oscar Kennedy) has Asperger syndrome.
Desperate to salvage his political career, Aiden convinces Freya to bide her time until an opportune moment in which she can pledge support to her husband's position, thus undermining the current Prime Minister. However, soon afterward, on a television interview, Freya is asked point-blank if she supports her husband's reasons for resigning, and she reluctantly says she does not. Aiden initially reacts with rage but later reasons that it was the only answer his wife could give if she hoped to save her job. The two seem to make up, but when they make love that evening Aiden begins treating her roughly and forces himself upon her, leaving Freya bruised. Aiden leaves the room crying and later apologises to his wife for his actions.
Aiden and Freya slowly attempt to mend their relationship. Undermining their efforts are the necessity that Freya work closely with Bruce due to the close linkage of their departments (Work and Pensions, and Welfare and Employment, respectively), leading Aiden to become paranoid that his wife and Bruce will have an affair. The couple's au pair Dita (Anamaria Marinca) attempts to seduce Aiden, is rebuffed, then later quits and tells numerous tabloids she and Aiden were having an affair. Freya stands by her husband, believing his claims of innocence. Aiden, however has become convinced that Freya is now sleeping with Bruce, though unknown to him Freya has already rejected Bruce's attempts at seducing her. Aiden's father Joe (Jack Shepherd) stays with the family to fill in for Dita.
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