History is brought to the small screen in a compelling look at the pre-war days of Winston Churchill (excellently played by Albert Finney). The exploration perhaps could have done with a more dramatic edge, but nevertheless provides a solid portrait of the old bulldog, from the private man who loved painting (with a penchant for nudity), to his public fight to make others believe that there was a genuine threat from Hitler just on the horizon. In a stunningly starry cast, Derek Jacobi, as PM Stanley Baldwin, and Vanessa Redgrave, as Churchill's staunchly loyal wife Clementine, measure up particularly well. The film offers a revealing insight into the private life of the man who seemed at first an alarmist, but then started receiving secret information from the Foreign Office which led to his eventual historic role in World War Two. Band of Brothers director Richard Loncraine has scored another TV winner.

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