National Treasure (British TV series) explained
National Treasure is a four-part 2016 British television drama by Channel 4, written by Jack Thorne.[1] It stars Robbie Coltrane as Paul Finchley, a once successful comedian of the 1980s and early 1990s, now hosting a television quiz show. He is accused of raping several young women in the early 1990s. Julie Walters plays his wife Marie and Andrea Riseborough plays his daughter Dee.
The drama is inspired by Operation Yewtree, a police operation that resulted in the prosecution of a number of veteran TV performers.[2] [3] At the 2017 British Academy Television Awards, the series won Best Mini-Series while Coltrane was nominated for Best Actor.[4]
Cast
- Robbie Coltrane as Paul Finchley
- Julie Walters as Marie Finchley, Finchley's wife
- Andrea Riseborough as Danielle "Dee" Finchley, Finchley's daughter
- Tim McInnerny as Sir Karl Jenkins, Finchley's former comedy partner, now a major star
- Ed Eales White as Young Karl
- Babou Ceesay as Jerome Sharpe, Finchley's solicitor
- Mark Lewis Jones as Gerry, investigator
- Nadine Marshall as DI Palmer
- Kate Hardie as Rebecca Thornton, alleged rape victim
- Sarah Middleton as Young Rebecca
- Susan Lynch as Christina Farnborough, former babysitter
- Graeme Hawley as Dan
- William Wright-Neblett as Billy, Dee's son
- Kerry Fox as Zoe Darwin, Finchley's barrister
- Renaee-Mya Warden as Frances
- Jeremy Swift as Simon
- Rosalind Eleazar as Georgina, a prostitute
- Vivienne Bell as Stella
- David Fleeshman as Judge
- Sam Hoare as Tom
- Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Freddie
- Ronnie Fox as Taxi Driver
- Vicki Hackett as Receptionist
- Ian Puleston-Davies as Leo
- Johann Myers as Dave
- Catherine Breeze as Nurse
- Darren Boyd as Hamish
- Lee Mack as Himself
- Robert Webb as Himself
- Alan Carr as Himself
- Frank Skinner as Himself
- Victoria Derbyshire as Herself
Plot
Reception
National Treasure received universal acclaim from critics, with a Metacritic rating of 81 out of 100 based on 21 reviews.[6]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: 2017-03-20. Broadcasters find C4's National Treasure. 2021-06-08. TBI Vision. en-US.
- News: Plunkett . John . Channel 4 launches drama inspired by Operation Yewtree investigations . . 25 August 2015 . 22 September 2016.
- News: Ross . Peter . 'This is for the people who were abused': Robbie Coltrane on his Yewtree-inspired drama . . 6 September 2016 . 13 October 2016.
- Web site: Bafta TV awards 2017: full list of winners. 14 May 2017. Guardian. 16 May 2017.
- Web site: Weekly top 30 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018) . BARB . 2 June 2024.
- Web site: National Treasure: Season 1 . Metacritic . September 24, 2021.
