This England (2022) s01e01 Episode Script

1
(dramatic music playing)
(publisher)
We're extremely excited to announce
that following
his best-selling books
on the Emperor, Augustus,
and Winston Churchill,
-the long-awaited (chuckles)
-(crowd cheering)
(publisher) Yes,
the very long-awaited biography
of Shakespeare by Boris Johnson
will finally be published
in April 2020.
(crowd cheering, applauding)
(journalist 1) Are you going to go
for the leadership?
(Boris) Well, do you know, erm
Yeah, of course
I'm gonna go for it.
(Carrie) Get off me!
Get off my fucking laptop!
-(loud knocking)
-(neighbour) Hello?
-Are you okay in there?
-(Carrie) Get out of my flat!
-(reporters clamouring)
-(camera shutters clicking)
(reporter 1) Boris Johnson
dodging reporters
as he left this South London flat
this morning.
(journalist 2)
Have you ruined your chance
of becoming Prime Minister,
Mr Johnson?
Dignity still matters
in public life.
Johnson will never have it.
(reporter 2) Neighbours allege
they heard a row
between the Tory leadership
frontrunner
and his partner, Carrie Symonds.
(journalist 3) Why were police
outside your house last night?
For many of us, his
his elevation will signal
Britain's abandonment
of any claim
to be a serious country.
(announcer 1)
Boris Johnson is elected
as the leader of the Conservative
and Unionist party.
(crowd applauds)
(uplifting classical music playing)
(helicopter blades whirring)
(crowd clamouring,
chanting indistinctly)
I have a hunch that Johnson
will come to regret
securing the prize
for which he struggled so long.
I have just been to see
Her Majesty the Queen,
who has invited me
to form a government,
and so I am standing
before you today
to tell you, the doubters,
the doomsters, the gloomsters,
they are going
to get it wrong again.
-(camera shutters clicking)
-(crowd cheering)
(Boris) As Churchill said
about the moment
when he finally took over
as Prime Minister,
"I felt as though
I was walking with destiny."
"All my life was a preparation
for this hour and this trial."
-(thrilling music playing)
-(Boris) As your Prime Minister,
-I command you
-(Carrie laughs) Aren't you tired?
(Boris) Never!
Power is an aphrodisiac.
And absolute power
is absolutely aphrodesiable.
(Carrie yelps, chuckles)
-(crowd clamouring)
-(reporter) A nation divided
and a Tory party divided
-over the issue of Brexit.
-(crowd jeering, whistling)
(reporter) Today, the possibility
that Parliament might be prorogued,
closed down for more than a month,
the longest suspension
since the Second World War.
(crowd chanting)
No Brexit for Boris!
-(members clamouring)
-Order!
The ayes to the right, 328.
The nos to the left, 301.
-Here you are.
-(members cheering)
(member 1) Not a good start, Boris.
-(Mr Speaker) Order!
-(dramatic music playing)
When are you fucking MPs
gonna realise
-we are leaving on October 31st?
-(indistinct chatter)
While the opposition run,
they cannot hide forever!
Mr Speaker,
Lords who are authorised to declare
prorogation of Parliament.
(members jeering, booing)
The decision to advise Her Majesty
to prorogue Parliament
was unlawful.
(Dominic) We need a plan
for the election.
(Isaac) If they vote for one.
Oh, there'll be one.
It can't go on like this.
What, the people versus Parliament?
Exactly. The rebels don't realise
how much people in the real world
hate them.
So we need a simple message.
"Take back control"
won the referendum.
We need the equivalent
for the election.
-Three words.
-Oh, is that the brief?
Well, yeah.
The Prime Minister!
-(members jeering)
-Come on! Come on!
-Come on then!
-(upbeat classical music playing)
Everything was done
with full propriety.
(interviewer)
You have to declare an interest.
Did you declare an interest?
There was no interest to declare.
I'm very, very proud of everything
that, er, we did.
Do not even think about trying
to talk to that woman, all right?
(paparazzo) Boris! Boris!
Straight ahead!
-(Dominic) Good.
-(Lee) Yeah, very good.
-Three words.
-You can run the campaign.
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
-Let's get Brexit done.
Let's get Brexit done.
-Get Brexit done.
-(hen clucks)
Let's get Brexit done.
Enough. Let's get this done.
Get Brexit done.
We're going to get Brexit done.
Let's get Brexit done.
-(crowd applauding)
-Let's get Brexit done
and let's bring
this country together.
-(indistinct chatter)
-(camera shutters clicking)
(reporters clamouring)
(reporter 1, over TV)
The exit poll is predicting,
it's indicating
-it's a big Conservative win.
-(upbeat music plays over TV)
-(crowd cheering)
-(yells indistinctly)
-(camera shutters clicking)
-(lively chatter)
(exclaims, laughs) Yeah!
We thought 359, didn't we?
(reporter 2) Tonight, Boris Johnson
got a hero's welcome
at Conservative Party headquarters
after his landslide victory.
(crowd applauding, chanting)
Oh, Isaac Levido!
(Isaac) And here he is,
our Prime Minister
for the next five years,
-Boris Johnson!
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
(speaks indistinctly)
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you. You know, when
(stammers)
When the emperor, Augustus,
had any sort of, you know,
military problem,
er, his first response, I imagine,
-was to say, "Get Agrippa!" Er
-(crowd laughs)
Er (chuckles)
in the Brexit referendum,
-Dom Cummings has been my Agrippa!
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
And and I think
I I think I heard
somebody singing his name earlier.
In this election, my Agrippa
has been played by Isaac Levido!
(crowd cheers, applauds, chants)
Oh, Isaac Levido!
-Oh, Isaac Levido!
-Oh, wow. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
We did it.
-We did it, didn't we? We did!
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
We pulled it off, didn't we?
We pulled it off.
We broke the deadlock.
-(staff members) Yes!
-We ended the gridlock.
-We smashed the roadblock!
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
And, er, with and with
this mandate and this majority,
-we are at last able to do what?
-(crowd) Get Brexit done!
I see you have been
paying attention,
Yes, thank you.
(chuckles) Very good.
Now, less than
less than six months ago,
when I became your leader,
I could only offer you,
to quote a predecessor of mine,
er, "Blood, toil,
tears, and sweat."
But now,
less than six months later,
we can look forward
to the broad, sunlit uplands.
A new dawn is breaking.
2020 will be a year
of prosperity, growth and hope!
-Thank you.
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
-(brooding music playing)
-(bats squeaking)
(indistinct chatter)
Hello, er, it's Boris Johnson here,
taking a moment,
er, to wish you all
a merry little Christmas.
Maybe try it one more time,
just with a little bit
more sparkle.
Okay. (sighs)
Hello, it's Boris Johnson here,
taking a moment to wish you all
a merry little Christmas.
It's that special time of year
when we can take the opportunity
to celebrate all that is good
in the world
and to spend time
with our friends and family.
-(Lara) Fuck's sake!
-(Milo) Oi!
-(Marina) What?
-Do you want white or red, Mum?
(Marina) Er, red, please.
I hope you're all enjoying
a wonderful break
with your loved ones,
er, sharing gifts
and tucking into
some delicious food.
-(dramatic music playing)
-(lively chatter)
(traffic honking)
-(Boris) There you go!
-(group cheering)
We actually have some news
to tell you.
-Don't we, Boris?
-Er, yeah, yeah, we do.
We have we have good news,
er, which you can probably guess.
We are expecting a baby.
-(group laughs)
-(mutters) So
But it's all gonna be top secret
until I tell all the kids,
so, you know,
Mum's the word, you know?
They'd kill me if they heard it
first from the Daily Mail.
-Here's to it. Thank you so much.
-Cheers!
-Cheers. Cheers to you two.
-(Charlotte) Cheers.
(Josephine)
Cheers. Congratulations.
-(overlapping chatter)
-(Boris) Thank you so much.
Cheers. What did you get them
for Christmas?
Oh, books, mainly.
You know, it's so difficult
to get out
and do the Christmas shopping
so I'm afraid
it was Waterstones online
for everyone, I'm afraid.
We got Stephanie a signed copy
of Harry Potter.
-Really?
-We didn't want to leave her out.
Carrie never saw her father
at Christmas.
He was always
with his other children.
(Charlotte) Christmas was always
the hardest time for us
when Stanley and I separated.
Well, I
I was pretty much grown-up.
It's probably the best thing,
if you're going to divorce,
boarding school.
I don't know how you could bear
to send your children
away to school.
I couldn't have managed
without Carrie.
-Aw, Mum.
-Ah, I mean, Lara loved her school.
-She went to boarding school?
-(Boris) Yeah, to Bedales.
We're not sending ours away,
just so you know.
Er, you're going away
for the New Year?
-Yes, we're going to Mustique.
-Ah! I'm so envious.
You need to rest. You look tired.
Although, you know, I do
I'm supposed to be trying to write
-that book while I'm there.
-(Charlotte) Which book?
You know, the one on Shakespeare,
the one that was commissioned
for the 400th anniversary.
-Yeah, but that was years ago.
-I know, but the advance was 500K,
and that is three years
of Prime Minister's money,
and we need the spondulicks,
so, you know, must do.
(Charlotte) You always did
do everything at the last moment.
That's why I became a journalist,
because I need a deadline,
I need a deadline,
I need a deadline for this cracker,
and you are the woman
-with the deadline.
-(cracker bangs)
-(indistinct chatter over TV)
-(Boris breathes deeply)
(mobile phone beeps)
(operator over phone) Welcome
to the O2 messaging service.
The person you are calling
is unable to take your call.
Please leave your message
after the tone.
-(mobile phone beeps)
-Hello, Lara, it's, er, Dad here.
Just just calling to, er,
wish you a very Merry Christmas
and I hope that you are having
a lovely day.
(Queen Elizabeth on TV)
Of course, at the heart
of the Christmas story
lies the birth of a child.
-(mobile phone beeps)
-Hello, Milo, er, it's Dad here,
just, er, calling to wish you,
er, a Merry Christmas.
And overcome long-held differences
and deep-seated divisions
to bring harmony and understanding.
-(mobile phone beeps)
-(Boris) Hello, hello, Cassia!
Er, it's Dad here, er, just calling
to wish you a Merry Christmas,
and I hope that you are having
a lovely day,
and I am sending lots of love.
Er, Dad, bye.
(tense music playing)
-Wine-dark sea. (sighs)
-What?
It's what Homer always called it
whenever he mentions the sea.
It's the "wine-dark sea."
It's like
whenever he mentions dawn,
it's "rosy-fingered dawn."
Like you're always saying,
"Get Brexit done."
Exactly. Repetition.
Very respectable rhetorical device.
(Carrie chuckles)
Very respectable rhetorical device.
-It's not bad, is it?
-It's not bad.
(Boris) Yes.
It's pretty blooming good, yes.
(dramatic music playing)
(crowd) seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one!
-(cheering, roaring)
-(party guest) Happy New Year!
-(lively chatter)
-(upbeat music playing)
(Boris) Cheers, love.
(group sings)
# We'll drink a cup of kindness yet
# For the sake #
(cheering continues)
-(siren wailing)
-(tense music playing)
(indistinct chatter)
(nurse speaking Chinese)
-(music fades)
-(birds chirping)
(yoga instructor)
Then come into prayer position,
and now step the right foot back.
Move your arms into warrior 2.
Look forward, arms straight.
(brooding music playing)
(reporter) China has informed
the World Health Organization
of a mysterious
new SARS-like virus.
The cluster of cases
are linked to a wet market
in the city of Wuhan.
The market has now
been closed down.
(traffic rumbling)
-(indistinct chatter)
-(keyboard clacking)
(Richard)
Helena, can you get in touch
with our friends in the ministry
and the Chinese Centre
for Disease Control?
See if they're writing up anything
on this new pneumonia outbreak?
Yeah, of course.
We don't want
the New England Journal
getting hold of it before us.
-That would be terrible.
-(Richard chuckles)
(upbeat music playing
over speakers)
(groans) Do you have to work?
(Boris stammers)
All the sick people, you know.
(grunts) God.
We're here to rest and recuperate!
"If you cannot understand
my argument
and declare 'It's Greek to me',
you are quoting Shakespeare."
"If you claim to be
'more sinned against than sinning,'
you are quoting Shakespeare."
"If you act 'more in sorrow
than in anger',
if your wish 'is farther
to the thought',
if your property has 'vanished
into thin air',
then you are quoting Shakespeare."
What does he have to say about sex?
-Loved it!
-(Carrie) Oh, good.
-Any time, any place, anywhere.
-Is that Shakespeare too?
(Boris) No, no,
that's an old Martini advert.
-Oh.
-(Boris) A bit before your time.
Massively.
(Dominic) There are
some profound problems
at the core of how
the British state makes decisions.
-Failure is so normal
-(keyboard clacking)
it is not defined
as failure anymore.
We want to hire an unusual set
of people with different skills
and backgrounds to work
in Downing Street.
I'm new.
Attached to the policy department.
Ben Warner.
(Dominic) We want to hire
some very clever young people
with extreme curiosity
and capacity for hard work.
first set of stairs,
then left and right
and you should be good.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
(exciting music playing)
-(retches)
-(whines, barks)
Boris, can you deal
with the dog, please?
-Boris!
-Oh. Yes, yes, yes. Are
are you okay? Come on, Dilyn.
Come on, Dilyn.
Out, out, out, out, out, out.
(mutters indistinctly)
-Come on then. Come on.
-(faucet running)
(Dominic) We need
some true wildcards, artists,
people who never went
to university,
weirdos from William Gibson novels,
like that girl hired
by Bigend as a brand "diviner"
who feels sick at the sight
of Tommy Hilfiger.
And if you don't fit in,
I'll get rid of you within weeks.
I'm telling you this now
so you can't complain later.
(indistinct chatter)
(Warner pants)
Hello, I'm Ben Warner.
-And?
-I'm working here.
-(Munira) Who says?
-I start today.
(sighs) This is my department,
and you don't work here.
Dominic Cummings told me
to start today.
Well, tell Dom he'd better find you
an office then.
There's no space in here.
(indistinct chatter)
-(music concludes)
-Okay, we're gonna keep this short.
Er, the PM got back
from Mustique last night,
so there is no media activity
planned for today.
And his diary is being kept empty
for the same reason.
-Dom?
-We don't want
the Prime Minister's diary
to be clogged up with stuff.
We don't want to be distracted
by events.
We want to focus
on long-term strategy.
-(barks, pants)
-(Boris) Sorry, would you
would you mind
trying to dog-wrangle him?
Would you bind the mighty Cerberus
and take him outside for a piss?
No? Oh, come on, Dilyn,
for God's sake. Where
(staff member 1) Happy New Year,
Prime Minister.
Happy New Year, good to see you.
(Boris) Happy New
Where is that bloody dog?
Hello, hello, all. Happy New Year,
-by the way.
-(lively chatter)
Yell if you see him.
You know what he looks like,
Come on, you little beggar.
(staff member 2) Good morning,
Prime Minister.
Nice to see you, John.
Yeah, good to see you.
-Okay.
-(thrilling music playing)
-(staff member 3) All right then.
-(Boris) Well done.
Well done. You have him well
and truly wrangled.
You might just need that as well.
Okay, really, it'll be fine.
Thank you so much.
Hey, Lucia, how are you?
Well rested, I hope?
-(Lucia) Morning, Prime Minister.
-Good on you. Nice to see you.
Okay. Oh, hello.
Kids, how are you?
Do you like the painting?
I painted that.
I did paint that, I did.
You don't believe me, do you?
But I did.
Hi, Cleo, how are you?
-Morning, Prime Minister.
-(Boris) You're looking very fresh.
Ben, looking forward
to the new term.
-New year, new me. Welcome back.
-Oh, very good. I like that. Yes.
-Hello, Martin! Happy New Year.
-Happy New Year, Prime Minister.
(Boris) Happy New Year, Dom.
-Happy New Year, Prime Minister.
-Good rest?
(Dominic) Good thinking time.
Oh, good thinking time?
Any New Year's resolutions?
No.
Hi, Shirin. Hi. Erm
So, as anticipated,
I will not be coming in
for any meetings in person.
Yeah, no, it's, er
It's pretty obvious, yes.
We are leaving Europe
at the end of this month.
We need to keep the press
focused on that.
-(Boris) No, I agree.
-We need to have a few
-simple strategic goals.
-(Boris) Yeah, of course.
This year,
free trade deal with Europe,
-free trade deal with America.
-(Boris) Mm-hmm. Yep, sure.
Plus, we have 12 months
to put in place the architecture
of our new
independent institutions.
Those decisions will set our course
for a generation.
Oh, yeah, a lot to do, Dom.
We need to radically overhaul
the way we govern,
and we need to start
by clearing out the deadwood.
-Er. From the cabinet?
-Cabinet's easy.
Civil service is hard and crucial.
We need SPADs who can put a rocket
under the civil service.
Yeah, we appointed
most of the SPADs, I recall.
No cabinet reshuffle
till the Brexit bill goes through.
Do you want to draw up
a few suggestions?
That's a long list.
-(indistinct chatter)
-(dramatic music playing)
-(Matt) Morning. Right. Shall we?
-(attendee) Morning. Morning.
(Matt) Let's do it. What have we
Er. What have we got?
So far, the winter's been mild,
so we've managed
to avoid any major crises.
Which was lucky
for the election campaign.
(Wormald) There is the WHO report
of a new coronavirus outbreak
in China.
-(Matt) Why is it always China?
-We're keeping an eye on it.
Right.
-(tense music playing)
-(EKG monitor beeping)
(nurse speaks Chinese)
-(indistinct chatter)
-Thank you. (grunts)
-Hello!
-Hello, mate.
-(Jamie) Hello.
-Hello!
(Jamie) Hello.
(sighs, grunts, snuffles)
-(SPAD 1 clears throat)
-What a week.
Some of you will have seen my blog
advertising for your replacements.
In fact, all of you
had better have read my blog.
Did anyone not read it?
We've already got two new recruits.
Stand up, Ben.
Ben is a data genius.
He's the reason
we won the referendum
and the reason we won the election.
You have to understand the data.
That's what all these idiots
writing about politics don't get.
They think that standing
in Westminster
talking to some politician
is reporting.
That's why they get
everything wrong.
Stand up, Andrew.
This is Andrew Sabisky.
He is a super forecaster.
He is a thinker.
The kind of thinker we need
to shake this place up a bit.
ARPA. "Advanced Research
Projects Agency."
What can we learn
from their experience?
Failure doesn't matter.
Joseph Licklider was a visionary.
He gave great people resources
and freedom.
That's what I'm going to do
with people like Ben and Andrew.
Science, data,
and evidence-based policy
are gonna be at the heart
of everything we do.
And remember, all you SPADs
are now my responsibility.
I hire you, I fire you.
I don't want any of you
to go freelancing around town
trying to make
your minister look good.
From now on, everything they say
has got to be approved
by Number 10.
(tense music playing)
(reporter) In Wuhan,
a man has died,
having caught the new virus,
which officials say
comes from the same family
as the deadly SARS virus.
-(EKG monitor beeping)
-(indistinct chatter)
(nurse speaks Chinese)
-(George) Richard, hey!
-(Richard) George, good to see you.
I imagine you've got
a lot on there.
We're busy, yes.
I think the genome of the new virus
will be shared tomorrow.
-Oh, that's fast.
-On Virological.
We're trying to stay
ahead of it this time.
I think everyone has learned
a lesson from the last SARS.
And do you maybe have,
er, anything to publish?
(George) Could do. Could do soon.
Also, the New England Journal
are chasing us.
-(child 1) Good night, Mummy.
-(child 2) Good night, Mummy.
(Teresa) Good night.
I'll be up in a minute.
(tense music continues)
(indistinct chatter)
(reporter) Thailand has reported
the first case
of the Wuhan coronavirus
found outside of China.
The patient arrived at Bangkok
Suvarnabhumi Airport from Wuhan
last week with a high fever.
-What do we, er what do we know?
-Not a huge amount.
The WHO seem to be taking it
pretty seriously.
But the the problem
is the Chinese. You know?
How can we tell exactly
what is happening, you know?
(laptop dings)
It's in.
(reporter)
In other news in the region,
Japan has confirmed its first case
of the Wuhan virus.
(sighs) Okay, er, let's collect
the basic numbers.
Wuhan population
and general Hubei population.
Reported cases, number of people
leaving Wuhan by plane
and number of cases
reported overseas.
(reporter 2)
International airports,
like this one in Tokyo,
are already taking
pre-emptive measures
to prevent the virus spreading.
(Jamie) See,
now that looks impressive.
-But would it work?
-Unlikely.
Suits look good though, don't they?
They're they're very ET.
(indistinct chatter)
(reporter 2) The first case
of the SARS coronavirus
has been reported in South Korea.
-(researcher) Morning, Professor.
-(Sarah) Morning.
The Chinese have done the work
on the genome.
I think we should start
on a vaccine.
Don't you think we should wait
to see how the virus
is going to spread?
We've been wanting to try a rapid
vaccine development programme,
so this will be a good trial,
even if the virus doesn't spread.
We can take the work we've done
on the MERS vaccine
and apply it to SARS-CoV-2.
They are very similar viruses.
Okay.
(siren wailing)
(reporter) The WHO has reported
that it is possible
there is
human-to-human transmission
of the SARS coronavirus.
(distant siren wailing)
(breathes heavily)
(indistinct chatter)
The data coming out of China
is pretty incomplete.
As always.
But we've been working
with the Chinese government
and researchers, distributing
an electronic case record form
to get the building blocks
for detailed mapping and modelling.
Even with the incomplete data,
we're pretty certain
that person-to-person transmission
is happening
and that the reproductive rate
is above one.
(Peter) At the moment,
it looks like the incubation period
is between five to ten days,
which means
that the safe time after contact,
14 days would be
a sensible outer limit.
-(brooding music playing)
-(siren wailing)
(reporter 1) A whole city
has been closed down.
This is Wuhan in the Hubei province
of China.
Public transport,
the airport and train stations
are closed until further notice.
(young resident sings in Chinese)
(reporter 2, in English)
The shutdown has come
just before the Chinese New Year,
where millions of people
travel back to their homes.
The authorities in Beijing
are now cancelling plans
for the celebrations.
(Richard) So, Helena,
er, we're publishing
the first four papers today,
including the one
on human-to-human transmission.
-Oh. That's the big one.
-(Helena) Great.
Er. Say thank you to George.
They've been so fast.
(indistinct chatter)
-Jamie, it's happening. Let's go.
-Where are we going?
-Cabinet Office Briefing Room A.
-(chuckles excitedly)
There are five basic scenarios.
China could contain it
and it never achieves
community transmission
outside China.
That's our preferred option.
(Whitty) Or it spreads
outside of China and it stays
as deadly and as transmissible.
Or it becomes less transmissible
and less deadly
just because of the way
these viruses mutate.
Or it could become
more transmissible and less deadly.
The the nightmare scenario
is that it becomes
more transmissible and more deadly.
It's unlikely.
Viruses live to breed.
They live to survive.
It's not actually
in a virus's interest
to be overly deadly
because they then kill their host
before they can spread.
Right, so so what can we do
to contain the virus in China?
We have
the PHE incident response teams.
We could send the team to China.
I think
that's gonna be very difficult.
The Chinese like to
sort these things out themselves.
(performers sing in Chinese)
(upbeat instrumental music playing)
(camera shutters clicking)
-(music concludes)
-(in English) Whoa! Whoa! Yes.
-Thank you! Thank you!
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
(journalist 1) Mr Hancock,
what's the government doing
about this new coronavirus?
Well, er, I chaired the meeting
of COBRA today
to discuss coronavirus,
and we agreed that the risk
-to the UK public remains low.
-(journalist 2) Mr Hancock,
what measures
does the government have in place?
(Boris) Hi, Ian, how are you doing?
Very well, thank you,
Prime Minister.
Imran. Good to see you.
Hey, Dom, how are you?
(pensive music playing)
Er.
(attorney over phone)
Marina will get most of the money
-from the house in Islington.
-A and what do I get?
(attorney) The place in Thame.
-(sighs)
-(attorney) You don't like it?
No, I do like the house in Thame.
It's just It's, you know
It's not exactly worth that much.
(attorney) Well, you get money
as well, it adds up to 5050.
(reporter) It's getting closer.
Today, France reported
its first case
-of the new SARS-like coronavirus.
-(distant siren wailing)
The latest numbers
from the Chinese now suggest
an R number of up to three,
which is pretty much in line
with our estimate
of somewhere between 2.6 and 3.5.
-The data is pretty thin.
-That seems very high.
What that means is we would need
to cut these reproduction numbers
by 60 percent
to be able to deal with it.
I if the Chinese numbers
are accurate, Neil.
A 60 percent cut is drastic.
You would have
to shut up shop, basically.
-Like the lockdown in Wuhan?
-Exactly.
-(tense music playing)
-(siren wailing)
(reporter) Beijing has confirmed
the number of people who have died
from a new type
of respiratory virus
-in China has now passed 40.
-(indistinct chatter)
-(EKG monitor beeping)
-(breathes heavily)
We've now got the test
developed in Oxford up and running
-in our lab in Colindale.
-(Duncan) Incredible.
And we hadn't even heard
of this virus three weeks ago.
Now, we've set up
an incident management team
reporting to Yvonne.
Are you sure you want to use
the word "pandemic"?
Because it is going to be big news
if you say this.
When you look
at the international air traffic
out of the city,
the number of infections,
there is definitely going to be
a pandemic.
(tour guide) As recently in 1987,
the minster was on fire.
It was struck
by a bolt of lightning.
-(tourist coughing)
-(tour guide) The south transept
-was consumed by flames.
-(coughs, snuffles)
(tour guide) There were
hundreds of firefighters here,
working tirelessly.
(reporter) In Geneva today,
the world was put on alert.
This virus
should be taken seriously.
I'm declaring
a public health emergency
of international concern.
-(indistinct chatter)
-(tense music continues)
-(coughs)
-(indistinct chatter)
-(mobile phone ringing)
-(grunts)
(sighs)
(caller) Hi, Jamie.
Sorry to call you so early.
(sighs) It's here, isn't it?
(reporter) Coronavirus
is confirmed in the UK.
The patients, both Chinese members
of the same family,
fell ill whilst in York.
(Patrick) How long
is the incubation period?
According to Wuhan figures,
between two and 11 days.
-Yeah.
-And what about fatality rate?
It's hard to say.
Somewhere between 0.5
and three percent.
-(tense music playing)
-That's a big range.
Did everyone see
the Lancet article?
-Yes, last night.
-Yeah.
(Richard) Yes, Gabriel's paper
has been peer-reviewed.
We think it's very important
to get this information out there.
(reporter)
Two Chinese tourists in Rome
are the first confirmed cases
of coronavirus in Italy.
Italy has banned
all flights from China.
This tweet from last Saturday
piqued our interest.
(actor, over recording)
Holy mother of God!
-The new coronavirus is a 3.8!
-(tense music continues)
(actor) How bad
is that reproductive R0 value?
It is thermonuclear
pandemic-level bad.
I'm not exaggerating.
Are you sure you're not?
Not even a little?
(journalist 1)
So, have you got anything for us?
(Jamie) Yes, I have. Coronavirus.
We've got a plane-load of people
flying in from Wuhan today.
-(journalist 2) Yeah?
-Yeah.
Shoot it down.
-Then that'll be a story.
-(both laugh)
(Boris) Is everybody ready?
-(crew member 1) Yeah.
-(crew member 2) Yeah. Mm.
Right, tonight,
we are leaving the European Union.
For many people,
this is an astonishing moment
of hope.
A moment they thought
would never come.
This is the moment
when the dawn breaks
and the curtain goes up
on a new act
in our great national drama.
-(dramatic music playing)
-It's seven o'clock,
this is Sky News.
Tonight, our top story,
83 Britons landed back in the UK,
having been flown out of Wuhan
on a special flight
chartered by the UK government.
The next fortnight, they'll stay
at an NHS facility in Birkenhead,
where they'll remain in quarantine.
(indistinct chatter)
(lively chatter)
(Boris) We've done many things
but we can't turn the clock back.
(guests laughing)
Was it you that blabbed
to the press about quarantine?
-Yes.
-Who the fuck do you think you are?
Today's Brexit day.
We don't want news at 10:00,
splashing at a bunch of nobodies
being driven to the fucking Wirral.
-(crowd) nine, eight
-We thought it was important
for the public to know
we're taking it seriously.
Bullshit!
I don't give a fuck what you think!
(crowd chants) two, one!
(cheering)
MUSIC: "Land of Hope and Glory"
by Edward Elgar.
"This royal throne of kings,
this sceptered isle,
this earth of majesty
-(crowd cheering)
-(Boris) this seat of Mars,
this other Eden, demi-paradise."
"This fortress
built by nature for herself
against infection
and the hand of war."
"This happy breed
of men and women."
-(party guests laugh)
-"This little world."
"This precious stone
set in the silver sea,
which serves it
in the office of a wall,
-or as a moat defensive
-(crowd cheering)
-(Boris) to a house
-(bell tolling)
-Brexit!
-(Boris) against the envy
of less happier lands,
this blessed plot,
this earth, this realm."
-"This England!"
-(crowd cheering)
-Yes!
-Yeah!
Where's Dom? Dom! Dom!
(crowd cheering, chanting)
Dom! Dom! Dom! Dom! Dom!
(chanting continues)
(party guest 1)
Speech! Speech! Speech!
-(party guest 2) Go on, Dom!
-(crowd cheering, chuckling)
Er.
We, er
we took back control tonight.
I want you to know
this is a fantastic moment
for our country.
There are very few moments
in our lives
which can be genuinely referred to
as an historic turning point,
-but this is one.
-(party guests murmuring)
Er thank you.
-(Boris) Well done, Dom!
-(party guest 3) Well done, Dom!
-(crowd cheers, applauds)
-(dramatic music playing)
(announcer speaking Chinese
over speaker)
(reporter 1, in English)
The Chinese whistle-blower,
Li Wenliang, is still in hospital
and has been put onto a ventilator.
(reporter 2) The UK is shipping
thousands of items of PPE to China
to help them fight
the coronavirus outbreak.
(reporter 3)
Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan
has opened
after being built in just ten days.
(Edmunds) We now estimate
the incubation period
to be between two to 14 days.
Generation time, which is the time
between the infection
of a primary case
and one of its secondary cases,
is estimated at six to seven days.
It's a reasonable hypothesis
that the epidemic in China
is still growing exponentially,
doubling every four to five days.
We should expect there to be
sustained community transmission
outside China.
Did you do the sums
on blocking flights from China?
SPI-M found
that if we were to reduce
the number of imported infections
by 50 percent,
we would maybe delay the onset
of an epidemic in the UK
by about five days.
(reporter) Hong Kong's
first coronavirus death
was a 39-year-old man
who went to hospital
the day he returned
from the Wuhan epicentre.
But in that short time,
it seems he infected his mother.
(sombre music playing)
(Edmunds) Er, we would recommend
that symptomatic patients
are encouraged
to wear a surgical face mask,
-provided that can be tolerated.
-(both) Mm-hmm.
(reporter) Li Wenliang has died.
For most of his life,
Li Wenliang was a successful
but anonymous ophthalmologist,
father, and husband, based in
the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
But over the past two months,
the 34-year-old has become
a household name in China,
known to hundreds
of millions of people
as the face and conscience
of its spiralling
coronavirus crisis.
News of his death has been met
with an extraordinary
nationwide outpouring
of grief and anger on social media.
(tense music playing)
(Wormald) Hi.
This is what we know so far.
From the 18th
to the 23rd of January,
Steve Walsh
attended a conference in Singapore.
Also attending was a man from Wuhan
who has since been diagnosed
with coronavirus.
Now, on the 24th,
Steve flew back to London,
then directly to Geneva.
He stayed for one night
in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains,
and then to a chalet
in the ski resort
of Contamines-Montjoie.
(Steve coughs)
(Wormald) He was with a group
of ten friends
in his, er, part of the chalet,
and then there was a family
with three children
in that same chalet.
On the night
of the 24th of January,
-he developed moderate symptoms
-(Steve coughs)
(Wormald) and was symptomatic
during the rest of his stay
in France.
He continued
to stay in France and ski,
and he flew back from Geneva
on the 28th of January.
Chris, what do we know
about the others in the chalet?
(Wormald) Well,
we have four British tourists
in isolation in French hospitals,
along with two children.
They're all reported to have,
er, respiratory problems.
They're all being tested
for coronavirus.
More than a 100 contacts
have been identified,
and the the children's schools
have now been closed.
(dramatic music playing)
(Matt) Britain
is leading the way in testing.
Testing around the world
is being done on equipment
designed here in this country.
(Peter) We have
two or three labs here.
There are hundreds
around the country
that could be getting ready
to run tests.
I I don't know. All I can say
is that current policy
is that all testing has to be done
through our laboratories.
This is going to be an epidemic!
Having only one lab is crazy!
(Richard) What is SAGE doing?
What is
our Chief Medical Officer doing?
What is our
Chief Science Advisor doing?
Have they read the papers
they've published?
Have they listened
to what Ted was just saying?
This is a public health emergency
of international concern!
What are we doing?
What is the government doing?
Where
where are we at on testing?
Er. We are up and running
at Colindale.
Great.
It's the fastest deployment
of a novel test in UK history.
Good. What about other labs?
(Sharon) One issue is
that the virus is categorised
as an HG3 pathogen,
so only containment level 3 labs
can handle the material.
Any lab has to be able
to get the samples,
transport them safely,
get the results,
feed the results back
to PHE and the NHS.
Well, we could use NHS labs.
Could could we do that?
We are extending
to 12 new, er, labs
-across the country
-(Sharon) Uh-huh.
which will eventually raise
our capacity to 1,000 tests a day.
Right. That's what we need,
isn't it? That's great.
(reporter) In Korea, test kits
capable of results in six hours
become available
at 50 health centres
throughout the country.
-(indistinct chatter)
-(tense music playing)
-(music fades)
-Next week is Valentine's Day.
You all know
what that's famous for, don't you?
A massacre.
So, half of you can expect
to be looking for a job.
I hope you all know
which half you are in.
For all those SPADs
who are staying,
it is worth reflecting
on the deep principles
that actually determine
why things work and do not work.
Most ministers tend to think
of management like science
as a rather lowly skill
beneath their Olympian status.
I assume you've all read my paper
on the Apollo program
and the lessons
we can take from that
and apply it to government.
We will only improve
the performance of government
if we reflect
on what expertise really is
and why do some
very successful fields
cultivate it effectively
while others,
like government, do not.
We need to select
much higher quality people.
It is insane that people
as ignorant and limited as me
can have the influence we do,
in the way that we do.
(yells) Why are you not writing
this down?
Fucking Apollo program!
What a load of crap!
It's like some medieval court,
and he's Thomas Cromwell.
-That'd make Boris Henry VIII.
-Hmm.
He'd actually make
quite a good Henry VIII.
Mm-hmm. Who's Anne Boleyn then?
Is that Carrie?
Not that Boris
has the same problem in the, er,
procreation department
as old Henry.
No.
-So, are you for the chop?
-(Rob) Er, yeah, I imagine so.
I think Cummings wants to get rid
of anyone who's close to Carrie.
(sighs)
(reporter 1)
South China Agricultural University
in Guangzhou says
that two of its researchers
have identified the pangolin
as the potential source
of the novel coronavirus.
(dramatic music playing)
(reporter 2, over TV)
For the people of Mytholmroyd,
Storm Ciara has brought
an unwanted dose of déjà vu.
Here, and in neighbouring towns,
along the banks
of the River Calder,
the torrential rain has left
dozens of homes
and businesses flooded.
-(dramatic music builds)
-(townsman yells indistinctly)
(distant siren wailing)
(indistinct chatter)
(Sally)
Welcome to our first meeting
to plan for the expected
coronavirus epidemic.
As you all know,
NHS declared the virus
a Level 4 critical incident
at the end of January
for the first time ever.
So, we need to start thinking about
how we organise ourselves.
Obviously,
this is Joe's speciality, so
Yeah, er, thanks, Sally.
(breathes sharply)
As most of you already know,
I worked in Africa during Ebola.
Now, the absolutely key thing
is to organise the hospital
to prevent infection spreading.
So, that means early testing,
and isolation wards
for those testing positive.
You also need a heck
of a lot of PPE.
(Sally) Mm.
PHE have issued guidelines on this.
We don't need
the full Ebola-style PPE,
just fluid-repellent gowns,
FFP3 masks and goggles or visors.
-Did they say why?
-No.
(scoffs) Well, makes my job easier.
We'd never be able to source
the other stuff anyway.
(siren wailing)
-Right.
-(tense music playing)
Today, we're gonna be focusing
on some of the big changes
I wanna be seeing
happening in this place.
Sometimes,
it's like swimming through treacle.
-We need to cut through stagnation.
-(sniffs) What about the floods?
(Dominic) What about them? (sighs)
Well, there's gonna be calls
for the PM to visit
the worst affected areas.
No, no, no. (exhales)
It'll look like we're responding
to events rather than shaping them.
Is the Secretary of State
for the Environment
gonna announce any flood measures?
No, she's not gonna
announce anything.
This is a big week!
We need to focus
on the important stuff.
Cabinet reshuffle, Thursday.
(staff member)
Good evening, Prime Minister.
Good evening.
Hello, hello, hello.
Good good morning.
-Good morning. Good morning.
-Good evening.
-(telephone ringing)
-Hello?
(Carrie over phone)
Hello, it's Carrie!
You couldn't do me a favour,
could you?
-Sure!
-(Carrie) Could you go
and get me
a tuna baguette from Pret?
You can use my card.
Thank you so much!
(chuckles) Thank you!
Erm, could you get us
some milk as well?
Just because we've run out,
and Ocado
doesn't come till tomorrow.
Sure. How how are you?
Yeah, good, good!
Erm. (smacks lips)
Could you take
Dilyn for me as well?
-Oh. Er. Okay.
-(Carrie) Is that all right? Yeah?
-He's just desperate to go wee.
-(Dilyn whines)
-(Carrie) Oh, and also
-(grunts)
Just in case. All right.
Thank you, Colin!
(Dilyn whines)
We all agree the outbreak
is close to peaking in Wuhan.
Data in the rest of China
is more patchy.
It's vital we get as much data
as we can from UK patients.
Eight confirmed cases here
at the moment,
all caught the virus abroad.
We're recommending
a tenfold increase
in Public Health England's
test-and-trace capacity
in order to extend
the number of cases
-we can monitor.
-(Sharon) Yes,
but we believe that contact tracing
may become
potentially unsustainable
when the number of infections
resulted in more
than 8,000 contacts,
needing to be traced each day.
That would be
for a total of 50 positive cases.
World Health Organization says
the disease will now
be officially called COVID-19
and warned it could be 18 months
before the first vaccine
becomes available.
(Boris) You know,
we should get away.
-We should have a break.
-(inhales)
Oh, yeah. (sighs)
It's very claustrophobic,
just being cooped up here
all the time.
We can go down to Chequers
-No, no. It's so stuffy there.
-(mumbles indistinctly)
Okay, well well, Chevening?
-Blast from the past?
-Yes!
Rev up the old engine. Look, I
I could talk to the kids,
and I could tell them the news
and we could get it out
to the press!
(foreboding music playing)
(reporter) How tight
is Number 10's grip on power?
The reshuffle bill,
there's just another day.
Officials huddling
to make sure it's all in order.
(Boris) There is a possibility
that Sajid might, er, resign,
and, er, we wanted you to know
that, er, we were considering
asking you to become chancellor.
On the condition that
all the treasury special advisors
are integrated into Number 10.
-Under your control?
-Yeah, and that you're happy for us
to honour the spending pledges
made in the manifesto.
(Peter) Working
with our Chinese colleagues,
we now believe
the virus is infectious
during the incubation period.
That has huge implications
for transmission.
Yes.
(Dominic) Get my message?
-Yeah.
-(Dominic) Good.
I want you to get all your stuff
out of here in the next hour.
I need your desk.
(telephone ringing)
-(Colin) I'm out.
-(Rob) Cheers.
-And you?
-Er, no, not yet.
(sighs)
(music concludes)
(birds chirping)
-(indistinct chatter over TV)
-Oh, thank you! A rose!
"By any other name
would smell as sweet", etc, etc.
I've got to be honest,
I was given that by a cook.
Oh, don't spoil it.
(reporter over TV)
Other high-profile casualties
-Happy Valentine's Day!
-(Boris) Oh, thank you. Thank you,
(both smooch)
(Boris) Oh, gosh,
this is so embarrassing!
Oh what's this?
-A gift from Hermès, perhaps?
-(Carrie gasps)
-Oh, that's exciting!
-Yes, the Greek god,
not the fancy shop.
Oh, it is Hermès!
-Oh, I love it!
-(Boris) Oh.
Cleo thought you'd like it.
-Boris!
-Listen, I can't go round
to Debenhams perfume counter,
sniffing the tester bottles, can I?
(reporter 1 over TV) Downing Street
has also been facing questions
about who paid
for Boris Johnson's accommodation
while he was on holiday
on the Caribbean island of Mustique
-over the new year.
-Have they nothing better to do?
-It was David Ross, wasn't it?
-Yes.
What do they expect me to do?
Take a charter flight to Tenerife?
(dark brooding music playing)
(reporter 2)
If this was happening in London,
in some of these big cities,
er, eh, closer to the politicians
in Westminster,
more would be done.
I mean, where is the Prime Minister
this week?
(Carrie) If the children
won't come down and visit,
you're just going to have
to tell them by text or something.
(Boris) Well,
they're they're busy, I think.
(Carrie) You have to tell them now.
We agreed!
(Dilyn grunts, pants)
I'm not going back
to hide away upstairs at that flat.
-The mad woman in the attic.
-Mrs Rochester.
I know, I know, I know.
I just, I You know,
I'd rather do it
face-to-face is all.
(breathes deeply)
There's something else
I want to say.
Don't take this the wrong way.
You know
in your book on Churchill,
you quote that letter
from his wife
where she starts,
"I hope you will forgive me
if I tell you something
that I think you ought to know"?
Yes.
And you call it "a superb letter,"
shows how much she loves him.
And you say that
she's totally bound up
in his life and career.
She writes, "There is a danger
of your being disliked
because of your rough
sarcastic manner."
"Your private secretaries
have to take
what's coming to them
if an idea is suggested."
"You're so contemptuous
that presently,
no idea, good or bad,
will be forthcoming."
"You will not get the best results
by irascibility and rudeness."
"They will breed either dislike
or a slave mentality."
-Erm
-(Carrie) Don't you recognise it?
It's the perfect description
of Dom!
She says that people have
always liked working for Churchill,
up until then,
and that is just like you.
People love working for you!
-They hate him!
-God. (breathes deeply)
-You'll be guilty by association.
-(thunder rumbling)
(Dominic) The Prime Minister
will be at Chevening
for the next 12 days.
So, all papers should be kept down
to two sides at most,
one wherever possible.
He needs to recharge his batteries.
Our priority
is to prepare the budget.
The papers are running
with Labour's efforts
on the Mustique holiday.
"Boris Johnson urged to fess up
over mystery 15,000-pound
Caribbean holiday,
after Tory donor
denies paying for it."
Westminster bubble stuff
they'll forget it by tomorrow.
Yeah, because they'll have
Storm Dennis everywhere.
We we need to look like
we're doing more than last week.
We need long-term policies,
not short-term fixes.
We need to think about the climate,
not the weather.
I'm so sorry if you've got the sack
because of me.
-(Colin) Don't be silly.
-I I just
It looks like everyone who I know
is being pushed out.
-(Boris) Oh, Christ.
-(brush clattering)
-(sighs)
-(Carrie) You all right?
Er. I, er I've got a bit of
old black dog today
-Oh.
-as Winston used to call it.
(Carrie)
Well, channel it into your art.
Huh. Right. My, er,
my blue (inhales) period.
(sighs) Yeah.
-Yeah.
-(pensive music playing)
"I have of late,
but wherefore I know not
lost all my mirth."
-(mobile phone beeps)
-(rain pattering)
(Boris) Lara, it's Dad.
Er. It would be
so lovely to see you.
We're at Chevening all week,
so, you know, if you're fr
Any time you're free,
if you wanted to pop down,
something I'd I'd I'd
I'd like to talk to you about.
-(mobile phone beeps)
-(Boris) Milo!
Milo, Milo! It's Dad.
Er, look,
we're at Chevening all week.
It would be great to see you.
Erm. (stammers) Lovely to
to have a chat with you.
-(mobile phone beeps)
-(Boris) Hi, Cass, it's Dad!
Erm, I would love to see you.
I'm down at Chevening.
(reporter over TV)
The Guardian says Labour is
calling on Boris Johnson
to sack a new Downing Street aide
whose past pronouncements
have caused outrage.
It's reported that six years ago,
27-year-old researcher,
Andrew Sabisky,
-proposed mandatory
-(scoffs)
birth control
at the onset of puberty
to avoid unplanned pregnancies,
creating an underclass.
He's also said
to have claimed on Twitter
that Black Americans
have a lower average IQ
-than White people.
-(groans)
(newscaster) The Telegraph says,
er, it's spoken to an aide
Another one of Dom's bright ideas.
This sort of stuff
plays right into his hands,
do you see that?
He's he's this maverick,
this evil genius,
but this damages you!
(Boris) Yes.
(Carrie) You have to rein him in
-(tense music playing)
-(Carrie) clip his wings.
Yes, I shall be the sun!
And he, Icarus!
-(sighs)
-(indistinct chatter over TV)
(Boris) I mean, what
what the hell is going on?
We look like a bunch of amateurs.
(Dominic over laptop)
It's just some wanker
on Radio 4 moaning,
we should ignore him.
-Right. Sabitsy's got to go.
-(Lee over laptop) It's Sabisky.
I don't I don't care
what his bloody name is!
He's got to go!
We can't have some nutter
banging on about eugenics, can we?
If we give in to a bit of noise
in the media,
we're always gonna be
on the back foot.
We need people with radical ideas
to shake up Whitehall.
Right,
not those sort of radical ideas.
I think it would be absolutely
the wrong move to sack him.
Never apologise, never give in.
No, Sabisky apologises,
and he gives in.
-(dramatic music playing)
-We currently have the capacity
to track and trace
five new cases per week.
That's not very many.
We're estimating that would mean
800 contact tracers.
Now, we think we can ramp that up
to 8,000 contact tracers per day,
given the resources.
-So, 50 new cases per week.
-(Sharon) That's right.
(Neil) Obviously, if you look
at the shape of the curve
or the number of cases in China,
we're going to outstrip
that extremely quickly.
I agree. I think we need to decide,
at what point
contact tracing should be stopped.
(Peter) Hi, Jonathan.
Oh, we've got some wonderful news.
We now have the genome
for a potential vaccine.
Brilliant!
We've added the spike protein gene
from SARS-CoV-2 to an adenovirus
which triggers a T-cell
and antibody response.
It's pretty simple.
(Peter) The best things always are.
So, we need to start manufacturing
ready for human testing.
Ideally, we need to run
all the stages of the trial
in parallel
rather than sequentially.
(Sarah) I agree.
So, we need to find a manufacturer
willing to take the risk.
John, school closures?
SPI-M modelled school closures,
assuming children
have a transmission role
for COVID-19,
similar to that of influenza,
The model found
that school closures
could have a modest impact
on delaying
the peak of an epidemic.
If COVID is similar to influenza.
-Yes.
-(tense music playing)
(reporter) Italy today,
reported the first case
of a European
dying from coronavirus.
So, are we agreed
that we will recommend
that threat level remains
at moderate?
(indistinct chatter)
Peter?
-(indistinct chatter)
-(sighs, whispers) Oh, shit.
(reporter) Two months
since COVID-19 spread out of Wuhan,
Italy is silent.
Yesterday, two Italians
were the first Europeans
to die from the virus.
Today, another death
has been confirmed.
-(EKG monitor beeping)
-(doctors chattering)
(reporter) In Milan,
the world famous fashion week
-has been in the balance
-(cameras shutters clicking)
(reporter) and in Venice,
museums are shut,
and the carnival was cut short.
There is a fear factor too
as the country tries to contain
What we need to determine
is this.
For every person who gets sick,
how many other people
are they likely to infect?
So, for seasonal flu,
that's usually about one.
Oh, it's a bit like homework,
isn't it?
I'm enjoying it.
I'm more
of a Carry On man myself.
between four and six.
-Now, while that number
-Carry On Doctor.
Carry On Up the Khyber.
"Carrie on the Prime Minister."
(chuckles) Boom, boom.
-(chuckles)
-(laughs)
(pump hisses over TV)
(tense music playing)
(PHE representative) We believe
that our current surveillance work
will enable us
to detect any outbreak
at its early stages.
This should provide evidence
of an epidemic
about nine to 11 weeks
before it peaks.
Good. And you're gonna continue
contact tracing
and find commercial solutions
for testing in hospitals?
Yes.
And PHE National Infection Service,
yesterday, issued guidance
clarifying that elderly people
should not be discharged
from hospitals into care homes
if there is risk
of coronavirus transmission.
-Good.
-(horn blaring)
I see this is the case
of Wheeler and Johnson
(reporter 1) Lawyers today agreed
a financial settlement
between the Prime Minister,
Boris Johnson,
and his wife, Marina Wheeler,
paving the way for their divorce.
-(dramatic music playing)
-(reporter 2) Back in Hereford,
the flood levels
are now slowly receding,
but in neighbouring Worcestershire,
the threat of rising water remains,
as we enter yet another night
of people being told
to leave their homes.
(rain pattering)
(Boris) "No one
has ever used the weather
more dramatically or effectively
than Shakespeare."
"Think of the storms
that trigger the action
in The Tempest and Othello."
"Think of King Lear
wandering the heath,
abandoned by his daughters."
"'Blow winds
and crack your cheeks.'"
"'Rage, blow!'"
"'I tax not you, you elements,
with unkindness.'"
"'I never gave you kingdom,
called you daughter,
then let fall
your horrible pleasure.'"
"'Here I stand, your slave,
a poor, infirm
weak and despised old man.'"
-(thunder rumbling)
-(music concludes)
(reporter 1, over radio)
The Daily Mail leads
with the headline,
"Shotgun Horror Killing
at Boris Family Estate."
(groans) For God's sake.
If it's not one thing,
it's another.
-(tense music playing)
-(reporter 2) More deaths in Italy
as the world is told to get ready
for a COVID-19 pandemic.
The markets take fright
as the virus begins
to dent the global economy.
(indistinct chatter)
(Matt) Well, the number
of cases here is still very low.
However, what is happening in Italy
is a warning.
-Okay.
-(Matt) And we believe
that we are a few weeks
behind Italy.
-Yes, that's right.
-Okay. Okay, right.
-Morning.
-(Lee) Morning.
We've got to get you out there.
Yeah, but what do you
want me to do?
I mean, do you want me
to get out my mop and bucket?
(Lee) Yes, 100 percent.
All of the papers
are running with the idea
that you are living the life
in a country mansion
-whilst everyone else is suffering!
-(Boris) Oh, for heaven's sake.
It's just weather.
There's always weather.
(Lee) It's not just weather. Look.
(inhales) Well, you see,
that's not bad.
These are
once-in-a-century fucking floods.
We can't look like
we're ignoring them.
And hospitals are starting to worry
-about their levels of PPE.
-(brooding music playing)
-Yeah.
-NHS supply chain is struggling.
There's an EU procurement scheme
starting tomorrow.
Well, we've left the EU.
We're still entitled
to participate.
And we can do better than Europe.
We need to source it ourselves.
In the reasonable
worst case scenario,
80 percent of the UK population
may become infected,
with an overall
one percent fatality rate
in those infected.
Were you all agreed
on these figures?
(Graham) Our projections
haven't really changed that much
since the beginning.
One percent of 80 percent
is in the order of 500,000 deaths.
We'd be overwhelmed.
Dom, can I have a word with you?
-What about?
-About COVID.
(indistinct chatter over TV)
(Dominic) Hey, guys,
can I have a word with Ben in here,
-privately, please?
-Er. Yeah, sure.
-Thanks. Shut the door.
-(indistinct chatter)
So, their estimates
are around 500,000 deaths,
if nothing is done.
-Have you checked the numbers?
-(Warner) I've had a quick look.
There's nothing obviously wrong.
Okay.
Get access to all data
and check everything.
(reporter 1) In Italy,
more people have died,
bringing the total number
of deaths there to 21,
-with 888 confirmed cases.
-(tense music playing)
(reporter 2) The virus infects
the financial markets too,
as London's FTSE suffers
its worst week
since the financial crisis.
(Dominic) Maybe your take on it,
but that is not what we discussed.
No, I've I've got to go.
Okay.
Yeah.
(Lee) Stock market's
fallen again this morning.
Er, it's down
200 billion this week.
I think you should chair COBRA.
Agreed, but Carrie and I
are going to Chequers this weekend.
-Monday then?
-(Boris) Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.
(Dominic) Ben is looking
at the numbers.
-Good.
-For now, we need to focus
on the economic impact.
I'm gonna go through the options
with Rishi.
-Excellent, good.
-I think we should start
focus-grouping as well.
-(Boris) You're right, yeah.
-Get public first onto it.
And maybe
we should think about drafting in
Ben Guerin and Isaac Levido
-on messaging.
-Ah, the old team!
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Patrick, good to see you!
(Patrick)
Oh, hello, Prime Minister.
Hey, Chris, nice to see you.
Oh, hello! Matt, hey, listen.
I'm going to chair the meeting
on Monday.
-Great. Great.
-Okay, this COVID virus,
we need to keep an eye on, yes?
-Yeah. We are, we are.
-Okay, thank you!
(Boris mutters indistinctly)
-Okay, okay, right. Thank you.
-(Lee) Okay?
(Slack) Could you tell us about
the latest developments,
Prime Minister?
Er, well, you
as you can imagine,
the issue of, er, coronavirus
is now the government's, er,
er, top priority, and I've, er,
just come from a meeting
with the Chief Medical Officer
and the, er, Secretary
of State for Health and others.
Er, but as I say, er, you know,
I think, er, the best thing
all of us can do
to prevent
the spread of coronavirus
is is to wash our hands.
(Lee) Good, it was good.
(Boris) Actually,
I quite like that.
Bit of a tiny smile
at the end there
-just to sell it a bit.
-(Lee) Yeah. That's nice.
-Okay, thank you.
-Have a good weekend.
-Okay, thanks again there! Hello!
-(indistinct chatter)
(brooding music playing)
Hello! Thank you!
(rain pattering)
-(speaks indistinctly)
-More wine, Prime Minister?
Yes, please! I shall certainly have
some more. Thank you.
(mumbles) Very nice it is too.
-(waiter) Thank you, sir.
-(Boris mumbles) Excellent. Good.
You've still not
said anything to them?
Yeah, it hasn't been
hasn't been quite the right timing.
Okay, well,
this is your last chance.
I know!
Because I'm going to tell everyone
this weekend,
-whether you've told them or not.
-Yeah, I know, I know.
I know.
-(birds chirping)
-(music concludes)
(Carrie) Many of you already know,
but for my friends
that still don't,
we got engaged
at the end of last year,
and we've got a baby
hatching early summer.
This is what I'm going to post.
-What do you think?
-You know
you know, I I bow
to your superior knowledge
of social media.
(Carrie) All right.
(siren wailing)
(tense music playing)
(reporter)
Eight more people die in Italy
as the coronavirus
continues to spread.
-(EKG monitor beeping)
-(indistinct chatter)
(reporter)
Today, churches were closed
as 240 new cases were reported
in the northern regions
of Lombardy and Veneto.
-(mobile phone beeps)
-(Boris) H hello, er, Lara,
it's Dad here.
Er, I I wanted to
to let you know a piece of news,
er, before you read it
in the papers
(smacks lips) er, which is,
er, that, er,
we are having a baby. Er.
Carrie is, er is having a baby.
Another, er, Johnson
(chuckles) is on his or her way!
Erm so, er
I hope to see you soon!
Okay, lots of lots of love.
Yeah, erm, it's it's Dad,
of course, bye. Bye.
(clock ticking)
(music concludes)
(theme music playing)
(music concludes)