Series synopsis
Absolute Power is a British comedy television series that premiered on BBC Two on November 10, 2003. It ended on August 25, 2005. It stars John Bird, Stephen Fry, Geoffrey Palmer and Sally Bretton.
Stephen Fry and John Bird star as spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe as they bring the popular and satirical Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power to BBC Two. Stephen as Prentiss and John as McCabe are an unscrupulous pair who run the blue chip PR agency Prentiss McCabe. Dealing with commercial as well as personal PR, their remit covers everything from political communications to celebrity media relations. Their manipulation skills are tested to the full as they frequently find that their w ...
Premise
Stephen Fry and John Bird star as spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe as they bring the popular and satirical Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power to BBC Two. Stephen as Prentiss and John as McCabe are an unscrupulous pair who run the blue chip PR agency Prentiss McCabe. Dealing with commercial as well as personal PR, their remit covers everything from political communications to celebrity media relations. Their manipulation skills are tested to the full as they frequently find that their work brings them into conflict with political parties, newspaper editors and celebrities.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- John Bird as Martin McCabe
- Stephen Fry as Charles Prentiss
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Sally Bretton as Cat Durnford
- Nicholas Burns
- James Lance
- Zoe Telford
- Rebecca Front
Guest cast
- Lynsey Baxter
- Haydn Gwynne
- Barbara Horne as Elizabeth De La Mare
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 12 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | November 10, 2003 | December 15, 2003 |
| Season 2 | 6 | July 21, 2005 | August 25, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
History Man Prentiss McCabe client, Nigel Harting, is a celebrated presenter of television history programmes, who specialises in revealing sensational facts. But he has a secret. Newspaper editor, Marcus Payne, has discovered that Nigel plays fast and loose with his sources. A letter in Latin proving that Anne of Cleves was actually a man is an outright fake. Marcus agrees to shelve this career-destroying revelation if Charles can dig up some shocking and rather more tabloid-compatible filth about Nigel's private life. Meanwhile, Prentiss McCabe is saddled with Big Brother contestant Teresa, recruited as a client because she stripped in the shower. She is now revealed as a bully and a bore and demands that Martin supervises the promotion of her huge and appalling novel. |
November 10, 2003 |
| 2 |
Pope Idol Martin and Jamie sense that the world of PR is changing. The profession has developed such a bad reputation that it could do with a bit of spin-doctoring itself. To show that they can make a good impression as well as making money, Prentiss McCabe takes p |
November 17, 2003 |
| 3 |
Tory Woman How does one go about re-launching a junior shadow spokeswoman who has been marginalised in the Tory party? She referred to her leader as ""pork bum"" and her last ditch attempt to stay in the mainstream of politics is to sponsor a 'Right To Retire' campaig |
November 24, 2003 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Identity Crisis The staff of Prentiss MacCabe are worried their phones are being bugged. Charles and Martin have a meeting with their client, the home secretary. The government want to introduce the unpopular identity card and are in desperate need of a PR agency. |
July 21, 2005 |
| 2 |
The Trial Poor Charles finds himself in the dock, after one of Prentis MaCabe's old clients has a fit of conscience and decides to do the worst thing a client can do. He tells the truth about one of Charles' lies, after becoming a christian and repenting. |
July 28, 2005 |
| 3 |
Blood Bank The team at Prentis McCabe assume thet Charles is in jail for another month, so they prepare to tackle their new client , Artist, Dean Wheelwright (Richard Katz). It is their job to get him to eneter and win the lucrative turner prize for the years beast contribution to art. However he says he does not want to eneter, so they have a problem. |
August 4, 2005 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | BBC Two |
|---|---|
| First aired | November 10, 2003 |
| Last aired | August 25, 2005 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Thursday |