The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

The Life and Times of David Lloyd George is a BBC Wales drama serial first broadcast in 1981 on BBC Two. It stars Philip Madoc as David Lloyd George, the final Liberal prime minister of the UK. The cast also includes Lisabeth Miles, Kika Markham and David Markham. It was written by Elaine Morgan and produced and directed by John Hefin.

The serial is in nine hour-long parts, covering most of the major events of Lloyd George's life, from his birth in Manchester in January 1863 until his death in 1945 in Llanystumdwy. It covers his personal life, specifically the running of two families. The duration of Lloyd George's political career, of over 54 years, combined with the length of the series, means that certain periods of history have been skirted over. This is particularly the case with the various Liberal Party splits from 1918 onwards. The historical consultant for the series was the historian A. J. P. Taylor.

The serial featured music by Ennio Morricone, including the theme music ("Chi Mai"), which was a surprise hit on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 2. The opening titles showed an elderly Lloyd George walking through the Welsh countryside near Criccieth remembering his Uncle Lloyd baptising the young David George (later Lloyd George) in a mountain stream.

Cast

• Philip Madoc - David Lloyd George
• Dylan Jones - David Lloyd George (as a boy)
• Euros Jones - William George (as a boy)
• Lisabeth Miles - Margaret Lloyd George
• William Thomas - William George
• Kika Markham - Frances Stevenson
• William Hootkins - Winston Churchill
• Meredith Edwards - Richard Lloyd
• David Markham - Herbert Henry Asquith
• Sue Jones-Davies - Megan Lloyd George
• Gillian Elisa - Anita George
• Ietsyn Garlick - Richard Lloyd George
• Elen Roger Jones - Sara
• Lisa Grug - Megan Lloyd George (older age)
• Denys Hawthorne - John Dillon
• Hugh Morton - Reginald McKenna
• Jonathan Elsom - Maurice Hankey
• Ioan Meredith - J.T. Davies
• Berly Williams - Betsy George
• Rachel Thomas - Mrs. Richard Owen
• Jack Wynne-Williams - Richard Lloyd George
• John Gill - Lord Curzon
• Anthony Sharp - Lord Grey
• Ed Devereaux - Max Aitken
• Fulton Mackay - Andrew Bonar Law
• Michael Anthony - Georges Clemenceau
• Michael Cochrane - Charles Masterman
• Dermot Tuohy - John Redmond
• John Boxer - Murray of Elibank
• John H. Francis - Gwilym Lloyd George
• David Troughton - A. J. Sylvester
• Ruth Madoc - Lizzie Davies
• Glyn Williams - Returning officer
• Donna Edwards - Mair Lloyd George
• Kevin Flood - Edward Carson
• Ray Smith - Aneurin Bevan
• Paul Curran - Stanley Baldwin
• Lockwood West - Edward VII
• Roland Culver - William Ewart Gladstone
• Wendy Williams - Emmeline Pankhurst
• David Lyn - Sam Evans
• Richard Beale - Lord Kitchener
• Terence Brook - George V
• Shane Connaughton - Éamon de Valera
• Gabriel Connaughton - Michael Collins
• Desmond Llewelyn - Lord Lansdowne
• Angus MacKay - Sir Francis Hopwood
• Jack May - Lord Runciman
• David Garfield - Tom Bell
• Edward Judd - LNER Director
• Ray Handy - Reverend Ellis
• Gilbert Wynne - Tim Davies
• William Squire - Dr. Clifford
• Roger Nott - Aide

Episodes

The series was first broadcast on BBC Two in 1981 and was repeated on BBC One in 1983.
Episodes 1 to 8 are approximately 60 minutes long, and episode 9 is approximately 70 minutes long.

References

External links

• The Life and Times of David Lloyd George at IMDb