Brian and Maggie: The true story behind ill-fated interview between Brian Walden and Margaret Thatcher - what happened after?

‘Brian and Maggie’ stars Steve Coogan as former MP and political journalist Brian Walden, while Succession and Ted Lasso star Harriet Walter takes on the role as the Iron Lady. The two-part drama follows the friendship between the pair and the eventual blow-up of that friendship after one interview goes painfully badly for Thatcher, marking the beginning of the end for the UK’s first female Prime Minister.

The pair’s sitdown in 1989 became one of the most famous political interviews of all time, and resulted in Walden and Thatcher never speaking again - but what exactly happened?

What happened during the 1989 interview between Margaret Thatcher and Brian Walden?

The year was 1989 and after a decade in power, Thatcher was finding herself in a sticky situation despite winning the last election only two years previously. Her Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, resigned over Thatcher’s refusal to join the exchange rate mechanism and her reluctance to sack her economic adviser Alan Walters, after Walters publicly criticising the Chancellor.

Thatcher appeared to be losing the trust and confidence of her cabinet. The cabinet crisis came just days before an interview with ex-Labour MP-turned-political journalist Walden. The pair had met for a sitdown interview on multiple occasions, and even became unlikely friends over her premiership, but what became their final interview would prove to be the toughest for Thatcher.

The interview took place on October 29, 1989 - three days after Lawson’s resignation. According to Thatcher’s close confidante Woodrow Wyatt, Walden has asked him to confirm with Thatcher on the day of Lawson’s resignation what questions to ask her so as to phrase them in a helpful way.

However, Thatcher’s infamous and uncharacteristic floundering made its way to the surface after he moved onto the topic of her now-former Chancellor. After repeatedly saying that Lawson’s position was “unassailable”, Thatcher was stumped when Walden asked: “Do you deny that Nigel would have stayed if you had sacked Professor Alan Walters?”

After being repeatedly pressed by Walden on whether Lawson asked her to sack Walters, Thatcher said that she had “did everything to stop” Lawson handing in his resignation but “was not successful”. After her response was branded a “terrible admission” by Walden, Thatcher shut down the conversation by saying: “I have nothing further to... I don't know... of course I just don't know... I'm not going on with this.”

In a memorable moment from the interview, Walden asked the Prime Minister: "You come over as being someone who one of your backbenchers said is slightly off her trolley, authoritarian, domineering, refusing to listen to anybody else — why? Why can't you publicly project what you have just told me is your private character?"

Thatcher responded: "Brian, if anyone's coming over as domineering in this interview, it's you. It's you."

What happened to Brian Walden after the Margaret Thatcher interview?

According to reports, Walden and Thatcher, who enjoyed a friendship before the interview, never spoke again. It would mark Thatcher’s final television appearance before tending her resignation as Prime Minister on November 28, 1990.

Walden went on to continue his political journalism career, hosting The Walden Interview, which had been renamed Walden in 1990, until 1994. In 2005, he also hosted a Radio 4 series titled ‘A Point Of View’.

Walden died on May 9, 2019 aged 86 at his home in Guernsey from complications relating to emphysema.

When is Brian and Maggie on TV?

You can watch the dramatisation of the infamous interview in the new Channel 4 show Brian and Maggie. The two-episode mini series will premiere on the channel at 9pm on Wednesday, January 29.

The next episode will air at 9pm on Thursday, January 30. Both episode will be available to watch live on Channel 4’s online streaming service, with the episodes also available for catch up after they air.

Viewers with a 4+ subscription can watch the episodes early now, via the streaming service. The real interview between Walden and Thatcher is also due to be added to the site on Thursday, January 30.