| The Monocled Mutineer | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Created by | Alan Bleasdale |
| Directed by | Jim O'Brien |
| Starring | Paul McGann Cherie Lunghi Jerome Flynn Timothy West Philip McGough |
| Composer | George Fenton |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Richard Broke |
| Production location | Bearpark, Somerset and Aberystwyth |
| Running time | 311 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 31 August – 21 September 1986 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Monocled Mutineer is a 1986 BBC television drama series starring Paul McGann about the Étaples mutiny in 1917 during the First World War. The four-part serial, which was the first historical screenplay written by Alan Bleasdale, dramatised the life of British Army deserter Percy Toplis. It was adapted from the 1978 book of the same name by William Allison and John Fairley.[1]
After ten million people watched the first episode,[2] British right-wing media vilified the series as an example of left-wing bias at the BBC.[3] The series was produced and broadcast at a time the Peacock Committee was deciding the future of the BBC (there was renewed pressure for the public broadcaster to use advertising). At the same time, the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Norman Tebbit, was monitoring the BBC for evidence of "left-wing bias". Legal action was brought against the BBC over the Panorama programme "Maggie's Militant Tendency", which caused 100 Conservative MPs to sign a motion calling for the resignation of Director General Alasdair Milne and "the restoration of proper standards at the BBC".
The BBC was criticised for marketing The Monocled Mutineer as a true story when in fact it was dramatisation of historical events. One of the series' advisers Julian Putkowski, a WWI military historian, distanced himself from the completed production citing the real Percy Toplis was never involved in the mutinies at Étaples, France.[4]
- ^ Bleasdale, Alan; Allison, William; Fairley, John (1986). The Monocled Mutineer. Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-168671-7.
- ^ Stewart, Ian; Carruthers, Susan Lisa (1996). War, Culture, and the Media. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 67. ISBN 0-8386-3702-7.
- ^ Badsey, Stephen (2000). The Media and International Security. Routledge. pp. 83–84. ISBN 0-7146-4848-5.
- ^ "The Monocled Mutineer". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 29 March 2021.