Blunkett diaries made into TV special
Thursday, 24 Aug 2006 14:22
Blunkett to reveal diaries on television
David Blunkett's diaries are to be made into a TV special, offering an exclusive insight into the heart of the Labour government.
The two-part Dispatches special will be shown on Channel 4 this autumn and is based on the former home secretary's taped diary recordings of his eight years in the Cabinet.
Blunkett has been one of the most high-profile and controversial Labour politicians, overcoming blindness and poverty to enter Parliament in 1997 and holding three Cabinet posts.
He resigned for the final time in 2005 following a period of intense media speculation and political outcry into his personal affairs, business interests and visa fast-tracking.
Richard Clemmow, executive producer of the show, said: "David Blunkett is the most senior-ranking Labour minister to talk about his time in office. He was absolutely at the centre of the Blair project. He can offer a unique perspective on key political figures and the workings of government."
Blunkett's political colleagues will also be interviewed for the show, which will coincide with the publication of his diaries. Their publishers claim that they are a "rigorously honest self-portrait as well as an astonishingly cogent and intimate insight into New Labour’s year in power, the personalities, the triumphs and the debates".