A member of the Royal Family is kidnapped, and a YouTube video demands that the Prime Minister perform a degrading act on live television to secure her release…or the next video will likely be that of her death. With mere hours before the deadline, the Prime Minister and his staff try to explore numerous avenues of at least appearing to comply with the demand, including backup plans that backfire when word gets out from a bystander on social media. Time is running out, and throughout 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Michael Callow and his aides concentrate on the issue most important to them during this crisis: the poll numbers.
written by Charlie Brooker
directed by Otto Bathurst
music by Martin Phipps
Cast: Rory Kinnear (Michael Callow), Lindsay Duncan (Alex Cairns), Donald Sumpter (Julian Hereford), Tom Goodman-Hill (Tom Bilce), Anna Wilson-Jones (Jane Callow), Patrick Kennedy (Section Chief Walker), Alastair Mackenzie (Martin), Chetna Pandya (Malaika), Alex MacQueen (Special Agent Callett), Jay Simpson (Rod Senseless), Helen Fospero (Lucinda Towne), Lydia Wilson (Princess Susannah), Sophie Kennedy Clark (Lauren), Andrew Knott (Brian), Allen Leech (Pike), Johann Myers (Noel), Sophie Wu (Jamie), Rakie Ayola (Shelly), Amit Shah (Jack), Nick Hendrix (Andrew), Justin Edwards (Jon), Jeany Spark (Camilla), Aymen Hamdouchi (Kieran), Julian Rivett (Damon Brown), Jonathan Forbes
(Browne), Madeliene Bowyer (Sonia), Jeffry Wickham (Sir Harold Mount), Shazad Latif (Mehdi Raboud), Eleanor Wyld (Young Actress), Wolf Wasserman (Spark), Mickell David (Son), Dominic Le Mougnan (Prince)
Note: Shazad Latif would, several years later, take on the role of Ash Tyler in Star Trek: Discovery. (The plot details of this episode have been significantly watered down in the above synopsis; suffice to say, Black Mirror isn’t for kids.)
LogBook entry by Earl Green