Ballot Monkeys. Image shows from L to R: Kevin Sturridge (Ben Miller), Siobhan Hope (Hattie Morahan), Jack Pardew (Trevor Cooper), Kate Standen (Sarah Hadland). Copyright: Hat Trick Productions

Key details

Genre
Sitcom
Broadcast
2015
Channel
Channel 4
Episodes
5 (1 series)
Creators
Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin
Stars
Jimmy Akingbola, Hugh Dennis, Liz Kingsman, Hattie Morahan, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Trevor Cooper, Daisy Haggard, Kathleen Rose Perkins and more
Writers
Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin, Mark Burton, Lucy Guy, Pete Sinclair and Colin Swash
Directors
Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin, Paul Schlesinger and Jimmy Mulville
Producers
Debbie Pisani and Jimmy Mulville
Company

Ballot Monkeys offered a darkly satirical look at the 2015 General Election.

The highly topical sitcom, broadcast during the climax of the May election and filmed just before transmission to allow it to be as topical as possible, intercuts between the various campaign buses of the four main parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UKIP.

On each bus, we follow the fortunes of a rich collection of characters - press officers, line managers, empathy consultants, SPADs, IT wizards, social media monitors, political analysts, interns and even bus drivers - as they crisis manage the latest dramas and developments, the very same ones that viewers will be well aware of, having only recently read about them or seen the breaking news via social media in real life.

Characters include:

Kevin Sturridge (Ben Miller): A Liberal Democrat campaign co-ordinator. Big into morale, he's a lifelong liberal who's ground down by the humiliation of the coalition.

Martin Frost (Hugh Dennis): The Conservatives' Deputy Campaign Manager. He is heavily overworked, and can be very caustic.

Kate Standen (Sarah Hadland): An office support manager for UKIP, Kate is an ex-TV presenter with an inflated notion of her abilities.

Jack Pardew (Trevor Cooper): The head of Labour's front line team. With responsibility for volunteers, canvassers and so on, Jim is an old Labour stalwart.

Siobhan Hope (Hattie Morahan): A Conservative party member offering logistic support and also a women's issues consultant. She is desperately keen, full of ideas, and always trying to think outside the box but feels increasingly marginalised.

Melanie Buck (Kathleen Rose Perkins): An American field strategist for Labour, who talks in short soundbites and mantras.

Additional details

Production
Studio
Picture
Colour

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Tuesday 21st April 2015 at 10pm on Channel 4
Most recent repeats
  • Thursday 7th May 2015 at 1:05am on 4seven - Episode 5
  • Wednesday 6th May 2015 at 1:10am on 4seven - Episode 4
  • Tuesday 5th May 2015 at 1:05am on 4seven - Episode 3

Recording details

  • Pinewood Studios
  • Windsor Coach Park

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