Party Animals – New Drama On BBC

Filming has begun on Party Animals, a warm and witty new show from World Productions, makers of No Angels and This Life. Like most twenty-somethings, Scott, Danny, Ashika and Kirsty spend much of their day worrying about love, sex, friendship and paying the rent.

Unlike most twenty-somethings, the rest of the time they’re worrying about running the country...

Drawing on a wealth of first-hand research, Party Animals presents Westminster from the ground up - the young researchers and advisors shouldering huge responsibility in a frantic, high-stakes world. It’s no wonder their personal lives are so messy.

Sons of an ex-Labour MP, Scott and Danny Foster have politics in their blood.

Danny (Matt Smith, The Ruby In The Smoke) is the devoted researcher of Home Office Junior Minister, Jo Porter (Raquel Cassidy, Teachers). But times are tough. The government is in crisis, Jo’s struggling with a difficult home life and Danny is caught in the crossfire. Add to this, the distracting presence of scheming intern Kirsty MacKenzie, (Andrea Riseborough, A Very Social Secretary) and Danny is about to make an almighty blunder.

Scott (Andrew Buchan, Jane Eyre) fled Labour HQ with a bulging contacts book for a lucrative career in lobbying. But with New Labour in decline, Scott’s schmoozing methods and contacts are looking a little dated. Boss Stephen Templeton (Colin Salmon, Trial And Retribution) challenges him to secure new friends in the rising Tory party. A chance lunch with Ashika Chandrimani (Shelley Conn, Second Generation), chief advisor to Shadow Minister James Northcote (Patrick Baladi, The Office), presents an opportunity that Scott is eager to pursue.

Ashika herself is at a crossroads. Boss James may be tipped as future Tory cabinet material, but she’s tired of living in his shadow and the rumours surrounding their relationship. So when she is approached to fight a critical by-election, Ashika has to choose between future power with James and the chance to strike out on her own.

Danny’s mistake and a scurrilous rumour set in motion a chain of events that bind all four characters together – and change their lives forever.

Eleanor Greene, Producer, World Productions comments: “Party Animals is a funny, intelligent and explosive drama following a group of young people growing up in one of the most cut-throat industries.”

Polly Hill, Executive Producer for the BBC explains: “Party Animals reveals the changing face of British politics, exposing a grubby underbelly beneath the power and glamour. We have secured an amazingly versatile cast bursting with immense experience and exciting, new talent in equal measure.”

Party Animals is written by Ben Richards (Spooks, No Angels), Robert Jones (The Cops, Ahead of the Class), Fintan Ryan (Bad Crowd) and is directed by Brian Grant (As If, Clocking Off, Sinchronicity).