Thatcher: Television, Film and Stage

The Weakest Link:

’80s Celebrity special edition

A special charity edition of the famous show hosted, as always, by Anne Robinson, starred 1980s celebrities, and was broadcast on BBC 1 at 5.40 pm on Saturday 2nd August, 2003. Steve appeared as "Maggie" who, apparently, was "very big in the ’80s." Rather ignominiously, "she" was thrown off after only one round!

US Television Appearance: Bad Girls: Rebel with a Cause

Steve, in his famous impersonation of Margaret Thatcher, had his own slot in an American US Television Special called Bad Girls: Rebels with a Cause. The show was presented by the American actor Kevin Bacon and focused on the risk-taking, rule-breaking women of the world from past to present, including the Roman Empress, Theodora, the hip-hop mogul Missy Elliot, and the actress Drew Barrymore. Steve (as Thatcher) took his American audience on a tour round London, showing them famous landmarks that held a major role in Thatcher's history, including Parliament, Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. The show was made by Oxygen Media and produced by Mitch Kozuchoski; the script was written by Steve and Geoffrey Whelan.

Steve on Bad Girls: Rebels with a Cause.

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In one of the biggest light entertainment television shows of 2001, Steve appeared with Britain’s other leading comedy impressionists in the BBC One extravaganza, Night of a Thousand Faces. Steve, as Lady Thatcher, was interviewed by Barry Humphries as Dame Edna Everage, with the real Mo Mowlam alongside for good measure.

In June 2001 Steve appeared as Baroness Thatcher on the Newsnight Saturday Election Special. Steve as “Lady T” offered a three-minute election broadcast warning of the dangers of a Labour landslide.

Steve on Newsnight, 2 June 2001

During 2001, Steve also appeared as Baroness Thatcher on 70s Mania (LWT) with Donny Osmond.

Other Television Appearances as Margaret Thatcher

Apart from providing the voice for Mrs Thatcher on Spitting Image, Steve has also made numerous television appearances in full costume on various programmes including The New Statesman, Rory Bremner — Who Else, Live from The Palladium, Noel’s House Party, The Morning After the Year Before, Timekeepers of the Millennium, Open House with Gloria Hunniford, The Big Breakfast, That’s Life!, Public Enemy Number One, Wogan, Motormouth, The Happening, The Six O’Clock Show, Ben Elton — The Man From Auntie, The Bobby Davro Show, Comic Relief, Nothing Like a Royal Show!, The Trouble With Joan Collins, Ten Glorious Years, Knowhow, World In Action, Now Something Else, Catchphrase, The Hippodrome Show, Get Fresh, The Little and Large Show, Saturday Live, Bullseye, The Tom O’Connor Road Show, Cinderella, The Krankies, Get Fresh and The Mike Yarwood Show.

Steve as Margaret in the House of Commons

Feature Films

Dreaming

In Dreaming, a satirical fantasy comedy, Steve featured as Mrs Thatcher. In a very funny scene where a young lad was watching a typical television interview with the then Prime Minister the “dreamer” imagined Thatcher telling the whole truth for once, resulting in strangely honest answers to difficult questions! Dreaming was premiered at the 1990 London Film Festival and was later shown on the BBC as a Screen Two feature.

Bullseye!

In Michael Winner’s feature comedy Bullseye! Steve provided the voice of Margaret Thatcher.

Stage and Concerts

Working with the composer and conductor Carl Davis, Steve performed Prokofiev’s "Maggie" and the Wolf at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1986. Steve also worked with Carl Davis and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh in 1987.

Other notable theatre, cabaret and personal appearances include A Cook’s Tour, Shaftesbury; Mrs Thatcher’s Star Spangled Cabinet, Hackney Empire and The Comedy Club, Leicester Square, both for Holsten Funny Business; Night of a Hundred Stars, Adelphi; Malcolm Hardie’s The Tunnel Club; Comedy Night, Greenwich Festival; Greenpeace Gala, Royal Albert Hall; Children With Aids, Criterion; University Tour, Pola Jones (with Paul Merton, Rory Bremner and Jeremy Hardy) and Promenaid, Leicester Haymarket.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival performances includes Two Englishmen and a Broad, with Jeremy Hardy and Kit Hollerbach and Mouthing Off, with Harry Enfield, Bryan Elsley and Helen Lederer.