Longford

Jim Broadbent stars as Lord Longford in this compelling and intelligent feature-length drama set in the last three decades of Lord Longford's life during which time he famously battled to win parole for Moors murderess Myra Hindley. A prison visitor since the 1930s, Lord Longford was not a conventional politician and his liberal views courted controversy in the Cabinet and the national press. He said often during his life that he would like his epitaph to be 'the outcast's outcast'. A devout Catholic, Longford was determined to translate faith into action, and continued visiting the abandoned and despised in jail until the end of his life. However, it was his retirement from government in 1968 that gave him the freedom to take up the unpopular cause that some would say became closest to his heart. The drama recounts Longford's now infamous meetings and correspondence with Myra Hindley. Reflecting the media furore of the time, it seeks to show what this eccentric man was really like and explores the reasons behind his steadfast passion for Hindley's case. It also questions whether in his conviction that Hindley should be given a chance of rehabilitation, he ultimately ransomed his good name and reputation for her. Written by Peter Morgan ( The Deal, The Queen, Frost/Nixon ) and co-starring Lindsay Duncan as Elizabeth Longford and Andy Serkis as Ian Brady.