The War Game: Here's how to see Nicola Sturgeon's acting debut in Sky docudrama - cast, plot and episode schedule
The four part docudrama follows a fictional Russian attack on UK soil in the near future.
Tonight (Monday, September 21) will see former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reenter the world of British politics - if only in a fictional context.
Ms Sturgeon resigned as first minister and leader of the SNP in March 2023 after eight years in the role, before being caught up in the embezzling scandal which saw her estranged husband and former party chief exective Peter Murrell sentenced to five years and three months in prison earlier this year.
Now she’s set to step into the role of UK Deputy Prime Minister in The War Game, billed as “a mix of constructed documentary and drama” set six months in the future.
And she won’t be the only Scottish politician to appear, with Michael Gove taking on the part of the Prime Minister, former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy playing the Foreign Secretary and former Hamilton MP Lord Robertson stepping into the shoes of the Nato Secretary General.
Here’s everything you need to know about the show.
When is the first episode of The War Room on television?
The first episode of The War Room will be broadcast on Monday, September 21, at 9pm.
Where can I watch The War Room?
The War Room wil be shown on Sky One and NOW TV. To watch it you’ll either need a subscription to Sky or to the NOW TV entertainment package, available from on £7.99 a month on a one-off basis or £4.99 a month if you commit to a six month term.
How many episodes of The War Room will there be?
There are four episodes of The War Room, plus an extra programme, The Wargame: Live, which will follow directly after the final episode.
When will all of the episodes of The War Room be shown?
The four episodes, plus the extra live episode will be released on four consecutive nights as follows:
- Episode one: Monday, September 21, at 9pm
- Episode two: Tuesday, September 22, at 9pm
- Episode three: Wednesday, September 23, at 9pm
- Episode four: Thursday, September 24, at 9pm
- The War Game Live: Thursday, September 24, at 10pm
How long are the episodes of The War Game?
Each episode will be 60 minutes long.
Who stars in The War Game?
The cast is made up of former real-life politicians and members of the security services, with the main roles being as follows:
- Prime Minister: The Rt Hon. the Lord Gove PC
- Deputy Prime Minister: The Rt Hon. Nicola Sturgeon PC
- Defence Secretary: The Rt Hon. Dame Penny Mordaunt DBE PC
- Home Secretary: The Rt Hon. the Baroness Harman KC PC
- Foreign Secretary: The Rt Hon. Jim Murphy PC
- Attorney General: The Rt Hon. the Baroness Warsi PC
- Director of Communications: The Baroness Hazarika MBE
- Chief of Defence Staff: General Sir Richard Barrons KCB CBE
- National Security Adviser: The Rt Hon. the Lord Kim Darroch KCMG
- Intelligence Chief: Christopher Steele
- Nato Secretary General: The Rt Hon. the Lord Robertson KT GCMG PC
- US Secretary of State: Anthony Scaramucci
What is the plot of The War Game?
Based on the award-winning Sky News podcast of the same name, The War Room sees real-world senior politicians, military and intelligence leaders come together into the room to take on a simulated national emergency.
Set six months in the future, the simulation will have those involved react and respond to a scenario where there’s been a Russian attack on UK soil.
Over the course of the series, those inside the war room will decide what to do next, and how to best navigate Britain through the disaster, with every decision potentially having long-term consequences.
The fictional Cabinet will be given news updates, social media footage, and intelligence reports as well as unexpected turns, giving them a new dilemma to deal with as if this was happening in real time.
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