Bill Paterson stars as a journalist who quits his job for a life in politics. This feature-length comedy drama is based on former BBC correspondent Martin Bell's election to Parliament on an anti-sleaze ticket, and was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 1997. Ben White (Paterson) is so fed up with the sleaze and corruption in British politics, he quits his prestigious job as a TV foreign correspondent to stand as an independent candidate. During the General Election he trounces the disreputable Conservative MP Paul Madison (Robert Duncan) and his outspoken wife, Victoria (Celia Imrie). But can he handle media intrusion, parliamentary skulduggery and an illicit romance at Westminster? When he attempts to pass a new law to curb press freedom Ben swiftly finds himself the target of press harassment by a tabloid reporter Pam 'The Ferret' (Dervla Kirwan), writer for The Comet. And, after reuniting with MP Helen Nash (Samantha Bond), who happens to be an old and married flame, Ben finds both his personal and political lives exposed to public scrutiny. Can he survive the scandal?