Warren Clarke stars as Bob Galway, a fictional Deputy Prime Minister and Birmingham MP, in a funny, wry, fast-paced and sexy drama.
The Deputy explores Bob Galway's life and work in the House of Commons and how it impacts on his personal life.
Bob's a man of the people - opinionated, principled and pragmatic. Surrounded by inefficient, highly-sexed private secretaries, a beleaguered Bob strives to protect his reputation, his career and his conscience as he tries to outsmart his adversaries in the cut and thrust world of Westminster.
Making life increasingly difficult for him are Stephen Sharples (Jack Dee), a self-seeking career politician, and Terri Leonard (Dervla Kirwan), the Prime Minister's astute and sharp-witted director of communications.
Behind the scenes, his all-knowing, all-seeing principal private secretary keeps him out of trouble. Back at home, his constituency agent and his radical thinking school-teacher wife help to keep his feet on the ground.
Bob is a man plagued with guilt. He has promised to help one member of his constituency gain compensation for the death of her boyfriend, but fears he will let her down. The Prime Minister is out of the country, leaving Prime Minister's Questions in his hands, which under normal circumstances would be a straightforward matter. However, his private secretaries seem incapable of arming him with the relevant paperwork.
The part of Deputy Prime Minister Bob Galway was written specifically with actor Warren Clarke in mind.
"It is kind of flattering to have a piece written for you," reveals Warren.
"To me The Deputy is a political soap opera full of wonderful characters that leave you wanting to know more; and underneath all of that you've got the real issues, such as a member of his constituency fighting for compensation, and MI5 bugging people."
However, despite the odd raised voice and a scuffle with Stephen, Clarke believes Bob is on the whole a straight, honest man just trying to do his job.
"I think he's a really, really nice, genuine guy, or at least he tries to remain so. He wants to serve his constituents and is having a nightmare. I think it must be every politician's worst case scenario having to deal with all the punters that have voted for you.
"Galway wants to be the best politician around or even the Prime Minister one day, because he has gone in to politics with the ultimate aim of reaching the top. Politicians don't just go into it to serve a constituency; they go into it so that they can make a difference."
