Synopsis

In June 1953, two years after he was re-elected as Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill (Sir Michael Gambon) collapses following a dinner party at 10 Downing Street. Diagnosed by Dr. Lord Moran (Bill Paterson) as having a stroke, there are fears that he may not survive, and he is taken to his country home Chartwell. Publicly, he is said to be suffering from exhaustion, and the newspaper owners consent to printing the deception. As his children arrive to watch over him, they feud over son Randolph's (Matthew Macfadyen's) drinking and daughter Sarah's (Rachael Stirling's) less than illustrious movie career, while Winston's wife Clemmie (Lindsay Duncan) reflects on the loss of another daughter who died in infancy. The Cabinet is informed of events as Moran brings in plain-spoken Yorkshire nurse Millie Appleyard (Romola Garai) to look after the great man. With her help and his wife's devotion, Churchill survives to address the Conservative Party conference later in the year, before retiring as premier two years later, the country as a whole being unaware all along of Churchill's secret.

In June 1953, two years after he was re-elected as Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill (Sir Michael Gambon) collapses following a dinner party at 10 Downing Street. Diagnosed by Dr. Lord Moran (Bill Paterson) as having a stroke, there are fears that he may not survive, and he is taken to his country home Chartwell. Publicly, he is said to be suffering from exhaustion, and the newspaper owners consent to printing the deception. As his children arrive to watch over him, they feud over son Randolph's (Matthew Macfadyen's) drinking and daughter Sarah's (Rachael Stirling's) less than illustrious movie career, while Winston's wife Clemmie (Lindsay Duncan) reflects on the loss of another daughter who died in infancy. The Cabinet is informed of events as Moran brings in plain-spoken Yorkshire nurse Millie Appleyard (Romola Garai) to look after the great man. With her help and his wife's devotion, Churchill survives to address the Conservative Party conference later in the year, before retiring as premier two years later, the country as a whole being unaware all along of Churchill's secret.