Man of many parts Rory Bremner was spotted at Addington Palace, Croydon, last week, shooting scenes for a New Year's Eve spectacular.

No, he wasn't doing a new impression of David Beckham he was caught in a bald cap, being made up to be Douglas Hurd, just one of the many politicians he will be playing in Channel 4's special, due to be screened around New Year's Eve.

"It's a kind of satirical, spoof documentary," Bremner explained, "built around this fictitious character, Geoffrey Malet, played by John Bird. In the seventies he was close to Heath, in the eighties he was one of Thatcher's favourites, then he's one of John Major's favourites and in the late nineties he transfers across to New Labour. Like a lot of the things we do, the idea comes first then we fit the characters around the idea."

It's an ideal vehicle for Rory to showcase some of his finest characters, including Heath, Hesletine, Hurd, Blair and to tackle new ones such as Iain Duncan Smith. Bremner's other sidekick John Fortune has a new role, playing a reporter unearthing Malet's story.

Vera Productions' location manager Carrie Fletcher praised the versatility of the Addington Palace: "It's got a great selection of locations. Each room has a different character. We needed somewhere that could double as Downing Street or Chequers."

November 6, 2001 10:00