The Stage

Armstrong and Freeman to lead cast of BBC4 computer drama

Published Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 12:35 by Matthew Hemley

Martin Freeman and Alexander Armstrong are to lead the cast of a new comedy drama for BBC4 about the rivalry between real-life home computer creators Chris Curry and Sir Clive Sinclair.

Freeman will play Chris Curry in the drama, which is called Syntax Era, while Armstrong will play Sir Clive Sinclair.

BBC4 controller Richard Klein said: “Those of us that lived through the eighties will remember the sense of excitement when gadgets and technology started to appear in our homes, but not many of us will know the fascinating stories behind their arrival. Alexander Armstrong and Martin Freeman are excellent choices to portray Sir Clive Sinclair and Chris Curry at a time when battling to have the UK’s most loved home computer was their number one priority.”

Written by Tony Saint, the 90-minute drama uses archive footage to illustrate the hype around Sinclair and Curry’s inventions. The cast also includes Derek Riddell and Colin Michael Carmichael, and a cameo from James Fleet as former education minister Kenneth Baker.

The drama is being made by Darlow Smithson and was commissioned by BBC drama commissioning controller Ben Stephenson.