“Brendan Bracken – Churchill’s Supreme Fantasist”

A man unique in 20th Century politics, a fantasist and compulsive liar. The father of modern financial journalism, creator of the modern “Financial Times”. The man, without whom, Winston Churchill would not have been Prime Minister in 1940. The saviour of the BBC’s independence, satirised as Rex Mottram in “Brideshead Revisited”, and was the original Big Brother in Orwell’s “1984”; yet Brendan Bracken hid himself from the pages of history. We reveal his story, his secrets and scandals, for the first time on Television.

This Documentary traces the life of Brendan Bracken from his Irish Republican roots in Fenian Central Ireland in 1901, through his school days in 3 countries, his rise to business and political power, his friendship and power broking with Winston Churchill over 30 years, finally his elevation to the peerage as Lord Bracken. We reveal his life, and loves, his early death in 1958 aged 57, after which, by his own command, all his papers were destroyed.

Filmed in magnificent High Definition, this 60 minute documentary features the Presenter – Adrian Bracken, a distant relative – as he retraces Bracken’s steps, filming in the places where the story unfolds, meeting and interviewing people who either knew Bracken or whose lives were touched by him, including Charles Edward Lysaght (Bracken's Biographer) , Eminent Journalist Lord William Rees-Mogg, the late Michael Thornely, former Headmaster of Sedbergh School in Cumbria, Respected Historians- Lord Asa Briggs (Broadcasting) and David Kynaston (Journalism) and Brian Caplen - Editor of "The Banker".

Archive footage, photographs, location filming including: London- (10 Downing Street & The Cabinet War Rooms amongst them) Cumbria, Cambridge, Chartwell, Templemore (Ireland) Limerick, Dublin, and Spain together with extensive reconstructions of major scenes in Bracken’s life, make this a must-see fascinating documentary telling a unique story, never before told on Television!

If Brendan Bracken’s story were fiction it would be more believable!

Made in English by Marbella Productions, versions in Spanish, German, French and Irish will be available, together with subtitles.

The documentary is now in Post Production (January 2010) and will be launched to Worldwide Media Buyers at a cinema in London in mid-March 2010. Adrian Bracken will be at the “History Makers 2010” conference in New York 27 – 29 January 2010 and at "MIPDoc" and "MIPTV" in Cannes 9 - 16 April 2010.