Written by Steven Moffat with Rafe Spall as PM

Rafe Spall is to play the Prime Minister in a new comedy-drama set in 10 Downing Street.

Number 10 is written by Sherlock and Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat and also stars Katherine Kelly as the chief of staff and  Jenna Coleman as her deputy.

Joe Wilkinson also has an unspecified role, as does Alex Macqueen – making a return to political comedy having played Julius Nicholson in The Thick Of It.

Channel 4 say the show is not just about the Prime Minister but ‘the conspiracy theorist who runs the cafe three floors below, the man who repairs the lift that never works [and] the madly ambitious "advisors" fighting for office space in cupboards’.

Moffat said: "For me, it's all about famous doors! The doors to the Tardis, the door to 221b Baker Street, and now the most famous door in the world - Number 10. 

‘I’ve been wanting to write about the mad house that runs the madhouse for years, and I’ve never had so much fun doing the research. Other nations are ruled from mighty palaces. Britain is run from a little brick street with a big black door. If you want to do a workplace comedy-drama, this one is the boss of them all.’

Also in the cast are Akshay Khanna, Abigail Lawrie, Laura Haddock, Jing Lusi, Pierro Niel-Mee, Rick Warden, Robyn Cara, Richard Rankin, Rhiannon Clements, Patrick Baladi, Shaun Prendergast,  Harry Baxendale, Sid Sagar, Sam Alexander  and Emer Kenny. 

Spall said: "Number 10 is a sensational piece of writing, equal to its peerless author, Steven Moffat. I’m delighted to be playing the Prime Minister, in a funny, real and thrilling piece of TV."

And Coleman, who played Clara Oswald in Doctor Who when Moffat was showrunner,  said: ‘I thought it was about time I visited another British institution with Steven Moffat. I’m very much looking forward to moving into Number 10 with Steven’s cracking scripts.’

The show is being made by Hartswood Films and directed by The Inbetweeners’ Ben Palmer.

Published: 10 Dec 2025