Peter Mandelson inspired my Mycroft in ‘Sherlock’: Mark Gatiss

“I based Mycroft on Peter Mandelson. It was explicit even before I was going to play him,” Gatiss told Radio Times.

“Steven Moffat and I talked about how Mandelsonian Mycroft was… Conan Doyle says Mycroft is the British government. He’s the power behind the throne.

“Both Mandelson and Mycroft are the sort of people who, I think, would sit out a world war,” he added. “There’s a longer game to be played…”

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“Coalition” charts Nick Clegg’s rise in popularity ahead of the 2010 general election and the subsequent forming of a coalition government by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Gatiss recently described the story of the drama as having a “classical dimension”.

“It’s the same story throughout history – it’s the struggle for the crown. You can change the clothes – and people don’t get killed as often – but it’s the same thing,” he said.

“Coalition” also stars Mark Dexter as David Cameron, Ian Grieve as Gordon Brown and Bertie Carvel as Clegg.