Today marks the 50th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher being elected Leader of the Conservative Party.
The first female British prime minister was a political titan who won three consecutive general elections, twice in a landslide.
Although a polarising figure, she ranks highly alongside Sir Winston Churchill as one of British history’s most popular party leaders.
The Iron Lady, who led the UK government from 1979 to 1990, was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century.
Over the years since, she has been portrayed many times on screen, from Gillian Anderson in The Crown to Harriet Walter, most recently in Brian and Maggie.
But without a doubt, the most famous portrayal of Thatcher was by Meryl Streep in her Oscar-winning performance in 2011’s The Iron Lady. Controversially depicting the politician suffering from dementia while she was still alive, the film focuses on her remembering her early political career. Before she died in 2013, Lady Thatcher confessed she did not watch films or programmes about herself.
The Iron Lady is streaming now for free on Channel 4 for the next 22 days only.