Frost/Nixon and Low Winter Sun

I saw Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan at The Donmar Warehouse last night and was, like the critics, impressed by the skill of the writing, acting and staging.

It was slightly strange to have David Frost portrayed as some kind of hero, however. I wonder if Peter Morgan originally intended this characterisation. Or was it the case that, for the sake of the drama, one of the adversaries had to be triumphant. It couldn't be Nixon, so Frost - not someone, in my opinion, it's easy to care much about - had to come across as a more significant person than he ever actually was. (Maybe I've just seen him too many times on Through The Keyhole.)

One person who I'm sure wasn't at the theatre last night is screenwriter Simon Donald. The first part of his well previewed drama for Channel 4, Low Winter Sun, was on at 9pm. Unfortunately that was the same time as the new series of Extras (written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant) - probably the most heavily promoted series of the year. Donald must have seen enough of Ricky Gervais this week to last him several lifetimes.

Photo: Brian Maccardie and Mark Strong in Low Winter Sun written by Simon Donals (Amanda Searle/Channel 4)