Churchill’s Secret Son 

1 x 54 & 1 x 84

This is the fascinating story of a most extraordinary man who was at Winston Churchill’s side for over 30 years. The man without whom Churchill would not have been Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940. This is the story the Churchill family and the Churchill biographers would prefer you not to know about .

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Brendan Bracken was a Newspaper Tycoon, Wartime Minister, Peer of the realm, First Lord of the Admiralty and the first spin doctor.  He was also a compulsive liar, complete fantasist who hid his true identity, even ordering the burning of his papers after his death.

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The Churchill children thought Brendan Bracken was their father’s illegitimate son.. Was he? Did Brendan Bracken really arrange to stop Churchill from going bankrupt ?

Was Brendan Bracken the power behind the 1940 meeting where Churchill became Prime Minister? How did the son of a Rebel Irish Republican become the head of Britain’s Royal Navy? Was Bracken responsible for some of Churchill’s great decisions in WW2? What great secret was Bracken hiding all his life?

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Interviewees:
Lord William Rees-Mogg (Editor the Times 1967 – 1981)
Eunan O’Halpin – Professor Contemporary Irish History Trinity Dublin
Charles Edward Lysaght – Brendan Bracken’s Biographer
Brendan Bracken – Nephew of Brendan Bracken
Michael Thornely – Headmaster Sedbergh School 1953 -1974

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This HD 60 minute documentary, traces the life of one of Ireland’s most prominent 20th Century men, yet remains an enigma and largely forgotten.

With Interviews, reconstructions, location filming and archive “Churchill’s Secret Son" is hosted by Adrian Bracken who goes in search of his distant relative.

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Original running times 54 mins and 86 mins.