Those are the words of Dear England writer James Graham, speaking with us as our latest guest for The Radio Times Writers' Room.
Brexit: The Uncivil War, a Channel 4 drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Cummings, was released in 2019, just three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union. The accusation that the drama was jumping the gun by not waiting for history to settle or further events to take their course is one Graham says he finds "quite frustrating".
"Theatre was the first time that tribes came together in ancient Greece, and then out of that condition came democracy, came journalism, came academia, but it was storytelling that came first. That's how we made sense of the world. In fact, democracy was just a story we told ourselves, and then made it into a real thing.
"It's not just entertainment, it's not just distraction, it is how we make sense of the world. And so I understood that Brexit was a story that was ongoing, and that we had to be really careful, but I really believe that we deserved at that point, two years on, a story to begin contributing."
"No one looks at All the President's Men and goes 'How irresponsible. How outrageous!' So that was my defence. I understand it. I'm not an idiot. I understand why people go, 'This is so controversial, why are you adding controversy to it?' But that to me is not what drama does. It's actually adds empathy, nuance, illumination and understanding."
"I do understand that was a character, Dominic Cummings, played by Benedict, that provokes a lot of emotions and reactions in people. He's not an uncontroversial figure. And to what extent do you have to be careful that you don't mythologise or overly humanise or overly demonise these people? But yeah, I reject the basic premise of that argument."
The series is a four-part adaptation of Graham's play of the same name, which focuses on Gareth Southgate's tenure as manager of the England football team, and how he turned around their fortunes by completely changing the ethos of the squad.
Joseph Fiennes reprises his role as Southgate after originating it at the National Theatre. Of course, telling this story on screen is very different than on the stage, with Graham noting that "there wasn't a single football on stage in the play, it was imagined".
"That was great to spend time in," he says, "because I feel like thankfully, the universe did deliver me a really climactic, really meaty ending of this story."
Graham spoke to us about all of these projects in his chat for The Radio Times Writers' Room, as well as his work on one-off drama Caught in a Trap, a crucial episode of The Crown and Sherwood, his only returning series to date.
On Sherwood, he teased that the upcoming third season would introduce a "brand new family that I put through a brand new trauma, and we really put these guys through the wringer".
In the meantime, you can catch up with our previous chats with Mark Gatiss, Harry and Jack Williams, Noah Hawley, Neil Cross, Steven Knight, Chris Chibnall, Jack Thorne, Sarah Quintrell, Stefan Golaszewski and Richard Gadd.
Add Dear England to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
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