Peter Morgan's first production featuring Michael Sheen as Tony Blair was the Channel 4 single drama "The Deal" (2003), which dramatized the rise of Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) and Blair when they were new Members of Parliament. The drama depicted their rise in the Labour Party culminating in the 1994 leadership election. "The Deal"s critical success led to a theatrical film, "The Queen" (2006), about the impact of the death of Princess Diana on senior members of the Royal Family and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The film featured Sheen as Blair in a supporting role, in what critics noted was a more subdued portrayal than in "The Deal". Before Morgan began writing the script for "The Special Relationship" in late 2007, there was speculation that the film would be produced by Left Bank Pictures and BBC Films, where the "Deal" and "Queen" producers Andy Harries and Christine Langan were based; Langan told guardian.co.uk in October 2007 that Morgan had "promised" the script to her and Harries, though no contracts had been signed.