Alex Holmes's powerful but humorous history took I, Claudius as a starting point in tone.

Beginning in 1979 with the coup that led to Saddam Hussein's accession to power and ending with his execution after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, this mini-series told the extraordinary story of Saddam's dictatorship by emphasizing the domestic machinations at the heart of his regime as much as the geo-politics.

Co-financed by HBO, House of Saddam won plaudits in both the UK and the US and is widely regarded as the most successful dramatic account of Saddam Hussein's reign to date.