The Wargame review: a fictional nuclear crisis with Michael Gove as prime minister
The Wargame presents an imminent Russian nuclear strike on Britain in an imagined government led by Michael Gove as prime minister and Nicola Sturgeon as deputy. The reality show also places Harriet Harman, Sayeeda Warsi and Penny Mordaunt in senior government roles, creating a deliberately unsettling political scenario.
The Wargame is a reality show built around the premise of an imminent nuclear strike on Britain by Russia.
Its fictional government has Michael Gove as prime minister and Nicola Sturgeon as deputy. Harriet Harman is home secretary, Sayeeda Warsi is attorney general and Penny Mordaunt is defence secretary.
The review describes the programme as “mind-warping” and says the politicians’ stiffness provides an element of dark humour.
THE QUESTIONS THIS EVENT LEAVES BEHIND
What assumptions does the programme make about how politicians would respond to a nuclear crisis?
How might the imagined roles affect viewers’ perceptions of the politicians involved?
What conditions would determine whether the scenario feels credible rather than theatrical?
Who controls the framing of the crisis and the choices presented to participants?
How might the programme’s premise change if different politicians held the fictional government roles?
YOUR QUESTION
Does this story leave you with another question?
Send us the question the report did not answer. It may become the next question IAQ investigates.
GLOBAL CURIOSITY MAP · AUGUST 2026