''Rideau Hall'' is a Canadian television series broadcast in 2002 on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. The show starred Bette MacDonald as Regina Gallant, an earthy, one-hit wonder

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

queen who is recommended for appointment as

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

by a conniving

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

who anticipates that she will become a national embarrassment in the job, allowing him to move ahead in eliminating the position, along with the

Canadian monarchy The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Wes ...

. Regina is brash and loud and highly unsuitable for a formal position, but has a charming common touch. Each episode has her becoming embroiled in one scandal or another, usually not of her making, only to have things resolve in her favour by the end.

Fiona Reid Fiona Reid, CM (born 24 July 1951) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series '' King of Kensington'' (1975-1978) and as Harriet Miller in the film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002). Early life and educa ...

plays her prim and proper executive assistant Eleanor Sharpe,

Jonathan Torrens Jonathan Ormond Torrens (born October 2, 1972) is a Canadian actor and television personality best known for his co-hosting of ''Street Cents'', his talk show ''Jonovision'', and his role as "J-Roc" in the popular Canadian mockumentary ''Trailer ...

plays her flakey gay press secretary Daniel Van Dusen, and

Joe Dinicol Joe Dinicol (born December 22, 1983) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of Rory Regan / Ragman in a recurring role in the fifth season of ''Arrow''. Life and career Dinicol was born in Stratford, Ontario, the son of Emma () an ...

plays her laconic, level-headed son Jason. Rejean Cournoyer plays the Prime Minister's aide who is the primary liaison between Rideau Hall and the Prime Minister's office; Barry Flatman played the prime minister in the pilot, but did not appear in the regular series. Six half-hour episodes plus an hour-long pilot were produced.Tony Atherton, "An unfunny thing happened on the way to CBC". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', February 27, 2003. The show was not renewed for a second season.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0306387, Rideau Hall CBC Television original programming 2002 Canadian television series debuts 2002 Canadian television series endings Television shows set in Ottawa Canadian political comedy television series 2000s Canadian sitcoms Television series about prime ministers of Canada