Murdoch’s rise to emperor of media politics

THE RISE OF THE MURDOCH DYNASTY

Tuesday, BBC2, 9pm

Rupert Murdoch has for decades used his vast media Death Star as an invidious political weapon. He has the power to dictate the results of a UK general election. He made sure that Brexit happened. His influence is terrifying. This absorbing series depicts him as a ruthless, bitter man driven by an obsession with the future of his empire. It features a motley roster of talking heads including Nigel Farage (who claims he received Murdoch’s blessing to participate), Alastair Campbell and Piers Morgan. Tony Blair, Rebekah Brooks and the Murdochs are conspicuously absent. It begins in 1995, when Blair and Campbell made a pact with the Devil. Both parties got what they wanted.