Bad Boys of Brexit: now for film of Farage’s unlikely tale

COMING to a television set near you: Farage the movie. A Hollywood studio is poised to sign a deal with Nigel Farage and Arron Banks to make a £60 million, six-part film series of Mr Banks’s bestselling diary of the referendum campaign, The Bad Boys of Brexit.

The script is nearly finished and shooting starts in 2018. The series will air in April, once the deal is signed next month at a meeting in Los Angeles.

The story is told from the point of view of Gerry Gunster, a US pollster who advised the Leave.eu campaign, and tells how Mr Farage and Mr Banks won against the odds and ended up campaigning for Donald Trump in the US presidential election.

One source said Mr Gunster will be portrayed as a “respected US expert being employed to control these British lunatics in the referendum.

“It naturally descends into farce – but they win against all odds – he is then horrified that the British lunatics are sent to help a US reality TV star fight for the presidency. The farce continues and – guess what – they win and suddenly they are catapulted into the alternative White House to change the world, what could possibly go wrong!”

Casting takes place this autumn for the series. Mr Farage and Mr Banks are expected to be executive producers, as well as LBC radio presenter Iain Dale, who published the book.

Mr Dale, who will sign the deal with Mr Banks and his aide Andy Wigmore in the US next month, told The Daily Telegraph: “Having conquered Europe, it seems the Bad Boys of Brexit are about to woo Hollywood. The main question is whether Danny Devito is available to play Arron Banks. I just hope the writers can capture the humour and chaos displayed in the book.”

Kevin Spacey, the American Oscar winner or Benedict Cumberbatch, the star of Sherlock, have been previously tipped to play Mr Farage.

However, the former Ukip leader remained coy, saying: “I am hoping if they do make the film, I think I should play me. I am really good at being me.

“It will be about Brexit and the start of the revolution of 2016, how Brexit stunned the establishment and led directly to the victory of Donald J Trump.”