Alan Joseph Wheatley is a fictional character in the television series Martin Hall, occupying the office of Prime Minister of Georgeland within that show's continuity. Wheatley can be seen as the series' main antagonist; however, he is far from a "villain" in the generally-used sense of the word. Wheatley is portrayed by actor Kevin Bosley.
Kevin Bosley as Alan Wheatley
Biography[]
Little of Wheatley's personal background has been revealed. His full name was revealed in the first episode, A Great Leap Forward, when he was sworn into office. Wheatley's wife, seen in episode one, was un-named until Episode Six: Luke, when her name was revealed to be Irene. Wheatley is a Roman Catholic (mentioned in The Origin of Species), but is not particularly devout and is not a regular churchgoer, though his wife is. Wheatley hails from Sergiocitta and represents the (fictitious) seat of Sergocitta Central in the Georgeland House of Commons, and has apparently been an MP for nearly fifteen years. He became Prime Minister in A Great Leap Forward after defeating his predecessor, David Walker, in a general election. Wheatley was previously Leader of the Opposition. Wheatley has children, but they have not been seen on screen. His age is a matter of conjecture, but can be assumed to be a similar age to actor Kevin Bosley.
Politics[]
Wheatley's politics have been left deliberately vague by the show's writers. He is sometimes seen to have leftist views, such as in The Origin of Species when he opposes legislation to mandate the teaching of evolution. However, he has also shown views from the political right, such as a commitment to a particularly draconian anti-terrorism legislation. Though he is Catholic, Wheatley supports abortion rights. He is also pro-United States.
Series creator Joe Starnes has suggested that Wheatley is a centrist politician, but he was not created with a particular political party in mind. However, in interviews, Starnes has said that he suspects Wheatley is a right-wing Liberal Democrat, but doubts this will ever be confirmed on screen.
Role within the show[]
Wheatley occupies the role of the show's primary antagonist in that he is generally in opposition to President Tanner and her plans. However, Starnes and others, including Bosley, have often noted that while he may be the antagonist, he is far from a villain. Indeed, he often acts with genuine national interest in mind, though he usually conflicts with Tanner as to what this means. He also has no tolerance for corruption. However, he is not above using questionable methods to achieve his aims. In The Origin of Species, Wheatley threatens Tanner to reveal details of her daughter's links to a right-wing Christian group unless the President complies with his wishes. He uses similar tactics in Luke, where he persuades Tanner to comply by threatening to leak more sordid, damaging information about her son Luke's behaviour.
In an interview with Jim Cryer, actor Bosley defined his character as:
A politician. Nothing more, nothing less. He's not a bad guy, he's not corrupt, but he's a political whiz who knows how to get what he wants. The only reason he's the baddie is that he has a President who won't play by his rules. Politicians hate that.