Whips pride themselves on their secrecy and discretion. Reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers their shadowy world and reveals how they operate. How close to reality is the fictional Chief Whip Francis Urquhart, in the drama series House of Cards?  Government Whips can make or break ministers and ensure they know all the secrets of the private lives of their fellow MPs. One Tory MP claims that the Whips are a gestapo, but another says they are democracy's unsung heroes - as necessary for Parliament as sewers are for civilisation.

Westminster's Secret Service

A revealing one-off documentary that provides an inside view of how Tony Blair and former prime ministers - including Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher and John Major - have run their cabinet, the highest decision-making body in the land. Through candid interviews, rare archive footage and filming inside No 10, presenter Michael Cockerell opens the door to the Government's own chamber of secrets as he seeks the answer to the question: is the notion of cabinet government an obsolete concept?