For a man who once strode the world stage with the confidence of a rock star, Tony Blair’s story was always bound to provoke strong opinions. Now, with Channel 4’s new documentary series The Tony Blair Story—released in February 2026—audiences are invited to revisit the rollercoaster ride of Britain’s most impactful post-war prime minister. The series, directed by Michael Waldman, offers a three-episode arc: “Who Are You?”, “Iraq”, and “The Loss of Power.” Each episode delves into the formative moments, triumphs, and controversies that defined Blair’s career and continue to shape his legacy.
From the outset, the documentary sets a brisk pace, tracing Blair’s journey from his childhood in Scotland, through Oxford and county Durham, to his election as MP for Sedgefield in 1983. The first episode, as described by The Guardian, canters through Blair’s early years, his political conversion (his father, notably, was a lifelong Conservative), and his pivotal alliance with Gordon Brown. The narrative accelerates towards Blair’s elevation to Labour leader in 1994, culminating in the party’s landslide victory in the 1997 general election—a moment that transformed British politics and ushered in the era of New Labour.
Blair’s radicalism is underscored throughout. Author Robert Harris, interviewed in the series, calls him “the Labour equivalent of Margaret Thatcher,” a leader who sought to reshape his party and the nation. Yet, as the documentary makes clear, the arc of Blair’s career follows the classic pattern of rise, decline, and fall. The show’s structure, while tidy, leaves some critics wishing for more nuance. According to The Times, the three-act format means significant achievements—such as the Northern Ireland peace process and intervention in Kosovo—are touched upon only briefly, while domestic accomplishments like economic growth and advances in environmental and equalities legislation are largely glossed over. The narrative, inevitably, rushes toward the Iraq War, the defining controversy of Blair’s premiership.
Central to The Tony Blair Story is the man himself. Blair, now 72, sits for an extensive interview with Waldman, offering reflections that are by turns guarded and revealing. “It’s very important to understand about me,” Blair cautions early on, “I’m not into psychoanalysis.” It’s a refrain he repeats, preferring to leave introspection to others. Friends like Anji Hunter, Alastair Campbell, and Sally Morgan, as well as critics such as Clare Short and Jeremy Corbyn, step in to fill the gap. The result, as The Telegraph observes, is a portrait of a leader whose self-assurance is matched only by his unease about how history will judge him. The documentary’s “quiet trick,” writes Anita Singh, is to keep the camera rolling between questions, catching Blair’s fleeting expressions of anxiety and irritation—moments when the mask slips and the statesman seems almost vulnerable.
Some of the series’ most memorable moments come from those who knew Blair best. His wife, Cherie, and three of their children—Euan, Kathryn, and Leo—share candid recollections, adding a human dimension to the political drama. Cherie admits that, after “ten years living in the goldfish bowl,” the family “kind of lost contact with reality.” The family dynamic is further explored through the eyes of Blair’s children, now adults, who reflect on their father’s drive and the pressures of public life.
The absence of certain key figures—Gordon Brown and George W. Bush, for example—is keenly felt. Yet, the series compensates with contributions from international heavyweights like Bill Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, who offer a global perspective on Blair’s impact. Clinton, in particular, is sympathetic to Blair’s divided loyalties between the US and Europe in the lead-up to Iraq, conceding that “he was in a pickle.” The documentary also features core members of Blair’s team, including Campbell, Jonathan Powell, and Peter Mandelson (whose recent controversies are briefly alluded to, but not explored in depth).
The Iraq War, unsurprisingly, dominates the latter half of the series. Blair remains unapologetic about his decision, insisting that “history goes on a long time.” Campbell, his longtime communications chief, remarks, “I think he’ll go to his grave genuinely thinking it was the right thing to do.” Critics, meanwhile, accuse Blair of a “messianic trench” mentality, with Jeremy Corbyn labeling him “a man in denial.” The motif of Blair’s so-called “Jesus complex” recurs throughout, with Jonathan Powell recalling Mo Mowlam’s quip that “Tony succeeded because he thought he was fucking Jesus,” and Robert Harris noting that after Kosovo, Blair “thought he could walk on water.” These observations, while biting, underscore the extraordinary self-belief that propelled Blair to the top—and, perhaps, contributed to his greatest missteps.
Yet the documentary is not all high politics and foreign policy. It offers glimpses of the more mundane, even embarrassing, moments of the Blair years: the Gallagher brothers’ notorious visit to Downing Street, Blair’s “Bob from Twin Peaks” phase during the pandemic lockdown (when his hair grew long and unruly), and the perennial British obsession with the financial rewards of public service. Cherie, for her part, speaks frankly about the realities of political rivalry, particularly the fraught transition from Blair to Brown—a reminder that the personal is never far from the political.
One of the documentary’s more provocative arguments is that Blair’s “tragedy” is not simply the Iraq War, but the way his achievements have been overshadowed by his mistakes. Andrew Neil, quoted in The Times, describes Blair as “an integral part of a golden age in Britain,” a period many now look back on with nostalgia given the country’s current challenges. The series, as The Guardian’s Emma Brockes notes, evokes a longing for the political optimism of the late 1990s and early 2000s—a time when the nation’s mood seemed to match the energy of its leader, who was forever captured by cameras sprinting up the steps of a plane, eager for the next challenge.
Blair himself, ever the consummate politician, insists that he may have more influence today as head of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change than he did as prime minister. His recent appointment, alongside Jared Kushner, to oversee post-conflict Gaza is mentioned with a touch of irony—“Hasn’t the region suffered enough?” muses Brockes—reminding viewers that Blair’s story is far from over, and that his pursuit of a legacy continues, undeterred by the controversies of the past.
Ultimately, The Tony Blair Story offers a compelling, if imperfect, portrait of a man who changed his country and remains a lightning rod for debate. Whether viewers see Blair as visionary or villain, the documentary makes one thing clear: his impact on British—and global—politics is indelible, and the struggle to define his legacy is as fierce as ever.