The Zelensky Story tells the story of Zelensky as you’ve never seen him before - 'Freedom, it's a great thing, freedom'

Published: 27 August 2024

This definitive boxset series tells the extraordinary story of Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who played the president, then became the real President of Ukraine…

Told across three episodes, the series charts Zelensky's journey from young actor and entertainer to one of the most recognisable leaders on the planet, presiding over a nation at war with Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Filmed over several trips to Ukraine, Series Director Michael Waldman is granted rare access to interview President Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska, who speak in unguarded terms about their extraordinary lives. What emerges is a portrait of a young couple plunged into an extraordinary situation - childhood sweethearts who got married and rose to stardom, before being thrown into politics, and into the heart of the biggest invasion in Europe since World War II.

As well as interviews with the family and their inner circle, the series includes new accounts from world leaders including Boris Johnson, Nancy Pelosi, former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, and Advisor to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, who each give dramatic first-hand testimony of their dealings with Zelensky - and Putin - in the lead up to a full-scale military invasion.

Combining exclusive interviews with extraordinary archive footage never before broadcast in the UK, the series sheds new light on the origins of the war in Ukraine and the two men at its epicentre: Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Zelensky Story, a 3x60 for BBC Two and iPlayer, was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Simon Young, Head of History. Produced by 72 Films in partnership with the OU, the series is made by a multi-award winning team: Series Director Michael Waldman, Executive Producers David Glover and Jonathan Smith, Producer Jecca Powell and Producer/Director Louis Lee Ray.

Watch The Zelensky Story on BBC iPlayer from 4 September at 6am. Watch on BBC Two weekly from 4 September at 9pm.

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Michael Waldman, Series Director

72 Films has made documentaries about Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch. Why did you choose to focus on President Zelensky for this series?

Zelensky is now arguably the most significant figure on the world stage. He is at the epicentre of the 21st century's most important political and military storm - a war which inevitably affects us all. On top of that, his personal story is quite simply extraordinary. Who could be a more fascinating person to get to know?

What challenges did you face, filming in Ukraine?

To start with, getting there! All Ukrainian airspace is completely closed - so me and the cameraman flew to Warsaw, then travelled by road to the Polish/Ukrainian border, then heaved all filming equipment onto the (always full) overnight train to Kyiv - and of course the same in reverse, so not easy to make last minute changes to plans! And when there, not only occasionally being woken up by air-raid sirens but also of course the massive security getting into the Office of the President building - and then further complicated layers to get into the inner sanctum.

Can you tell us about some of the other contributors included in this series?

My colleagues (producer Jecca Powell, producer/director Louis Lee Ray) came up with a fascinating array of contributors - from Boris Johnson and Nancy Pelosi to the Ukrainian TV mogul who was one of the first to spot the entertainment skills of young Volodymyr Zelensky; the President's old school friends and colleagues; the man Zelensky chose to lead the delegation attempting to negotiate a peace deal with the Russians in the early stages of the war. Every one of them gives colourful insight and intriguing detail on what Zelensky goes through on this incredible journey.

Did anything surprise you about Zelensky's story when making this film?

I hadn't realised before I started this project that he had been such a successful manager as well as a performer. He created a whole business that he led from the front - taking it to open offices in Moscow and then, after the Maidan Revolution and the invasion of Crimea in 2014, closing down the whole Russian operation.

Did you discover anything new?

As the First Lady Olena Zelenska says to me on camera, "I've never said this out loud - but I had a faint hope that he wouldn't win the election"

What do you hope viewers will take away from this series?

I hope viewers will get a real insight into the fascinating personalities of both the President and the First Lady. They both seemed to open up in ways that they never have before. And personality is important. Zelensky is the subject of unimaginable pressures - and no little criticism. Who really is he? It's a question that matters to us all.

[transcribed]

On his dreams as a child [episode 1]

"I was very free. It's the end of Soviet Union. Young people, what they want? They want to be free, they wanted to see the planet. And to go where? Everywhere. You just want to meet, speak, and your eyes are big, and of course, I wanted to find me in this big world. Of course my parents wanted me to be, you know, er, calm, to be calm, yes, and to study and that's it. I found time for everything. [Laughs] Freedom, it's a great thing, freedom."

On meeting his wife, Olena [episode 1]

"One of the best, I think, moments in my life, when I met my wife. I just looked at her and I think I just loved. I saw her at school."

On Putin's psychology: [episode 2]

"Putin, I think he's not alone, I think there are some - some similar guys in the world, but not everybody has such, you know, such chance for their selves. To open all their, you know, negative or all their evil dreams. Yes. That is the problem, that the West didn't recognise him before, and didn't stop him."

On being a comedian, then the president: [episode 3]

"I brought from those times to this job, this communication with the people, because you have to try. I really loved people, because I communicated with them. And if you don't love, you will be tired…."

On making decisions which are likely to lead to the death of men and women [episode 3]

"That is the most difficult, the biggest difficulties in my life. Because when I - when you -make some such decisions, for me it's difficult always. I have a lot of questions to myself. And there are some questions on which I didn't get 'til now answers. All these questions are about life. I saw this - I remember these people, a lot of them. I saw a lot of parents, a lot of them. I gave orders, golden stars for the heroic deaths of these - of the children, or of their husbands and wives, and that - that's a big, big challenge for me, I think the biggest one."

Olena Zelenska, Key Quotes

[transcribed and translated to English]

On the election [episode 1]

"I have never said this out loud, I had a faint hope that he would not win. But he won….he always does".

On leaving Kyiv [episode 3]

They told me to come to the Presidential Office. I took my children and came. I never wanted to put him in a situation where he had to choose between the safety of his family or the right decisions for the state. It was very dangerous so we left Kyiv. We were not sure if we would ever see him again."

On the war [episode 3]

I could only watch the news when I had access to television. He was tired…focused and in constant stress. Every day I tried to keep smiling… to tell the children: "It's all okay" "He's going to make it, he knows what he's doing".

Boris Johnson, Key Quotes

On the invasion [episode 2]

"I woke up on the morning of the 24th very early, talked to Volodymyr, it's just a sort of surreal conversation, he describes the invasion, where it's happening, the scale of it. Which seemed to be huge.

At this stage, I'm thinking, 'We're gonna have to get Volodymyr Zelensky to a place of safety where he can go in to some sort of either internal or external exile and mastermind a resistance."

On his leadership [episode 3]

"Because he came from TV comedy shows that everybody can identify with, he struck a chord with the global public in a way that no other Ukrainian leader could've done."

Contributors

• Volodymyr Zelensky - President of Ukraine
• Olena Zelenska - First Lady of Ukraine
• Luke Harding - Foreign Correspondent, The Guardian
• Ben Wallace - UK Defence Secretary 2019 - 23
• Oleksandr Pikalov - Zelensky's childhood friend, and collaborator in Kvartal 95 Comedy Troop
• Vadim Pereverzev - Zelensky's childhood friend, and collaborator in Kvartal 95 Comedy Troop
• Olena Kravets - Zelensky's childhood friend, and collaborator in Kvartal 95 Comedy Troop
• Nancy Pelosi - Speaker, US House of Representatives 2019-23
• Amanda Sloat - Special Advisor to President Biden
• Dmytro Kuleba - Ukrainian Foreign Minister
• Alexander Rodnyansky - Ukrainian TV Mogul and Zelensky's mentor when an actor
• Sir Roderic Lyne - UK Ambassador to Russia 2000 - 04
• Boris Johnson - Former Prime Minister UK 2019 - 23
• Oleksiy Danilov - Ukrainian National Security Advisor, 2019 - 24
• Yuri Kostiuk - Scriptwriter, 'Servant of the People' with Kvartal-95
• Davyd Arakhamia - Leader of Zelensky's ruling party, and Lead negotiator with Russia early in the war
• Andriy Yermak - Head of the Office of the President
• Aleksey Kiryushchenko - Director, 'Servant of the People'
• Iuliia Mendel - Zelensky's Press Secretary 2019 - 21
• Kurt Volker - US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, 2017 - 19
• Ruslan Stefanchuk - Ukrainian Parliament Chairman
• Mykhailo Podolyak - Adviser to the President of Ukraine
• Simon Shuster - Foreign Correspondent, TIME Magazine