The follow-up series To Play the King (1993) and The Final Cut (1995) focus on Urquhart's premiership, as he refuses to relinquish his position until he has beaten Thatcher's record as longest serving post-war prime minister.

[1] Urquhart is characterised by his usage of the catchphrase, "You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment", or a variation thereon, as a plausibly deniable way of agreeing with people and/or leaking information.

Michael Dobbs stated that the inspiration behind Urquhart came during a drinking session at a swimming pool after a tense encounter with Margaret Thatcher, deliberately creating a character moulded around the initials "FU".

[3] Ian Richardson was offered the role of Urquhart for the BBC TV adaptation of House of Cards in 1990, which he immediately accepted, noting: From the moment I read the first scripts, I felt that not only was it the biggest acting opportunity to come my way since my Shakespeare days, but probably was going to be something rather special on the box.

[4] While acknowledging that playing Urquhart brought him immediate public recognition, Richardson stated that as a Scottish Presbyterian, he found the character's Machiavellian deviousness and sex appeal both "really rather revolting".

"[8] Urquhart is portrayed as having few other interests outside politics, though he is an avid reader of Italian Renaissance poetry and Elizabethan/Jacobean drama, with John Webster and Cyril Tourneur being among his favorite authors.

Urquhart resigned his commission after a colleague was court-martialed for accidentally killing a suspect, and took up a deferred place at the University of Oxford reading History, where he narrowly missed getting a First.

[citation needed] He is right-wing and his policies include abolishing the Arts Council, outlawing vagrancy, reintroducing conscription and banning pensioners from National Health Service treatment unless they have paid for Age Insurance.

Besides this, his strong belief in discipline and the rule of law shapes his foreign policy in Cyprus, where he authorises the use of force against schoolgirls who are blocking military vehicles.

Although Underwood is based on the BBC show's lead character, in interviews during the writing and filming of season 2, creator and showrunner Willimon said that he used Lyndon B. Johnson as a source of themes and issues addressed in House of Cards.