Thatcher first enters the House of Commons as a rookie with her mentor Airey Neave, who cheerily welcomes her to "the madhouse". 30 years later the former Prime Minister sits alone in the Chamber contemplating her resignation.

Meryl Streeps astounding portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in London-shot The Iron Lady spans 40 years but focuses on the peak of Thatcher's power in the 1980s.

Released in cinemas across the UK this Friday, it features a cast of who's-who of British acting talent including Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher, Olivia Colman as Carol Thatcher, Richard E Grant as Michael Heseltine, Roger Allam as Gordon Reece, Thatcher's political strategist  and Nicholas Farrell as Neave.

On the casting of Streep as Thatcher screenwriter Abi Morgan, whose previous credits includes Brick Lane and the BBC's hit newsroom drama The Hour, says "I think everybody has a dream actress in their head and she was absolutely my dream actress".

Phyllida Lloyd, the film's director who also worked with Streep on the box office smash Mamma Mia, recalls "there was a moment when Meryl came out of the make-up room as old Margaret in costume, said good morning as Mrs Thatcher to some people sitting and waiting for an audition and shuffled off down the corridor, and their jaws dropped".

Lloyd continues "I can only imagine how she must have been feeling when she stepped out onto the House of Commons set and there were 350 men looking at her...but it was amazing how soon she had everybody in the palm of her hand. When she came back after lunch all the actors on the Labour benches were booing, we knew she'd got them".

Streeps performance shows Thatcher at the height of her popularity, reveling in her power and taking her place among world leaders. However, as her leadership style becomes increasingly autocratic, her policies divide the nation and frustrated ministers turn against her.

"We went to great efforts to recreate the Chamber in all its detail in order that we could have that camera movement in the set and really create the sense of the boxing ring, the bear pit of it" says Production Designer Simon Elliot.

To cater to the demand of the production, a unique House of Commons set at Wimbledon Film & Television Studio was erected. London's newest studio complex, Wimbledon Studios launched last year following a major refurbishment. It boasts more than 50 purpose-built sets including a prison, police station, hospital and court room and following hosting The Iron Lady, it now also offers a House of Commons set.

"The days that we were shooting in Parliament, or we were re-creating Parliament, were very interesting because how one dominates a room, how one pulls a listening audience in to persuade them of some matter of policy is something that we still struggle with as human being" says Streep.

Prior to shooting, Streep had visited The Houses of Parliament and the famous Chambers and remembers that "it was touching to see how small it is for the size of the history that's been created there, and the size of the personalities that were contained by those walls, the size of the ideas that emanated out from there."

For Thatcher it was the centre of her world. Driven by conviction and ambition, Britain's first female Prime Minister of Great Britain is forced to resign in 1990.

In addition to Wimbledon Studios, the production shot extensively on location in the capital with support from Film London. Shooting successfully in seven London boroughs, producer Damian Jones describes his experience of filming in the capital as "first rate". Jones explains that "our location schedule changed unpredictably a couple of times and all the permits and resources we required were efficiently obtained without fuss or delay. Film London was completely understanding to our needs".

The Iron Lady is in cinemas from 6 January, distributed by Pathé.