House of Saddam is a 2008 British docudrama television miniseries that charted the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein. A co-production between BBC Television and HBO Films, the series was first broadcast on BBC Two (in the United Kingdom) in four parts between 30 July and 20 August 2008.

A pre-title sequence is set in March 2003, showing Saddam Hussein watching the broadcast of U.S. President George W. Bush's ultimatum to leave Ba'athist Iraq within forty-eight hours. As the bombing of Baghdad commences, Saddam and his family flee the Republican Palace.

1979: Shortly after the Iranian Revolution, Iraqi Vice President Saddam Hussein fears the increasing influence of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, as well as Iraqi president Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr's proposed union with Syria. Saddam instigates the overthrow of President al-Bakr. After being appointed president, Saddam orders his maternal half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, to initiate a bloody purge of the Ba'ath Party leadership in order to wipe out "traitors". Saddam himself executes his closest friend and ally, Adnan Hamdani, as a show of strength. The Islamic Dawa Party rocks Baghdad with a series of terrorist attacks while Saddam is on a hunting trip in Tikrit with his wife Sajida Talfah and eldest son Uday.

Saddam attempts to maintain good relations with the United States as he declares war on Iran while trying to maintain his relationship with his sons Uday (Aris Sahin) and Qusay (played by Raed Khelfi). Meanwhile, he begins an affair with married school teacher Samira Shahbandar. Saddam orders the execution of two Iraqi generals after a military defeat at Khorramshahr, and turns against Barzan following the death of their mother; this puts the arranged marriage of Raghad, Saddam's daughter, and Mohammed, Barzan's son, in jeopardy. After Saddam survives an assassination attempt in the Dawa stronghold of Dujail, Barzan fears for his own life and razes the city in retribution. Saddam exiles Barzan to Switzerland and marries Raghad to Hussein Kamel al-Majid, forming an alliance with the al-Majid clan. Hussein Kamel takes over Barzan's post and becomes the new leader of the Special Republican Guard, a security force charged with protecting Saddam and his rule.

1988: As the war with Iran ends, an unstable Uday fires a gun in a Baghdad nightclub. Meanwhile, Saddam declares victory over Iran, even though Iraq has suffered heavy losses and is facing bankruptcy; the Iraqi economy is also being hampered by Kuwait, which is over-producing oil and driving down its price. Sajida learns that Saddam has married Samira as a second wife, and blames his trusted valet, Kamel Hana Gegeo, for assisting their affair. Uday almost kills the valet for the sake of his mother's honour, sparing him only so that he can control him when he succeeds his father. Hussein Kamel attempts to rise within the regime's inner circle by sowing mistrust between Saddam and Adnan Khairallah, Sajida's brother. Saddam's foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, travels to an OPEC meeting in Geneva and reveals that Kuwait has been slant drilling into Iraqi oil fields, demanding that the Kuwaitis cease.

Saddam's new marriage to Samira leaves Uday fearful that the couple's presumptive children will jeopardize his status as Saddam's heir. Uday confronts Kamel Hana at a late-night party and beats him to death to the horror of witnesses. After having Uday arrested, Saddam ponders on killing his first-born son in his cell. Adnan Khairallah questions Uday's abilities as Iraq's future leader, but is not supported by Hussein Kamel, who continues to gain Saddam's trust. Not long after, Adnan is killed in a suspicious helicopter explosion. Sajida confronts Saddam about her brother's death, but he dismisses her with claims that it was merely an accident.

1990-1991: Saddam meets with April Glaspie, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and takes her statement of "no opinion" as giving him tacit approval to invade Kuwait. However, President George H. W. Bush immediately decries the action and organizes an international coalition to drive out Saddam's forces. Saddam refuses to back down, and is forced to move between safe-houses as the Gulf War commences with the U.S.-led bombing of Baghdad. Samira is seriously injured in a car accident during the bombings. The Iraqi Army is quickly forced into retreat as the coalition unleashes its ground offensive. However, the U.S. declares a ceasefire and withdraws from the Iraqi border, leaving Saddam defiant as American bombers drop propaganda leaflets encouraging Iraqis to stand against him.

1995: The Gulf War has left Iraq economically crippled. The United Nations refuses to lift sanctions unless the government agrees to dismantle Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Saddam states he has nothing to hide, resulting in a stand-off between him and the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector, Rolf Ekeus. Saddam is more preoccupied with tracing his roots than with the U.N. stand-off, and ignores his other son, Qusay, when he tries to warn his father about Uday's erratic behaviour. Instead, Saddam presents a family tree purportedly proving a familial relation to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Qusay is clearly worried about his father's state of mind, but quietly leaves him to his devices.