‘A Very English Scandal’ first look: Hugh Grant in BBC’s 1960s true story political drama
The first official promotional photo of Bridget Jones star Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal has been released.
Written by Russell T Davies (Doctor Who, The Grand), the BBC’s new three-part mini-series tells the shocking true story of the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder.
In his first TV role in 20 years, Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral) plays disgraced MP Jeremy Thorpe, alongside Ben Whishaw (Spectre) as Norman Scott.
The official synopsis for A Very English Scandal reads: “It is the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been decriminalised, and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party and the youngest leader of any British political party in a hundred years, has a secret he’s desperate to hide.
“As long as his ex-lover Norman Scott is around, Thorpe’s brilliant career is at risk. With the help of friends, Thorpe schemes and deceives – until he can see only one way to silence Scott for good.
“The trial of Jeremy Thorpe changed society forever, illuminating the darkest secrets of the Establishment.
“The Thorpe affair revealed such breath-taking deceit and corruption that, at the time, hardly anyone dared believe it could be true.”
From the makers of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the director of Florence Foster Jenkins, A Very English Scandal will air on BBC One in the UK in 2018.