James R | On 25, Oct 2021

Claire Foy and Paul Bettany are teaming up to cause A Very British Scandal for BBC One – and a new set of images give us a first look at them in action.

From the makers of the award-winning A Very English Scandal, Blueprint Pictures, the drama stars Claire Foy (The Crown, Wolf Hall) as Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll; Paul Bettany (WandaVision, Uncle Frank, Avengers: Infinity War) as Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll; and Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Gavin & Stacey) as Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava.

The series focuses on the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, one of the most notorious legal cases of the 20th century. Famed for her charisma, beauty, and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages, as the divorce exposed accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, bribery, and an explicit Polaroid picture that was to haunt her for the rest of her life.

A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time. As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace.

A Very British Scandal is directed by Anne Sewitsky and produced by Chris Ballantyne. It is written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse, Dublin Murders).

Joining cast are: Amanda Drew (The Trial Of Christine Keeler, Trust), Richard McCabe (Poldark, Harlots), Phoebe Nicholls (The Elephant Man, Fortitude), Camilla Rutherford (Phantom Thread, Fleming), Timothy Renouf (Afterlife Of The Party, The Laureate), Sophia Myles (A Discovery Of Witches, Spooks), Sophie Ward (The Moonstone, Land Girls), Tim Steed (The Death Of Stalin, Cruella), and Katherine Manners (Press, War & Peace).

Richard Goulding (The Crown, The Murders At White House Farm); Jonathan Aris (Sherlock, The Night Manager); Oliver Chris (Trying, King Charles III); Nicholas Rowe (Roadkill, Young Sherlock Holmes); and Miles Jupp (The Durrells, Rev) will also star.

The three-part series will premiere on BBC One in the UK and will be available in 2022 on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

 

Claire Foy and Paul Bettany to star in BBC One’s A Very British Scandal

12th March 2021

Claire Foy and Paul Bettany are teaming up to cause A Very British Scandal for BBC One.

The series, which comes from the producers of the multi-award winning A Very English Scandal, focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th century.

Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as a divorce featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery and an explicit polaroid picture – all played out in the white-hot glare of the 1960s media.

Written by the excellent Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse; Dublin Murders), A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time. As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace.

Phelps says: “Writing the story of Margaret’s life and the events leading up to and including her divorce from the Duke has been a passion project of mine since 1993 when I first heard her name and started learning about her. I felt very strongly that she’d been punished for being a woman, for being visible, for refusing to back down, be a good girl and go quietly. This drama is my tribute to her.”

Foy adds: “I’m so excited to work with Anne, Sarah and Paul on this extraordinary project, and to explore through this story, how often shame, judgement and controversy surrounds a woman’s sexuality.”

Bettany comments: “I’m delighted to be working with the remarkable Claire Foy to tell the fascinating and scandalous story of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and their very complicated lives.”

A Very British Scandal will be directed by Anne Sewitsky and produced by Chris Ballantyne. The executive producers are Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown and Delyth Scudamore for Blueprint Pictures, Lucy Richer for the BBC, Sarah Phelps, Anne Sewitsky, Claire Foy, Kate Triggs and Dominic Treadwell-Collins. It was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama and Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer. Amazon Studios is co-producing in the US.

The three-part drama will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and be available on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Filming will take place across the United Kingdom later this year.

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