Russell T. Davies’ latest drama, A Very English Scandal, has begun filming in the UK, and stars a few names familiar to Doctor Who fans.
Davies is, of course, the former showrunner of Who, and A Very British Scandal‘s cast list consists of stars from across a couple of eras of the show, including Adrian Scarborough (A Town Called Mercy), Eve Myles (The Unquiet Dead; Torchwood), David Bamber (Mummy on the Orient Express), and Jason Watkins (Nightmare in Silver).
The BBC One show is fronted by Hugh Grant (The Curse of Fatal Death) as disgraced MP Jeremy Thorpe and Ben Whishaw as Norman Scott, as it tells the shocking true story of the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder. In the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been decriminalised; Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, 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. Thorpe schemes and deceives – until he can see only one way to silence Scott for good.
This real-life trial changed society forever, illuminating the secrets of the Establishment.
The drama will be produced by Blueprint Television for BBC One in the UK and Amazon Prime Video in the US, at an as-yet-unannounced time next year.
A Very English Scandal also stars Michele Dotrice (Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em), Alex Jennings (Victoria), Patricia Hodge (Miranda), Monica Dolan (Strike), Blake Harrison (Trust Me), Jonathan Hyde (Jumanji), Fisayo Akinade (Banana), Lucy Briggs-Owen (Doc Martin), Patrick Barlow (Sensitive Skin), Alice Orr-Ewing (The Theory of Everything), Susan Wooldridge (The Ray Bradbury Theatre: The Small Assassin), Paul Hilton (Room at the Top), Steffan Rhodri (A Touch of Cloth), and Paul Freeman (Spooks).
It was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama and former executive producer of Doctor Who, and Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content.
Produced by Dan Winch (Broadchurch) and directed by Stephen Frears (Philomena), it’s the first production from Sony-backed Blueprint Television; headed by Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and former EastEnders Executive Producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Blueprint Television is sister company to Blueprint Pictures, which produced The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
A Very English Scandal will air in 2018.
