The ‘House of Commons’ (the English Parliament) is no stranger to scandal. Yet, as Jeremy Thorpe’s lawyer ironically congratulates him, he is the first politician in its long and often murky history to actually stand trial for attempted murder…
Charismatic and hugely popular, Jeremy Thorpe was the youngest ever leader of the Liberal party, at a time when they were still a major political force in English politics. Yet, a secret threatens to derail his glittering career. Desperate to hide his affair with Norman Scott, his needy and increasingly unstable ex lover, he hatches a plan to have him killed.
Based on the true story, ‘A Very English Scandal’ is a BBC dramatisation of the 1976-1979 scandal and subsequent trial of Jeremy Thorpe that rocked the political establishment of the day.
Over the course of three episodes, the series follows this ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ murder plot, culminating in the farcical shooting dead of Scott’s dog, when the bungling hitman misses.
The series is full of brilliantly comic moments – such as the frantic and bizarre search for love letters somehow left on a train in Switzerland. Yet, it is ultimately a tragedy – exploring how intolerance of homosexuality (only just decriminalised at the time of the trial) pits these two men against one another – Thorpe increasingly desperate to protect his political career and Scott increasingly desperate for his National Insurance card (a running joke throughout the drama).
Hugh Grant is in superbly malevolent form as Thorpe, while Ben Whishaw gives an award winning performance, capturing both Scott’s outward vulnerability and inner strength.
The drama leaves us questioning which of the two can be said to have ‘won’. As poignant as it is darkly funny, in the hands of the immensely talented writer Russell T. Davis, it reminds me just how brilliant BBC drama can be.
