A Very English Scandal (TV series)

In 1965, Jeremy Thorpe, a Liberal MP, faces blackmail from his unstable ex-lover, Norman Josiffe, whom he met in 1961. After years of a tumultuous relationship, Thorpe grows tired of Norman and cuts ties. Norman, unable to keep a job and with a penchant for drama, threatens to expose their affair. Thorpe's fellow MP, Peter Bessell, silences Norman with money, but Thorpe refuses to help him get a new National Insurance card.

By 1968, Thorpe becomes the youngest-ever Liberal Party leader, marries Caroline Allpass, and has a child. Norman, now known as Norman Scott, is increasingly erratic and contacts Caroline, revealing his past with Thorpe, which shocks her. Caroline dies in a car crash in 1970, and Thorpe mourns her loss. Meanwhile, Bessell flees to the U.S. to avoid financial troubles.

Norman continues his attempts to get a new National Insurance card and to expose Thorpe. Thorpe, now married to Marion Stein, considers having Norman killed. In 1973, an attempt to murder Norman fails when the assassin kills Norman’s dog instead. Norman reports the crime, and Thorpe’s involvement is suspected.

The resulting 1976–79 Thorpe affair sees Thorpe resign as Liberal leader and lose his seat in Parliament. Thorpe and his co-conspirators are tried for attempted murder, but they are acquitted. Thorpe's political career ends, and he never holds public office again. He remains married to Marion until her death in 2014, dying shortly after. Bessell dies in 1985, and Norman, still without a National Insurance card, lives with 11 dogs.

Development

The first series was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Stephen Frears, with Hugh Grant starring as Thorpe and Ben Whishaw as Scott. The BBC television drama was first announced on 4 May 2017, with Grant already cast as Thorpe.^[14] Ben Whishaw was announced to join the cast in August,^[15] and the rest of the cast was announced in October.^[16] Along with the further casting announcement, Amazon took the US rights for the show.^[16]

Filming

Filming took place in London, Manchester, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Hertfordshire and South Wales.^[17] Although scenes were filmed outside the Houses of Parliament, the inner courts, interior hallways and staircase were represented by Manchester Town Hall, which is built in the same Gothic Revival style as the Palace of Westminster.^[17] The offices of Thorpe and other MPs were created at Bulstrode Park, a vacant country house in Buckinghamshire. The grounds of Bulstrode were also used for the night-time assassination attempt scene set on Exmoor.^[17]

The town of Hertford was used as a stand-in for 1970s Barnstaple, while Saunton Sands in North Devon stood in for the California beach where Peter Bessell (Alex Jennings) lives in a seaside shack.^[17] Bridgend in South Wales stood in for Dublin, while Norman's period living in Wales was filmed in and around Monknash in south Wales. The show was able to film in the lobby and exterior of the Old Bailey in London, where the show's climactic scenes take place. A Very English Scandal was the first production ever to be granted permission to film in Court One of the Old Bailey but they had to decline because of tight time restrictions and filmed the court scenes at a courthouse in Kingston upon Thames.^[17]

Release

The series premiered on BBC One on 20 May 2018 and on Amazon Prime on 29 June 2018.^[18] The DVD was released on 2 July 2018.^[19]

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A Very English Scandal received very positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 97% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 8.80/10. Rotten Tomatoes's critical consensus reads, "Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw impress in A Very English Scandal, an equally absorbing and appalling look at British politics and society".^[20] Metacritic gives the miniseries a weighted average rating of 84 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[21] In 2019, the series was ranked 76th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.^[22]

Norman Scott spoke out about the show's characterisation of him and its portrayal of his life. He told the Irish News that "Artistic licence is fine but this isn't my story. And there's nothing funny about someone trying to kill you...I'm portrayed as this poor, mincing, little gay person ... I also come across as a weakling and I've never been a weakling".^[23]

Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	British Society of Cinematographers	Best Cinematography in a Television Drama	Danny Cohen	Nominated	[24]
		Operators Award – Television Drama	Iain MacKay	Nominated	[25]
	PinkNews Awards	Drama		Won	[26]
	Rose d'Or	Limited Series and TV Movie		Won	[27]
2019	Banff World Media Festival	Best Limited Series (Rockie Award)		Nominated	[28]
	British Academy Cymru Awards	Best Writer	Russell T Davies	Won	[29]
	British Academy Television Awards	Best Mini-Series	Russell T Davies, Stephen Frears, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, and Dan Winch	Nominated	[30]
		Best Leading Actor	Hugh Grant	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Ben Whishaw	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Monica Dolan	Nominated
	British Academy Television Craft Awards	Best Director – Fiction	Stephen Frears	Won	[31]
		Best Writer – Fiction	Russell T Davies	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Suzanne Cave	Won
		Best Editing – Fiction	Pia Di Ciaula	Won
		Best Make Up and Hair Design	Daniel Phillips	Nominated
		Best Original Music	Murray Gold	Nominated
		Best Production Design	Helen Scott	Nominated
		Best Sound – Fiction	Sound Team	Nominated
	Broadcast Awards	Best Drama Series or Serial		Won	[32]
	Broadcasting Press Guild Awards	Best Single Drama/Mini-Series		Won	[33] [34]
		Best Actor	Hugh Grant	Won
			Ben Whishaw	Nominated
		Best Writer	Russell T Davies	Won
	Canadian Cinema Editors Awards	Best Editing in Television Movie or Mini-Series	Pia Di Ciaula	Nominated	[35]
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Limited Series		Nominated	[36]
		Best Actor in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series	Hugh Grant	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series	Ben Whishaw	Won
	Dorian Awards	LGBTQ TV Show of the Year		Nominated	[37]
		TV Performance of the Year — Actor	Hugh Grant	Nominated
			Ben Whishaw	Nominated
	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series		Nominated	[38]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Limited Series or Television Film		Nominated	[39]
		Best Actor – Limited Series or Television Film	Hugh Grant	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Series, Limited Series or Television Film	Ben Whishaw	Won
	Golden Nymph Awards	Outstanding Long Fiction Program		Nominated	[40]
		Outstanding Actor in a Long Fiction Program	Hugh Grant	Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association Awards	Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Limited Series		Nominated	[41]
		Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Limited Series	Ben Whishaw	Runner-up
		Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Limited Series		Nominated
		Best Costume Design in a Non-Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie	Hugh Grant	Nominated	[42]
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie	Ben Whishaw	Won
		Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special	Stephen Frears	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special	Russell T Davies	Nominated
	Royal Television Society Awards	Best Mini-Series		Won	[43]
		Best Actor – Male	Ben Whishaw	Nominated
		Best Writer – Drama	Russell T Davies	Nominated
	Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards	Best Director – Drama	Stephen Frears	Won	[44]
		Best Editing – Drama	Pia Di Ciaula	Nominated
		Best Make Up Design – Drama	Daniel Phillips	Nominated
		Best Music – Original Score	Murray Gold	Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Miniseries		Nominated	[45]
		Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television	Hugh Grant	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television	Ben Whishaw	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Hugh Grant	Nominated	[46]
	South Bank Sky Arts Awards	TV Drama		Won	[47]
	Television and Radio Industries Club Awards	Best Drama Programme		Won	[48]
	USC Scripter Awards	Television	Russell T Davies; Based on the book by John Preston	Won	[49]
	Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards	Best Short Form TV Drama	Russell T Davies	Won	[50]

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