A Very British Scandal is the latest compelling drama to hit BBC One – but what’s it about and how many episodes is it?
Is it a sequel to A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant?
And who’s in the cast?
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming drama A Very British Scandal.
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A Very British Scandal on BBC One – is it based on a true story?
A Very British Scandal tells the sensational true story behind the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in 1963.
Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, was a British socialite.
She’s best remembered for her notorious divorce from her second husband, the 11th Duke of Argyll.
The marriage break-up was caused in part by salacious Polaroid photographs of the Duchess naked.
As if that wasn’t enough, she was in the company of another man.
The Duke promptly accused his wife of infidelity.
He subsequently claimed she had had sexual relations with more than 80 men.
The battlelines were drawn as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll entered into a bloody separation, all played out in the white-hot glare of a ravenous press.
But did Margaret go away quietly or did she fight for her side of the story to finally be heard?
How many parts is it?
A Very British Scandal is three episodes long.
Each episode will be one hour.
The first episode will air on BBC One on Boxing Day.
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When does A Very British Scandal start on BBC One?
A Very British Scandal starts on Boxing Day on BBC One at 9pm.
Episode two will air the following night, on Monday December 27 2021 at 9pm.
The series will conclude with the third and final episode on Tuesday December 28 2021 at 9pm.
All three episodes will be available to watch on iPlayer from Boxing Day for those who don’t want to wait.
Is it a sequel to A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant?
In 2018, Hugh Grant played disgraced MP Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal.
Like the Hugh Grant drama, A Very British Scandal drama will focus on the antics surrounding the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in the 1960s.
It is considered to be a sequel, although the projects have different writers and plot.
Writer Sarah Phelps of The Pale Horse fame replaces Russell T Davies in the writers’ chair after the first season in 2018 helped actor Ben Whishaw to a BAFTA.
A Very British Scandal moves on from the story of Jeremy Thorpe to become an anthology series, focusing on a new crisis that gripped the British establishment.
The second season centres on a 1963 sex scandal involving Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll.
During a messy divorce from her second husband, he seized images of Campbell performing a sex act on an unknown man and she became known as “The Dirty Duchess”.
A Very British Scandal cast
Claire Foy portrays heiress Margaret Sweeny, once considered the most beautiful debutante of the 1930s.
She is in the midst of a divorce when she meets the dashing (and married) Ian Campbell, future Duke of Argyll.
What begins as sexual chemistry evolves into something more serious when Margaret begins not only to fall in love with Ian but also his crumbling ancestral seat, Inveraray.
But all is not what it seems in her marriage, and Margaret finds herself hurtling towards a scandal that will not only change her life, but the perception of the British establishment forever.
TV viewers will know Claire Foy from her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, and Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall.
Her film roles include Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Janet Armstrong in First Man, and Diana Cavendish in Breathe.
Paul Bettany will play the Duke of Argyll.
TV viewers will know him from his role as Vision in WandaVision and the Marvel films.
He’s also played Ted Kaczynski in Manhunt: Unabomber, Inspector John Acheson in The Tourist, and Lord Melbourne in The Young Victoria.
Gavin & Stacey star Julia Davis – who is best known for her comedic roles – also stars as Maureen Marchioness of Dufferin.
Richard McCabe of Poldark fame stars in the three-part drama, as does
The drama also stars Trust actress Amanda Drew, The Elephant Man’s Phoebe Nicholls, Phantom Thread’s Camilla Rutherford and Timothy Renouf of Afterlife of the Party fame.
The Durrells star Miles Jupp will also appear, as will A Discovery of Witches’ Sophia Myles, and The Moonstone actress Sophie Ward.
Tim Steed, Katherine Manners, Jonathan Aris and Nicholas Rowe complete the cast.
Motherland fans will recognise Oliver Chris as the often absent husband to Julia.
A Very British Scandal will start on BBC One at 9pm on Boxing Day, with the following two episodes airing on the following nights. All episodes will be available on iPlayer on Boxing Day.
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