Claire Foy and Paul Bettany Set To Star in A VERY BRITISH SCANDAL Miniseries
Claire Foy (The Crown) and Paul Bettany (WandaVision) will take on the lead roles in the upcoming miniseries A Very British Scandal, which is a follow-up to A Very English Scandal, which starred Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw.
The series will consist of three hour-long episodes and the story will focus on the divorce of the Duke (Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Foy), “one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th Century. It was infamous for featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery, and an explicit Polaroid picture.”
The series is said to examine how “the Duchess refused to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that reveled in her fall from grace.”
The project is being written by Sarah Phelps with Anne Sewitsky set to direct and executive produce. Phelps said, “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 said in a statement, “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 added, “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. I’m also extremely happy to get the chance to once again be working with the wonderful teams at the BBC and Amazon Studios.”
The hour-long, three-episode series will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. and on Amazon in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Filming will take place across the U.K. later this year.
Source: Variety