Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw to play lovers in new BBC drama from writer of Queer as Folk
By Will Stroude
Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw are set to play lovers in a brand new BBC drama series from the writer of Queer as Folk.
Set to air on BBC One next year, A Very English Scandal will tell the real-life story of Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe’s desperate attempts to keep his relationship with model Norman Scott a secret.
Grant will take on the role of Thorpe in his first British television role in 20 years, while London Spy star Whishaw returns to the BBC for another LGBT-themed series after appearing in BBC Four’s Queers earlier this year.
Written by Queer as Folk‘s Russell T Davies, A Very English Scandal is being helmed by former EastEnders producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins and two-time Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Frears.
A plot synopsis for the tense three-part drama reads: “As long as his ex-lover 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.
“The trial of Thorpe changed society forever, illuminating the darkest secrets of the establishment. The Thorpe affair revealed such breath-taking deceit and corruption that, at the time, hardly anyone dared believe it could be true.”
A Very English Scandal
is set to air on BBC One next year.
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