A Very British Scandal: The gripping new period drama is out now

As avid binge-watchers, we’re extremely excited to see an addictive three-parter, A Very British Scandal, has arrived for Boxing Day.

BBC One have teamed up with Amazon Studios to distribute this gripping mini-series, with much-loved Marvel star Paul Bettany, and Netflix’s The Crown’s Claire Foy confirmed as the Duke and Duchess for this project.

So, if you loved 2018’s A Very English Scandal, or enjoy extraordinary period dramas based on notorious real life events, this is the one for you.

What is A Very British Scandal about?

This mini-series will be a dramatisation of the 1976-1979 Jeremy Thorpe scandal, mainly focusing on the highly-publicised divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in the 1960s.

The divorce in question has been described as one of the 20th Century’s most notorious and brutal legal cases ever, including exploitative photographs and scandalous testimonies surfacing.

In light of this, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll was brought to fame by her beauty and charisma, but later fell victim to the papers, who along with her peers, taunted and ridiculed her.

Sarah Phelps, the show’s screenwriter has spoken about the excitement she has for writing the story of Margaret’s life, bringing attention to the social attitudes of post-war Britain towards women. This will ultimately raise the question “Was institutional misogyny widespread at the time?”

Phelps has also mentioned a correlation between Margaret’s story, and the battles in which Meghan Markle is fighting with the media. When writing this story, Phelps was reminded of Meghan often, and couldn’t help but notice a parallel.

Having felt as though the Duchess of Argyll was punished purely for being a woman, Phelps stated “This drama is a tribute to her.”

Who stars in A Very British Scandal?

Known famously for portraying Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of The Crown, Claire Foy steps back into history once again to play the role of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. Foy has stated that she is excited to explore “How shame, judgment and controversy surrounds a woman’s sexuality.”

Accompanying the leading lady in this scandalous tale is WandaVision’s Paul Bettany, playing the Duke of Argyll, Ian Campbell. Bettany has described the story of this couple “fascinating, and very complicated”

Also starring are the likes of Trust’s Amanda Drew, Poldark’s Richard McCabe, The Elephant Man’s Phoebe Nicholls and many more talented and familiar faces.

When can we watch A Very British Scandal?

The first episode of A Very British Scandal will airs on Sunday 26th December at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

It will air every night for three consecutive nights, but don’t worry! For all you binge watchers out there, all three episodes will be available to watch as a boxset on iPlayer from 9pm on Boxing Day, once the first episode is released.