• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • London
  • British Books
  • Travel
  • Events
  • British Royals
  • British TV
  • Contact

Brit News

News About Britain

You are here: Home / British TV / BBC One and Amazon Studios confirm Sarah Phelps’ A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany

BBC One and Amazon Studios confirm Sarah Phelps’ A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany

March 11, 2021 by editor Leave a Comment

CULVER CITY, Calif. – March 11, 2021 – Emmy and Golden Globe award-winner Claire Foy (The Crown, Wolf Hall) and BAFTA-nominated Paul Bettany (WandaVision, Uncle Frank, Avengers: Infinity War) will lead the cast of BBC One and Amazon Studios’ A Very British Scandal, from the makers of the multi-award winning and critically-acclaimed A Very English Scandal, Blueprint Pictures.  The three, 60-minute episodes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and will be available on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse, Dublin Murders), A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th Century.

Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as a divorcee featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery, and an explicit polaroid picture all played out in the white-hot glare of the 1960s media.

A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes toward women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time. As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace.

Sarah 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.”

Claire Foy said: “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.”

Paul Bettany said: “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.”

Pete Czernin, co-founder of Blueprint Pictures said: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring together the uniquely brilliant voices of Sarah Phelps and Anne Sewitsky with the class of Claire Foy and Paul Bettany. Uniting their outstanding talents, A Very British Scandal will shine a new light on the scandalous divorce of Margaret Argyll for a 21st century audience.”

Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, said: “Argyll v Argyll was one of the defining scandals of the 1960s. In the face of vilification in the press, Margaret fought valiantly but often in vain to control the narrative around her. With the help of our incredible writer Sarah Phelps, director Anne Sewitsky, the perfect casting of Claire Foy and Paul Bettany and the team at Blueprint, we are delighted to be able to shine a new light on these events and reframe the life of this infamous character.”

Brad Beale, Vice President, Worldwide Licensing for Prime Video, said: “A Very English Scandal was a tremendous success among Prime Video customers and critics alike, and we’re incredibly excited to work with the BBC and Blueprint again. We can’t wait to see Claire and Paul bring the fascinating Duchess of Argyll Scandal to life.”

A Very British Scandal will be directed by Anne Sewitsky and produced by Chris Ballantyne. Executive Producers are Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown and Delyth Scudamore for Blueprint Pictures, Lucy Richer for the BBC, Sarah Phelps, Anne Sewitsky, Claire Foy, Kate Triggs, and Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Amazon Studios is co-producing in the US. It was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, and Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer.

Filming will take place across the United Kingdom later this year. Further casting will follow in due course.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Print
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Related

Filed Under: British TV Tagged With: amazon prime, bbc

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

You’ve been successfully subscribed to our newsletter!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get daily notifications of all new posts on Brit.news. No Spam!

You’ve been successfully subscribed to our newsletter!

Recent Articles

What are the Government’s proposals for minimum service levels during strikes?

12,000 cancer patients waiting more than three months for treatment

Mark Cavendish robbery trial hears accused ‘was stabbed in leg months earlier’

Commentator jokes dog who went viral has released a Prince Harry-style book

Rare Bible sells for £20,000 at Belfast auction house

Data sharing progress between EU and UK hailed as ‘significant building block’

Harry’s bombshell memoir becomes fastest selling non-fiction book

Conservative MPs express frustration at time limit introduced on stamp duty cut

Experts warn over plans to age-check child asylum seekers with X-rays

Man threatened to assassinate Nicola Sturgeon in Facebook post, court told

British Links

  • BritMemes
  • YourBritain.me
  • Britishhistory.photos

Recent Comments

    Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in