Ben Whishaw Joins Hugh Grant in BBC One’s ‘A Very English Scandal’

Ben Whishaw Joins A Very English Scandal
Ben Whishaw (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

BBC One reports Ben Whishaw has signed on to the cast of the drama, A Very English Scandal. Whishaw will play Norman Scott opposite Hugh Grant as disgraced MP Jeremy Thorpe. The three-part one-hour drama based on John Preston’s book was written by BAFTA Award-winning writer Russell T. Davies and is directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Frears (The Queen, The Grifters). Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Lucy Richer executive produce, with Dan Winch producing.

Ben Whishaw’s credits include London Spy, The Danish Girl, Suffragette, The Lobster, The Hour, Skyfall, Spectre, Brideshead Revisited, and Criminal Justice. He recently completed work on Mary Poppins Returns with Emily Blunt and Paddington 2 in which he once again provides the voice of the beloved bear.

“It’s a dream come true, to work with Ben. One of Britain’s finest actors playing one of history’s most fascinating men,” said writer Davies, commenting on the casting.

“Ben Whishaw is an extraordinary actor and we are thrilled to announce he will star opposite Hugh Grant in this scandalous real-life story for BBC One. I cannot wait to see this first-class British duo bring Russell’s powerful scripts to life,” said Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama.

The Plot: A Very English Scandal is the shocking true story of the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder. It is the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been decriminalized and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party and the youngest leader of any British political party in a hundred years, has a secret he’s desperate to hide. As long as his ex-lover Norman 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 Jeremy 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.