Claire Foy, Paul Bettany to Star in ‘A Very British Scandal’ at Amazon, BBC One

From the team behind “A Very English Scandal,” this season focuses on the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll

claire foy paul bettany
Photo: Getty Images

Claire Foy and Paul Bettany are set as the stars of Amazon and BBC One’s “A Very British Scandal,” a followup to the Hugh Grant-led “A Very English Scandal.”

Written by Sarah Phelps (“The Pale Horse,” “Dublin Murders”), the three, 60-minute episodes 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.”

Per Amazon, “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.”

Filming on the season will take place in the U.K. later this year. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

“A Very English Scandal,” which premiered in 2018, starred Grant and Ben Whishaw in a retelling of the infamous Jeremy Thorpe affair. Grant and Whishaw both received Emmy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations for their performances in the show.

“A Very British Scandal” hails from Blueprint Pictures, the studio behind Amazon and BBC One’s “A Very English Scandal,” and Amazon Studios. The season will be directed by Anne Sewitsky and produced by Chris Ballantyne. Executive producers include Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown and Delyth Scudamore for Blueprint Pictures, Lucy Richer for the BBC, Phelps, Sewitsky, Foy, Kate Triggs and Dominic Treadwell-Collins.

The series will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. and on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

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