Hugh Grant plays Jeremy Thorpe in the BBC’s A Very English Scandal, a three-part drama that turns a decades-old political scandal into something genuinely uncomfortable to watch. Based on John Preston’s 2016 book of the same name, the series follows Thorpe, the young leader of the Liberal Party, as he tries to cover up a secret he can’t afford to expose: his long-running affair with Norman Scott.
The show is a period piece, set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain. That context shapes every scene. Thorpe is a man of power who knows the law could ruin him if anyone finds out what he did behind closed doors. The series doesn’t let him off easy for that fear. It treats his actions as choices, not excuses.
Trailer, via BBC.
Jeremy Thorpe’s Descent
Grant plays Thorpe with a mix of charm and cold calculation that makes him hard to like. The actor’s face shifts between smooth politician and terrified man as the plot tightens around him. Thorpe starts the series as a rising star, the youngest-ever leader of the Liberal Party. By the end, he’s ruined.
The show traces the affair back to 1961, when Thorpe first meets Norman Josiffe, a man described as unstable and dramatic. The two have a turbulent relationship, but Thorpe grows tired of Norman by 1965. That’s when the trouble begins. Norman blackmails Thorpe, threatening to expose their homosexual affair.
Peter Bessell, played by Alex Jennings, steps in to help. He pays Norman off with money, silencing him temporarily. But Thorpe refuses to help Norman get a new National Insurance card, a refusal that sets the whole plot in motion. The card is a small bureaucratic detail, but the series makes it feel heavy. Without it, Norman can’t hold a job, and his desperation grows.
Norman Scott’s Fall
Ben Whishaw plays Norman Scott, and he sells the character’s decline with real skill. The show portrays Norman as a man who can’t keep a job, who drifts through life with no anchor. His threats to expose Thorpe aren’t just about money. They’re about needing attention, needing someone to care.
Norman contacts Caroline Allpass, Thorpe’s wife, revealing his past with Thorpe, which shocks her. Her death devastates Thorpe, but it also clears the way for a new marriage. Thorpe remarries Marion Stein, played by Monica Dolan, in 1973. The show presents Marion as a steadying influence, though she too is kept at arm’s length from the full truth.
The Attempt to Kill Norman
The turning point comes in 1973. A plan to silence Norman fails badly. Instead, Andrew Newton kills Norman’s dog. Norman reports the crime, and Thorpe’s involvement is suspected. The resulting investigation drags Thorpe into a national scandal.
The show doesn’t shy away from the violence. The dog killing is shown on screen, and the aftermath is handled with grim realism. The failure of the plan sends shockwaves through the story. Thorpe is forced to face consequences he thought he could control.
The affair drags on until 1979. Thorpe resigns as Leader of the Liberal Party and loses his seat at the general election that year. He and his co-conspirators are tried for attempted murder, but they are acquitted. Thorpe’s political career ends, and he never holds public office again.
Marion and the End
The show follows Thorpe until his death. He remains married to Marion until her death on 6 March 2014. He died almost nine months later on 4 December during the same year. The ending feels anticlimactic, but it fits the tone. There’s no grand speech or final triumph. Just a man who lived a lie and died with it still unresolved.
Bessell, Thorpe’s fellow MP, dies in 1985. Norman, still without a National Insurance card, lives with 11 dogs. The show leaves him alone, a lonely figure who started this whole chain of events and ended up the only one left standing.
Why It Works
The strength of A Very English Scandal is its willingness to sit in discomfort. It doesn’t soften Thorpe or excuse him. It shows a man who made bad choices and paid for them. The show is also visually striking, with a 1960s aesthetic that feels lived-in rather than staged.
The cast delivers across the board. Whishaw’s performance as Norman is particularly strong, capturing both his menace and his pathetic vulnerability. Grant holds the center with a controlled intensity that keeps the audience engaged even when the story gets messy.
The show’s pacing is tight. At three episodes, it doesn’t waste time. Each episode moves the plot forward, building toward the climax of the trial. The final episode, in particular, handles the courtroom scenes with real tension.
| Character | Role | Key Scene |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Thorpe | Liberal Party leader | The dog-killing fallout |
| Norman Scott | Ex-lover turned blackmailer | The 1973 attempted murder |
| Peter Bessell | Fellow MP and confidant | The money payoff |
| Marion Stein | Second wife | The quiet support |
Where It Falls Short
Not everything lands. Some of the supporting characters, like David Napley and Emlyn Hooson, feel underdeveloped. Their roles are functional, but they don’t get the same depth as Thorpe or Norman. The show also skims over some of the political context, focusing more on personal drama than on the wider implications of the scandal.
The pacing slows in the middle episode, where the show spends time on Bessell’s flight to the United States. This stretch isn’t poorly made, but it doesn’t advance the main story as quickly as the other parts. The show recovers by the final episode, but the dip is noticeable.
Final Word
A Very English Scandal is a gripping, often uncomfortable look at a man whose ambition and fear destroyed him. It doesn’t flinch from showing the worst of Thorpe, and it doesn’t offer him a redemption arc. The show ends with him ruined, his reputation gone, and his second wife dead.
The production values are high, the performances are strong, and the writing is sharp. It’s a drama that respects its audience enough to leave some questions open rather than tying everything in a neat bow. That restraint is the show’s greatest strength.
The show is available on BBC iPlayer and other streaming services. If you want to see how a political dynasty can fall apart, this is the place to start. It’s not comfortable viewing, but it’s compelling.
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