A very English Scandal

We recorded this but haven't watched it yet. Looking forward to it.

Reading the book.
Much much darker than the TV series. I had always rather liked JT but he was a truly unscrupulous evil man. Bessell likewise. Norman Scott/Josiffe pathetic.
If you think of the “good guys” of the period (or so we thought) like Jimmy Savile, British public life had a very seamy underside. Perhaps it still does, who knows.

I didn’t watch I’ll watch it today my claim to fame though they were my nieces twins in the baby scenes.

I remember all this so well. It was well acted, but I was confused about the timescale. Thorpe’s affair with Scott was, or at least began, in the early 1960s, when Thorpe was in his early 30s and homosexualty was still illegal. There’s no way Hugh Grant could look that young, so did they alter that?

It is quite shocking that he felt he had to hide his homosexuality even in the late ‘70s. What an appallingly prejudiced society. At least things have improved.

I saw Jeremy Thorpe with his lovely second wife at a social event the year after the trial. He was a lot more charismatic than he has so far appeared in this programme, though Hugh Grant does a good job.

I didn’t like it.

We watched it and thought it was very good and well acted. Looking forward to seeing the next two episodes.

H didn't say anything but I think he was uncomfortable watching some scenes, though he did laugh at some too. Would they really have dared to be intimate by the Thames or even kiss on the bus ?
I'm not sure we will watch any more. Simply because it was pretty boring.

I enjoyed it although not sure about the rather jokey approach to a potential tragedy; several people's lives ruined and his first wife killed in a car crash, I think, but impressed by Hugh Grant's acting ability.

I enjoyed the acting and the treatment that had been given to a rather unpleasant subject (the crime I mean) it was light and I didn't fall asleep.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, the acting is excellent. Hard to believe that the story is based on fact.

Have you ever seen the Dirk Bogarde film - Victim- that was in the 50/60s and about homosexuals -it was from that film I discovered about rent boys and the activities which took place in public loos! I was very innocent at the time.

The word Gay was used. Surely not at that time?

Do you still all believe that the paedophile scandal in Westminster has no foundation? The scene where the statement by Norman Scott was passed upwards and then put into a safe by MI5 was very telling.Did Teresa May REALLY lose all the details of paedophiles in Westminster or is she, like they did back then just covering their tracks ?

Looking forward to watching this, It was a most bizarre series of events.

I too found the use of the word “gay” anachronistic and am amazed that the rape of Josiffe/Scott could be glossed over or seen in any way as amusing or bonkers.
Paddyann is spot on and the whole “rent boy” tradition akin to the human trafficking we hear of nowadays was seamy nasty stuff.
The Beeb would appear to be pulling its punches or perhaps we are too used to the floppy- haired “rom-com” persona Hugh Grant has even associated with in the past.

The term's use as a reference to homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the 20th century.[1] In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the people and the practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation.[2] By the end of the 20th century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex.[3][4]

I thought Hugh Grant was very good, and maybe after this he will manage to throw off his floppy haired, toff persona and get some decent roles. They were truly sinister the way they wangled, manipulated, and plotted. Well acted and well written and I look forward to watching the rest of it.

Have recorded, looking forward to watching this evening

Really well acted.No male characters come out of this well,
Least of all, Thorpe, although we have to accept some literary license going on.
Thought it was brave of Hugh Grant to take this part on really.

I felt uncomfortable watching it - I don't know why. Perhaps because it is based on fact? HG's Thorpe came across as rather weasley I thought but perhaps he [Thorpe] was really like that. I might watch the next episode - the jury's out at present [no pun intended!]

I am unsure, as the writer Russel Davies is Gay and knows Scott is he biased

“Gay”
I think we can all recognise a Wikipedia definition floradora
All I would say is that I was not aware of its use in common parlance before the late 70’s.

Seamy side of life with no good in it at all apart for Leo Abse and making homosexuality legal. Well acted.

I think you are rightMaw - there were a few other euphemisms used. We had a neighbour who had the Christian name Gay and that started to be a bit of a problem but luckily she had left school by the time it was commonly used for homosexuals.

This was only a few years after the Profumo scandal and it was rumbling about a bit re: JT for some time before it really hit the headlines.