A very English Scandal

I wish Jamila looking at me you would be forgiven for thinking I must’ve had a hard paper round !

I was expecting No 2 at the time it went to court; I was really shocked by it all as I admired JT and always voted for him.

Oh Gillybob you lucky lady as you started school I was having my eldest child ?

I was quite mesmerised (not in a good way) by Hugh Grant's very dark irises in the film - he must have worn coloured contacts. Did JT have very dark brown eyes?

His wife was a force to be reckoned with. What an impressive woman. Kudos to the actor.

I see the police are renewing the inquiry ( in real life btw)
Into this.
I haven’t seen the last episode ( has it been on yet?)

Better late than never I suppose but now he’s dead - not that that would have anything to do with it of course and there’s been the TV dramatisation.

Well at least Norman’s still alive so it could vindicate him if nothing else Maryeliza
I agree shame that he ‘escaped’ I felt that about Jimmy Saville too

Yes Lemon final episode was on on Saturday night, it's on iPlayer.

I was giving my children lunch when the account of the trial came on the radio. It was so graphic I rang and complained to the BBC. Only time I have ever done that.

What a brilliantly acted series. I felt so sorry for Norman Scott.

I didn’t realise at first that Norman’s friend from the pub was the actress Michelle Dotrice (Some Mother’s Do Have Em’. )

The Judge was so biased.

Im about to watch last night's episode on catch up. The acting is brilliant, no weak links and Hugh Grant I excellent.

I saw Lord David Steel interviewed on Ch 4. news earlier. He affected to have known nothing about JT's behaviour, claimed that the not guilty finding means we'll never know and said JT was asked to step down because he'd taken money from the LibDem accounts.
It reminded me of Steel's response to the allegations against Cyril Smith. His comment was something like, CS has only been accused of smacking a few bottoms.

The information about the involvement of Special Branch, MI5 and police being told it wasn't in the national interest to pursue an investigation (when NS made his first allegations) are a mirror image of what happened with the various Smith investigations.

I tend towards the cock up rather than conspiracy approach to files being lost but - isn't it odd that the files relating to paedophiles in high places were lost? I'm not suggesting Thorpe was a padeophile but he was certainly an exploitative older man who behaved badly towards a young man who had mental health problems, which must have been obvious to Thrope from the start.

Gosh I think it was a total conspiracy and listening to a man on the news ITN were even involved in covering up
But the police have found the shooter said there’s nothing new to offer and have closed the case That’s that then

Thanks Grannyknot

Have now watched the third episode, what brilliant acting all round.
At least Norman had his say in court, and am sure many people (even at the time) believed him.

I’ve now watched the third episode. The best tv drama in a while. I rather liked the music. I wonder if it was written by the same person who composed the music for Last Tango.

In the documentary, as well as Cyril Smith Clement Freud was also mentioned in passing. He had apparently shared an office with Smith. After his death, a woman in her 70s accused Freud of grooming and assaulting her when she was staying at his house when her parents split up. Another, anonymous, woman also claimed that he had abused her from the age of 10. Freud's wife apologised for his behaviour so presumably she accepted that it had happened.

It makes you wonder if this sort of criminal behaviour was even more widespread and whether there were people who just turned a blind eye.

Cyril Smith.....shudder.

It makes you wonder if this sort of criminal behaviour was even more widespread and whether there were people who just turned a blind eye

........and still are, nothing has changed unfortunately, humans learn nothing even when we think it’s all gone away

It was great acting and a gripping drama- very well done. You wonder who else was involved in the cover up and I expect it happens today, but hopefully to a lesser extent.

We originally switched it off when the Vaseline came out but after reading this thread, decided to give it another go. I'm pleased that we did so thank you gransnetters. It was so well acted and the music was fine. Wasn't Mrs Thorpe no.2 a remarkable lady? I turned to my husband and warned him that if he acquires a young man and then tries to kill him, I will not be so forgiving!

Well the young man wasn’t ‘one of us’ was he? So that’s all right then.

Here's an interview with Hugh Grant talking about the series:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ejnU-joSes

Mrs T 2 was aware of her husbands homosexual life when they married. I don't suppose being 'forgiving' was the issue, more like ensuring their comfortable life wasn't disrupted. I don't suggest they didn't love each other, I'm sure they did.

Mrs T was terribly well connected and I’m sure had views of the value and use of the ‘little’ people.

I think Mrs T2 was worldly and experienced enough to find a way of accepting her husband's situation and working with, or around, it.

Their political life was over after this case, bit probably that wasn't a bad thing, they probably continued with their comfortable life in every other aspect.

I also got the impression (only from the dramatisation) that there was a great deal of affection (love) between the two of them.

Am settling down on this drizzly morning to watch the Panorama special.

Mrs Thorpe was the Countess of Harwood, possibly after her first marriage to a womaniser she found security and a deep friendship with Thorpe, she certaintly stuck with him untill her death.