The Trial of Christine Keeler.

Seems like final episode is next Sunday.

DS in previous post is superfluous, I did not type that!
Flippin' autocorrect.

Christine Keeler was exploited by men from a very young age, first her step-father and his friends DS, later on by powerful but seedy men.

The girls were victims but were never portrayed as such and, quite honestly, I think that Christine Keeler suffered from this portrayal for the rest of her life whereas Profumo 'reformed ' and redeemed himself in the public eye by his charitable works, his wife standing by him.

I remember the case as it was widely reported for over a long period.

Christine had given birth when she was younger , poor girl ,
the baby died.

I was about 15 or 16, working, and remember it all going on. A terrible scandal at the time. Think Profumo spent the rest of his life working for good causes. In those days ‘nice’ girls didn’t, because the shame and fear of pregnancy was too much to risk. The pill was not freely available til mid 60s and then only to married women.
Given the amount of relationships the girls seemed to have, combined with the lack of reliable contraception at the time had they become pregnant it was either mother and baby homes ( and often adoption) or risking a back street abortion. A terrible choice indeed.

WishIwasyounger

Yes I agree.
A bit pointlessly confusing.

I'm afraid I found the continual flash backs confusing. I don't understand why they couldn't just film it linearly.

Couldn't watch it last night as Freeview was down so we're just about to catch up on iPlayer.

I was doing my 'O' levels at the time and staying with a friend for six weeks so I could complete them because Dad had been posted and my mother and younger brother had to move to new quarters. My friend's mother was very strict and straight laced and I don't think I ever saw a newspaper in their house so I bought one of my own leaving it on the kitchen table so they could all have a read!!

Oh dear. Big Mistake!! My friend said she'd never heard of John Profumo but I had to swallow my explanation as the newspaper sailed across the room on its way to the bin.

The daft woman then seemed quite impressed by all the extra revision taking place in our shared bedroom.

I wasn’t even born in 1962 but I’m enjoying the program so far.

I liked the story as from Christine Keeler's point of view. However despite the actor's undoubted merits I kept remembering how Christine Keeler was more beautiful than she and possibly unbeatable for beauty.

My elderly mother loved CK's beauty too and was on her side.

True Calandargirl , one of my sisters was engaged at 20, no one thought of her as ‘a child bride’.

Anniebach andBradfordLass72

I feel you are both correct in what you were saying.

BL. Yes, you got the ‘key to the door’ at 21, you couldn’t vote at 18 as now.

AB. Yes, although 19 was still a teenager, you had probably been working for the last three or four years in a full time job, and girls dressed differently, probably looked older than they were. Many girls married much younger in those days, and had children far earlier than now, all contributed to seeming like younger versions of their mothers.

I know about ‘the key of the door’, but at that time a 19 year old was thought to be responsible for her willingness or not
to become a prostitute.

Anniebach You didn't 'attain your majority' until you were 21 in those days and prior to that, had no 'key to the door', so not regarded as an adult.

Attitudes which automatically blame women have changed very little in some people's minds.

It's not so very long since I read that a girl, "got herself pregnant".

I did wonder if the accuser was looking for another star in the East.

To be fair to the public this happened 57 years ago, Keeler was 19, this was not regarded as a teenager then

I was 16 and remember my parents talking about it when they thought I wasn’t listening. By today’s standards it was no big deal but then it was considered shocking and the girls got most of the blame.

I remember it well; I was in the fifth form, and we read and discussed the news reports avidly at school. My parents were more shocked by John Profumo's hypocrisy, my mother particularly; she remembered him when he announced his engagement to Valerie Hobson, a prominent film actress,( Kind Hearts and Coronets). The interviewer asked: "Miss Hobson, will you continue with your film career?" and before she could reply, he leaned forward, patted her hands and said winsomely, "Oh, no, she will be far to busy looking after me!"

I watched last night and thought it was a balanced representation, although James Norton was too charming as Stephen Ward; he really was a seedy character who pimped girls for his rich friends, even though he was kind to them and I don't believe he exploited them.

Christine Keeler was sentenced for perjury , a case relating to
two men , I think one fired shots at the other, it was nothing to do with her sleeping with Profumo.

Profumo was given an OBE years later for work for charity.

heard ?tom mangold, on radio last night. he reported on it at the time for daily express. he was later on panorama. he said there is a documentary to be shewn after the last episode, on ?bbc4. on ? 26th Jan. sounds interesting, about establishment cover-up, police corruption, throwing the lesser mortals to the lions etc.
he feels personally v bad about Stephen ward.

Mandy Rice Davies lived in Solihull, as we did then, and went to local secondary school. Our eldest DD followed, years later, to the same school and was highly amused when she learnt of the Christine Keller situation! School long since sold, demolished and now a highly respectable housing estate with no links to that era!

I remember it well
I watched it last night I wasn’t exactly enthralled with it but it was ok maybe it’ll improve as the story unfurls I don’t feel sorry for them at all they re getting into what they want to get into and reaping ‘monetary rewards’ which is primarily their aim, that and the prestige

I would have been 14 and very interested in this case. It was shocking but in our household we were told that it was the Minister who was in the wrong - who lied- and that Christine had got in with a bad crowd but was standing up for herself. Mandy R-D also. Wasn't there a book called "Sitting on a Fortune" at the time?
I haven't seen the TV series yet.

I quite enjoyed it but I'm not sure how they can spin it out for 6 episodes. It's sympathetic to her.
I noticed that the writer, producer and director were all female which was interesting. Maybe that's behind the more nuanced approach to the story? Not being sexist, just wondering.

I wa 18 and living the high life in London when is all blew up and I remember it well. Thought it was unfair that she got prison and he got an OBE. Nothing changes much.

I was just a couple of years younger than her and remember it well.