‘A Very English Scandal’ Trailer: Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw Have a Deadly Affair in BBC Miniseries

“A Very English Scandal” looks to be one of the BBC’s most controversial miniseries, and the Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw love story and the subsequent fallout is perfectly distilled in the first trailer. The show follows the political scandal of ’70s politician Jeremy Thorpe (Grant), who went on trial for planning to kill his younger lover Norman Scott (Whishaw). The BBC One program is directed by Stephen Frears, and doesn’t yet have a United States release date. Watch the trailer below.

Scott recently spoke with the Mail on Sunday (via The Irish News) about how he was not pleased about his portrayal in the movie.

“Throughout the film I’m portrayed as this poor, mincing, little gay person,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. I also come across as a weakling and I’ve never been a weakling. My friends will be horrified when they see it. Sadly they’ve also turned it into a bit of a comedy. It’s far too light, given what happened. They showed selected critics the first episode and the producers were pleased because they laughed through a lot of it. But my story isn’t a comedy – it’s about the total destruction of a person.”