Former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has a new show in the works, and it’s going to star Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw.
Some names just make you sit up and notice, huh?
The show is called A Very English Scandal, and will dramatize a real-life political scandal in the 1970s in the U.K. when MP Jeremy Thorpe (Grant) was tried for conspiring to murder his ex-lover, Norman Scott (Whishaw). The trial changed British society forever, illuminating the darkest secrets of the establishment, and alleging such breathtaking deceit and corruption that, at the time, hardly anyone dared believe it could be true.
Russell announced Ben’s casting this morning (August 25) at the Edinburgh Television Festival, saying it was a “dream come true” to work with “one of Britain’s finest actors” playing “one of history’s most fascinating men.”
And while Ben is no stranger to TV, having starred in London Spy last year, it is Hugh’s first TV role in nearly 25 years, when he starred in an adaptation of The Changeling opposite Elizabeth McGovern and Bob Hoskins. Unless, of course, you’re counting charity appearances: Hugh famously did a brief turn as the “12th Doctor” in “The Curse of Fatal Death,” a Comic Relief sketch in 1999.
Hugh reportedly turned down Russell’s offer of playing the Ninth Doctor back in 2005, and Ben was supposedly a contender for the role after Peter Capaldi announced he was leaving the series.
A Very English Scandal will also see Hugh reunited with Stephen Frears, who wrote the screenplay for Florence Foster Jenkins, which saw Hugh nominated for a BAFTA, and will write this three-part drama.
There’s no confirmation of an air date yet, but rest assured we’re on it.
Are you looking forward to seeing Ben and Hugh on screen together?
