A Very British Scandal: First Look at Claire Foy and Paul Bettany in Amazon Drama

The first-look images have been released for BBC One and Amazon Studios’ A Very British Scandal, from the makers of the award-winning A Very English Scandal, Blueprint Pictures.

The new photos feature Claire Foy (The Crown, Wolf Hall) as Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, Paul Bettany (WandaVision, Uncle Frank, Avengers: Infinity War) as Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, and Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Gavin & Stacey) as Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava.

Both companies also jointly released new casting details. The new faces joining the project are:

- Amanda Drew (The Trial of Christine Keeler, Trust)

- Richard McCabe (Poldark, Harlots)

- Phoebe Nicholls (The Elephant Man, Fortitude)

- Camilla Rutherford (Phantom Thread, Fleming)

- Timothy Renouf (Afterlife of the Party, The Laureate)

- Sophia Myles (A Discovery of Witches, Spooks)

- Sophie Ward (The Moonstone, Land Girls)

- Tim Steed (The Death of Stalin, Cruella)

- Katherine Manners (Press, War & Peace).

A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, one of the most notorious, extraordinary, and brutal legal cases of the 20th century. Famed for her charisma, beauty, and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as the divorce exposed accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, bribery, and an explicit Polaroid picture that was to haunt her for the rest of her life.

A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time.

As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace.

The series is directed by Anne Sewitsky and produced by Chris Ballantyne.

Executive Producers are Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown, and Delyth Scudamore for Blueprint Pictures, Lucy Richer for the BBC, Sarah Phelps, Anne Sewitsky, Claire Foy, Kate Triggs, and Dominic Treadwell-Collins.

The series is set to launch in the UK later this year, with a U.S. debut set to follow in 2022.

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