# A Very British Scandal (2021)

> A three-part BBC miniseries about a duchess publicly shamed in a high society divorce that gripped the nation.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/114896

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Created by: Sarah Phelps
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Claire Foy, Paul Bettany, Julia Davis, Richard McCabe, Jonathan Aris, Oliver Chris, Nicholas Rowe, Amanda Drew
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14220870/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: sardonic, tense, bleak, sincere

## What critics say

Critics broadly admired the lead performance and the period dramatization of a notorious society scandal, while finding the miniseries uneven in places.

## Synopsis

A Very British Scandal is a three-part British true-story period drama created by Sarah Phelps for BBC One. Claire Foy plays Margaret Campbell, a duchess whose marriage to the Duke of Argyll, played by Paul Bettany, unravels into a high society divorce that becomes a public spectacle and a national obsession. Julia Davis and Richard McCabe appear in supporting roles among the people who shape the fight around her. The story follows a woman trying to protect her reputation and dignity while a press-fueled court battle and the rigid rules of an aristocratic world work against her. Across hour-long episodes the drama moves through drawing rooms, courtrooms and tabloid headlines, building a steady sense of humiliation, pressure and quiet fury. The tone is sober, sharp and emotionally bruising, with an elegant but claustrophobic period atmosphere. Foy's controlled, wounded performance anchors the series, while its portrait of privilege and public judgment gives it a sincere, sardonic edge. Viewers who enjoy The Crown, Mrs America and other dramatized true stories of scandal and class will find much to appreciate here.

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