Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

TV Review: A Very English Scandal + Carry On Brussels

Post Thumbnail

A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL + CARRY ON BRUSSELS

A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL: Sunday, BBC One

CARRY ON BRUSSELS: Wednesday, Channel 4

 

Written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Stephen Frears, A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL launched itself upon us on a wave – nay, a veritable tsunami – of hype. Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint.

This three-part dramatisation of the notorious Jeremy Thorpe case features Hugh Grant heroically rebelling against hapless rom-com type as the onetime leader of the Liberal Party who exploited his privileged position to quash the career-threatening truth of his homosexual affair with a young man by the name of Norman Scott (Ben Wishaw).

There’s more to this extraordinary saga than that, but I don’t want to spoil it for those of you who aren’t familiar with the details. Suffice to say, it doesn’t end well.

Grant and Wishaw are rather marvellous in their respective roles. There’s barely a trace of the standard ‘Hugh Grant’ persona in his portrayal of Thorpe; he fully inhabits this gregarious character, with his habitually amused smirk and port-soaked timbre.

Grant, with age, has developed a vaguely reptilian, lived-in carapace. He’s still abundantly likeable, but the flinty edge that’s always lurked beneath his “Oh golly gosh” shtick is now fully exposed. You can tell that he’s having an absolute ball in this complex role.

His performance as Thorpe channels Peter Cook’s Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling while suggesting a living, breathing human being. No mean feat.

Wishaw is in danger of being typecast as a wide-eyed ingénue, it’s a role he’s essayed several times in the past, but he’s just so darn good as Scott. He plays him in the manner of an innocent lamb tragically unware of his gory destiny.

Ben Wishaw in A Very English Scandal (Copyright BBC)

RTD (as all the cool kids call him) does an excellent job of driving the narrative along while placing it in sharp historical context. He tackles the overarching themes of endemic homophobia, corruption and hypocrisy with characteristic grit, wit and fleet-fingered energy.

Episode one traced Thorpe’s relatively effortless ascent of the political ladder and his increasingly desperate attempts to hide his secret affair with Scott. He was posh, confident and charming, so no wonder the public took to him. However, a hefty percentage of that same public would turn on him instantly if they discovered he was gay. Thorpe, a canny career politician, was acutely aware of this.

He supported the legalisation of homosexuality in 1967, but privately confided that he would blow his brains out if his sexuality was ever exposed. Powerful public figures couldn’t be openly gay in that far off yet relatively recent age, it simply wasn’t allowed.

A top-tier piece of television drama, A Very English Scandal examines its thorny subject matter with admirable shades of grey.

Those slippery corridors of political power were also the setting for CARRY ON BRUSSELS, a grimly absorbing new documentary series following various British MEP’s as they struggle with post-Brexit turbulence in the European Parliament.

It exposed the bitter and emotionally-charged divisions between Leavers and Remainers as they prepare to detach themselves from this Byzantine hub.

Unsurprisingly, the UKIP MEP’s came across as stubbornly uncooperative, bullying nuisances with zero interest in the complicated nature of the matters at hand.

Their political rivals, who regarded these buffoons with understandably sighing despair, reminded me of Tim from The Office gazing at the camera in mute, pleading disbelief as David Brent committed yet another oblivious faux pas.

Except there was nothing funny about watching the fate of our nation sliding down the U-bend. Lives are being destroyed by these selfish, idiotic clowns.

TV HIGHLIGHTS of THE WEEK

PETER KAY’S CAR SHARE: THE FINALE

Monday, BBC One, 9:30pm

Peter Kay’s Car Share (Copyright BBC)

Will John and Kayleigh finally get together in the last instalment of this charming little sitcom? All will be revealed as Peter Kay and Sian Gibson bid farewell in this double-bill, which begins with a repeat of the penultimate episode.

KING LEAR

Monday, BBC Two, 9:30pm

Anthony Hopkins stars as the titular monarch in this prestigious adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. Lear’s chaotic descent into insanity is ably abetted by a cast including Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent and Emily Watson.

THE COLLINS VARIETY AGENCY

Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

This documentary chronicles the colourful story of the Collins family, who founded Scotland’s first theatrical agency. In the process, they nurtured some of the greatest stars of the 20th century for over 60 years.

THE BATTLE FOR BRITAIN’S HEROES

Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

In this challenging documentary, writer Afua Hirsch argues against some of the more questionable aspects of Britain’s most beloved heroes. She confronts Horatio Nelson’s pro-slavery views and Winston Churchill’s attitudes towards race.

FILM of THE WEEK

THIS IS ENGLAND

Monday, Film4, 11:10pm

Thomas Turgoose in This Is England (Copyright FilmFour Productions/Warp Films)

Written and directed by Shane Meadows, this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama follows a disenfranchised young lad as he falls in with a friendly gang of older, multiracial skinheads in early 1980s Northampton. Their relatively idyllic world is eventually destroyed by the catastrophic arrival of a racist ex-con played by Stephen Graham on terrifying form. Tender, funny and brutal, it’s one of the great British social-realist films, worthy of consideration alongside classics by the likes of Ken Loach, Alan Clarke and Mike Leigh.