Set that DV-R, folks!
The BBC just announced a new three-part miniseries called A Very English Scandal. The series, based off John Preston’s 2016 true crime book, will offer a fictionalized account of the real-life gay sex scandal that rocked the British public back in the 1970s.
Hugh Grant plays Jeremy Thorpe, a liberal member of the British Parliament from a well-known conservative political family who, against all odds, manages to work his way up the ranks to become his party’s leader.
But all it not what is appears.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Despite being married to a woman, Thorpe hooks up with a young ex-model named Norman Scott, played by out actor 37-year-old Ben Whishaw. Things gets rather, well, messy when Scott threatens to go public with the romance. Rather than pay off his gay lover, Thorpe decides to hatch a plot to have him killed.
Watch the trailer for A Very English Scandal below.
Related: Julia Who? Andy Cohen And Hugh Grant Reenact Notting Hill, Score 1 For Gay Boys Everywhere
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mattachinepodcast
Legit question: from a journalism standpoint, you don’t think it’s a little irresponsible to position Grant and not his character as the one having an affair with a younger man? Strikes me as wholly click-baity…
LABrad
mattachinepodcast In other news …. Hugh Grant is also a lawyer, a doctor, a murderer, a spy, and a gangster. And he’s dead.
Troyfight
^Mattachinepodcast….I thought the same…..as a side note, damn he is aging hard……LABrad, so ….what if the article head line was “Hugh Grant is Dead”….?
tham
Nah, I think this is wholly acceptable “fun with headlines”
Listen, it’s 2018, I’m writing this on my watch. If you can’t figure out the difference between “breaking news” and a “fun” title about the new part for a famous actor…
Maybe the “internet” might be a little too much for you…have you thought about Usenet?
It’s alive and well…very little “click bait”…mostly these things called “flame wars”
OzJosh
Not only that, but the BBC did not “just announce” this project. It was announced well over a year ago and has been the subject of numerous articles in numerous publications.
inbama
LABrad, excellent!
Young Timer
Did I miss something here?
Isn’t this a…. TV SHOW?
SPOILER ALERT: Hugh Grant was not caught having an affair with a much younger man.
Your misleading headline should read: “Hugh Grant playing the role of getting caught in a gay relationship on the tube, unlike in reality a few years ago.”
Congratulations, Graham. Your stupid headline sucked me right in and made me read the real story.
I just it just plain sucks.
Dumb headline, to a dumb article…. and worse yet: no film at 11.
Mick406
This is one of the best comments I’ve ever seen on here! You worded that perfectly and saved me from writing almost 90% of it, verbatim!
You are a good writer. You went right to the point. Zinged ’em with your ‘misleading headlin’e point, and ended it with some sharp humor.
Next time I want to write a comment, I think I’ll contact you and ask you to do it for me! Ha.
prarie pup
Agreed. As Gollum said in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was “tricksy and false.”
kernowcraig
Wind it in. Of course, they are going to sensationalize to get you to read the story! that’s how they get you on the page to show you ads, that how they get paid, that’s how they publish this site for free. If you want to get on a moral crusade, pay for the content then you’ll have a complaint when it’s not 100% accurate! People like you piss me off! always bitching and moaning! Is someone forcing you to come to this website? Muppet!
crowebobby
” 37-year-old Ben Whishaw” is totally believable to me as a very young man no matter what his actual physical appearance. He is a brilliant actor. I hope I can get to see this on DVD or Netflix or Amazon.
PinkoOfTheGange
Amazon bought the US distribution rights but no date for the release has been given. My WAG would be in the late summer or early fall.
beachcomberT
Very sleazy headline, probably libelous. You owe an apology to Hugh Grant and your readers.
QueerTruth
Indeed. He does. It’s ludicrous.
Matt1961
News Flash, Gay’s are ‘normal’ people.
broadshoulder
Aaahh the Jeremy Thorpe scandal. It shows how British society haschanged over the decades. You did well staying in London Mr Grant? You wouldn’t get roles like this in Hollywood
BillyElliotwannabe
News Flash @Matt1961, Kieran is being sarcastic.
BillyElliotwannabe
You might believe that the headline is a “fun title” but it is also misleading. I do not know Mr Grant’s relationship status. However this kind of headline could be a cause for tension. Not that the other person is a man or a woman, but that there is another person. There is one day a year when misleading headlines and fake stories are acceptable – this is not April 1.
chris33133
When did Queerty switch from being a blog to being a tabloid????
Herman75
Long time.
startenout
Le sigh. I’m old enough to remember when gay men had a sense of humor and could find a little bit of levity like this article’s headline funny. I guess the internet HAS funnies anything. Anyway, I love Brit films and this looks darkly funny, so I’m in!
OzJosh
It’s one of the most significant British political scandals of recent times, and one that did a huge amount to shape public perceptions of homosexuality, as well as media and political responses to homosexuality. It has also been written by Russell T Davies (creator of Queer as Folk and numerous other gay-positive series), so I’ve do doubt that it will be sensitive and gay-positive. Moreover, both Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw have a track record of appearing in landmark gay movies and tv series. There is zero cause for concern.
johnnymcmxxx
Oh for Christ’s sake, it’s a famous story, downlow powerful married conservatives are still getting caught in their lies about their Gay sex lives, the guy was old so Hugh Grant is well cast and we are no longer in an era of Gays only being portrayed as crazy, evil or murderous. Some of you queens need to sit down and shut up. It’s a story worth telling.
Venny68
I can’t really say he’s aging badly, just naturally.
He’s 58, so kind of grandpa material. Close to my age and admittedly I look better, but I go through Botox and juvaderm like crazy.
PinkoOfTheGange
A bisexual villain, and a gay fairly well adjusted, especially for the time, young man who won’t play the victim.
Dcrlz
Bad! Bad! Bad!
The headline is sensationalist and wrong!
Bye Queerty.
PinkoOfTheGange
For all the pearl clutching going on here. The same type headline was used on multiple sites over the past 36 hours.
So the only thing really wrong with with it is lack of originality. 😉
Luis
No it wasn’t. A perfectly acceptable and intelligent headline was used here, no xlick bait needed: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/10/03/your-first-look-at-hugh-grant-and-ben-whishaw-as-real-life-secret-gay-lovers-in-new-tv-drama/
DuMaurier
I’m not saying there’s anything WRONG with the headline; but when you do click-bait there is a line. You want the reader to kind of laugh when he realizes the story isn’t quite what he eagerly expected it to be. My initial reaction was annoyance; but the article did lead me to go on to research the Thorpe scandal, which was so fascinating I forgot all about Queerty’s sneaky tactics.
MasterJake
Thank you @OzJosh. All that should have been in the original article. It really does add to the perspective.
rknapp
I hope that the show is on BBC America or some other way to see it. Queerty please tell us when it will be on and how we can watch it.
ivanw222
I admit I read the article because of the headline. But I’m glad I did, I want to see this film. It sounds like a great story, even better if it follows true events.
MonkeyMan
This is 100% the most unprofessional headline I’ve ever seen on any story, online or offline. Completely misleading. How do I delete my queerty profile? I’m not joking.
Cylest Brooks
I’m sorry you’ve had this negative experience. I’d be happy to delete your profile if you’d like.
Brexit
I agree that the headline is grossly misleading. Strangely, however, before reading the article, I wasn’t surprised by the contents of the headline!
Whilst Thorpe is dead, Scott is still alive and living down in the Southwest of England somewhere, already claiming a further 15 minutes of fame.
Kangol
Here’s the thing: Graham Gremore’s headlines and article choices work. I have no ties to Queerty but it’s clear to me, he knows what he’s doing. 34 (now 35) people have commented on this article, more than almost any of other recent non-LGBTQ Nation ones that allow comments. There are basically no comments about NBA ally Reggie Bullock, almost none about a bi rapper that just came out , almost none about two former porn stars who are getting married. There are more comments denouncing this headline than there are comments about Colton Haynes’ hot-minute marriage. Only the other perennial clickbate winner, a post about white gay male privilege, has more responses.
So, if you were Queerty and you wanted people to post comments and responses, would you 1) run articles with provocative, clickbate headlines and ones that cover the same ground over and over or 2) run articles about the diversity of 21st century LGBTQ life, that spark for fewer responses? I think it’s clear what readers are telling them.
Rustie
Add me to the list of those who feel hoodwinked by the headline! The injustice here is that those not willing to click and read the actual article come away with ONLY “Hugh Grant caught having an affair with a much younger man.” That is NOT true, and for those of us sensitive to alternative facts it doesn’t feel like a proper “thank you” to the actor or the BBC, which BOTH deserve. So THANKS BBC and Hugh Grant! Thin ice Queerty, and I’m unlacing my ice skates.
inbama
Stop misgendering Queerty – they might commit suicide.
Bryguyf69
Ben Whishaw is cute but the real Norman Scott, not so much. I’m sorry, but it’s hard to imagine someone with his facial structure being a model, no matter what the age. Here is a photo from 1976, around the scandal. Maybe Thorpe liked his personality? Or maybe people back then had different taste. I mean, I still don’t understand how people found Mae West, Grouchy Marx, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Burt Reynolds or Tom Selleck sexy. Cary Grant and John Wayne were rather repulsive. Oh well.
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/norman-scott-leaves-exeter-crown-court-17th-march-1976-picture-id892921412
PinkoOfTheGange
Really?
https://www.ranker.com/list/20-pictures-of-young-john-wayne/cari-fortier
Bryguyf69
Yes, really. Less repulsive than when he became a major star, but unattractive nevertheless. Average, at best, and certainly not the sex symbol he was supposed to be. But when he was a major star, e.g. The Quiet Man, where he’d manhandle women and knock out men with a single punch, he was repulsive. Everything about him, from the face to the personality to the voice, was repulsive. His homophobia in the 70s made him even more disgusting. Maybe it’s because I’m young (and straight) but I can’t imagine ever finding him sexy or attractive. And I have nothing against older stars. I find Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck hot, and Montgomery Clift was one of hottest actors, ever.
nickbaerhollywood
Every time I click on a Queerty click-bait link, I claim it will be the last time I ever click on a Queerty click-bait link. But in this case, I waited a week, and already had learned about the movie elsewhere. So, I did learn a bit more about the movie by clicking on this Queerty click-bait link
funjerry
I think Hugh Grant is great! I loved him in Knotting Hill!!