Hugh Grant seen as Jeremy Thorpe in first look at A Very English Scandal
Jeremy Thorpe was the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder.
Hugh Grant has been pictured as former Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe for the first time.
The British actor, 57, plays the late politician in upcoming three-part BBC1 drama A Very English Scandal, which tells of Mr Thorpe’s trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder his ex-lover Norman Scott.
The first-look picture shows Grant in character as Mr Thorpe and his co-star Ben Whishaw as Mr Scott.
It tells the story of Mr Thorpe who, in 1979, was tried but acquitted of conspiring to murder Mr Scott.
The pair had been in a relationship in the early 1960s when homosexuality was illegal.
Concerned about his political career taking a hit for having been involved in a relationship with another man, Mr Thorpe was accused of ordering Mr Scott’s murder.
He was the first British politician to stand trial for conspiracy and incitement to murder.
The 31-day trial at the Old Bailey, dubbed “the trial of the century”, was headline news, with Mr Thorpe’s acquittal coming after the jury spent 52 hours considering their verdicts.
