Talk of the town

Claire Foy on playing a duchess at the centre of one of the most brutal divorces of the 20th century

- TESS LAMACRAFT

A VERY BRITISH SCANDAL

NEW BOXING DAY, HOLIDAY MONDAY 27 DEC & HOLIDAY TUESDAY 28 DEC / BBC1 / 9PM / EPS 1-3 of 3 / DRAMA

The divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll dominated newspaper front pages in the 1960s as scandalous stories and shocking revelations played out in the glare of the media.

Now, a new BBC1 drama, A Very British Scandal, will explore how glamorous Scottish socialite Margaret Campbell, who married her second husband, Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, in 1951, fell from grace during an extraordinary court case that was fraught with allegations of adultery, bribery, forgery, theft, violence and explicit photos.

From the team behind 2018’s award-winning A Very English Scandal, starring Ben Whishaw and Hugh Grant, the three-parter, written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse), sees Claire Foy (The Crown) play the charismatic duchess, while Paul Bettany (WandaVision) stars as the icy duke.

TV Times caught up with Claire, 37, to get her take on the story…

Did you know much about the Duchess of Argyll before taking on this role?

No, she has basically been forgotten in recent history, and I think that’s because people did a very good job of diminishing her and silencing her.