Will TV Ever Run Out of Scandals?

Before she could start shooting A Very British Scandal , director Anne Sewitsky found herself playing armchair journalist. She needed to verify that Ian Campbell (played by Paul Bettany), the 20th-century Scottish duke with a cruel streak, broke into his wife’s property and stole her diary during their torrid tit-for-tat divorce proceedings—one of many fact-checking missions that she and writer Sarah Phelps initiated to ensure the BBC miniseries hewed as closely to the truth as possible. They learned that Campbell did in fact burgle his wife, socialite Margaret Whigham (Claire Foy), who herself committed forgery and alleged that Campbell’s two… Read Full Article