Episode #1.3

By the time episode 3 was broadcast, the Jeremy Thorpe scandal was making headline news again as the police tried to contact the alleged hitman Andrew Newton who was presumed dead. The farce just continues.

Events spiral out of control in Thorpe's life, the police are now interested in questioning him and he stands trial at the Old Bailey but not before he loses his seat in the May 1979 general election.

Thorpe could consider himself fortunate. His barrister was George Carmen, he managed to get Ken Dodd off his tax problems. Carmen was so good they said he could get Stevie Wonder a pilot's licence!

More importantly the prosecution witnesses were unreliable. Peter Bessell would double his money on a guilty outcome. Norman Scott's behaviour had been so erratic, he could easily be painted as a slippery character. In fact Scott was portrayed better here in withstanding his cross examination than in the real life court case where he was just seen as capricious and a fool. (Even the director of this drama Stephen Frears has mentioned how Scott who had a private viewing of the series told everybody this was a wonderful piece and later said it was dreadful.)

Thorpe's case was aided by the judge's rather slanted summing up where he damned Scott's character. An incident that was mocked by the comedian Peter Cook, footage of which was shown at the end credits.

Russell T Davies has delivered a wonderful black comedy. He has been greatly assisted by his actors, even Paul Freeman makes a last minute attempt at larceny as a scene stealing turn as the judge.