claire foy very british scandal

A Very British Scandal star Claire Foy talks feeling 'exploited' during filming for BBC drama

The actress stars opposite Paul Bettany for the new series

Senior Features Writer
December 26, 2021

Claire Foy has spoken openly about feeling "exploited" while filming scenes for upcoming BBC drama, A Very British Scandal.

MORE: Everything you need to know about A Very British Scandal season two

The actress, who is also known for her role Neflix's in The Crown, was appearing as a guest on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour this week when she made the candid admission.

WATCH: The official trailer for A Very British Scandal

The star was discussing filming intimate scenes and how, as a woman, she couldn't help feeling exposed. "It's a really hard line because basically you do feel exploited when you are a woman and you are having to perform fake sex on screen. You can't help but feel exploited.

"It's grim – it's the grimmest thing you can do. You feel exposed. Everyone can make you try to not feel that way but it's unfortunately the reality."

However, Claire went on to state how despite feeling uncomfortable, she knew the scenes were imperative to the story. "But my thing was that I felt very strongly that it had to be in it, but I wanted it to be female. I did not want it be that sort of awful climactic sexual experience you often see on the cinema screen."

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© Photo: BBC

Claire will play the Duchess of Argyll

The new series, which premieres on Boxing Day, is based on true events and will see the Emmy Award-winning actress star opposite Paul Bettany as Margaret and Ian Campbell, or the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, respectively.

A Very British Scandal will unfold in three episodes and portray the couple's high-profile and shocking divorce which has been dubbed one of the most controversial and notorious legal cases of the 20th century.

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The official BBC synopsis reads: "A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time.

"As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace."

The drama airs over three consecutive evenings on BBC One at 9pm from Boxing Day.

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