A POLITICAL and sex scandal played out in Minehead and the surrounding area is featured in a BBC TV series being aired from this Sunday (May 20).

A Very English Scandal, on BBC2 at 9pm, is based on an alleged illegal affair between Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe and male model Norman Scott in the 1960s.

Without revealing too much, Thorpe was desperate to keep the relationship out of the press and was accused of hiring a hitman to kill Scott in the 1970s.

His trial in Minehead, which attracted worldwide attention, heard that the assasination plot failed and the hired gunman shot Scott's dog on Exmoor instead.

The trial had far-reaching consequences, bringing down the curtain on Thorpe's political career and leading to a change in the British legal system.

A Very English Scandal stars Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe and Ben Whishaw at Norman Scott.

Bridgwater Mercury:

Ben Whishaw as Norman Scott and Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe. Photo: BBC.