1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,320 [wistful piano music] 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,080 - Amanda Coe has written the most beautiful script, 3 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:12,320 which really goes behind the headlines 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,280 of one of the most iconic stories of the 20th century. 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,640 - It's a tale as old as time, 6 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:23,800 and yet it feels like a very contemporary story. 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,920 - It's a very well-known story, 8 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:29,520 involving many, many characters, 9 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,920 and many sides and facets of society Britain at that time. 10 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,720 - And the story encapsulates a woman 11 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,160 who was trapped by 12 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,880 society's restraints. 13 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,800 - How, you know, high members of our society, 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,160 they do abuse this power that they have. 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,840 - It's looking at the sort of perfect storm of scandal. 16 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:57,320 - 1963, the counterculture revolution is happening, 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,000 the hippies and the status quo, 18 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,680 and they have an amazing clash of temperament and attitude. 19 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:04,840 - On the one hand, 20 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:06,440 there was this world that was establishment, 21 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:07,680 and on the other side, 22 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,800 there was this world that was a bit more free. 23 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:11,240 - This is a story about a young woman, 24 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,600 and she is the catalyst for change. 25 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,400 - You have old world meets new world, 26 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,600 media witnesses it, 27 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,160 media manipulates it and uses it to their own ends 28 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,640 in order to create change in society. 29 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:30,080 - She was a young girl who was really trying to survive, 30 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,440 look after her mum, have some fun, 31 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,600 and became the pawn 32 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,000 which lead to the resignation of John Profumo, 33 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,280 and the sort of downfall 34 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,040 for all the people who were involved. 35 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:44,960 - She's this 36 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:47,640 angel of chaos, 37 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,480 where destruction just seems to slightly follow her. 38 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:52,440 [laughs] 39 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:53,680 - [Man] Here we go. 40 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:55,240 And action. 41 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:56,400 [airy piano music] 42 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,800 - It's the story of politics, sex and power, 43 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:01,720 with a young woman at the heart of it, 44 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:06,080 who, I think, young women and young men will relate to 45 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:07,520 in the modern world. 46 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,440 It doesn't feel dated, it feels like a very modern story. 47 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,040 It's gripping drama, but it's also funny, 48 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,240 and also, it just has the most stellar performances in it. 49 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:17,800 And that's what really jumps out, 50 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,160 it's the writing, the performances, and the storytelling. 51 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,240 It was very important to Amanda 52 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,120 that all of the characters around Christine 53 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:26,680 were three-dimensional, 54 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,720 and Andrea's done a beautiful job 55 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,040 at bringing that to life on screen, 56 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:33,520 as well as the actors who we chose, 57 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:35,320 who were all, I think, 58 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:37,800 all loved the story 59 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,840 and loved the fact that they were playing real people, 60 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,800 but real people with flaws and sides and darkness and light. 61 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,920 And they've all brought that to the screen in abundance, 62 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:49,040 and it's beautiful. 63 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,320 - It's so interesting because, playing role like this, 64 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,600 because everyone has an opinion about her already. 65 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:57,880 Say the name Christine Keeler, 66 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:00,040 and they're like, "Oh, wow, wow," 67 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,960 and they see her as a sex object. 68 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,040 She had an incredibly tough childhood 69 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,400 growing up in a converted railway carriage 70 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,120 that had no electricity, no running water. 71 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,680 You know, she self-aborted her child 72 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:14,040 when she was still a teenager. 73 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,320 Like, she had the most tragic life. 74 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,200 I definitely feel a huge amount of responsibility 75 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:21,560 to do Christine justice. 76 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,800 I think Christine was so determined 77 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,240 that she did not want to be ever portrayed as a victim. 78 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,200 Christine was not allowed a voice. 79 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:32,680 There were so many men 80 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,960 that were imposing their views onto her and their opinions, 81 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000 and they decided who she was. 82 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,040 She was constantly manipulated, 83 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,120 and I think, with the amazing kind of third wave of feminism 84 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:45,600 that we've got going on at the moment, 85 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,480 it's such an exciting pivotal moment 86 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,720 to be looking at history fresh through a woman's gaze. 87 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,120 And we do get to see every single ugly part of her, 88 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:56,520 the beautiful stuff, 89 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,840 and Amanda has written it with such grace and dignity. 90 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,120 Yeah, the script just blew me away. 91 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,840 - The journey in writing the script started with 92 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,720 just absorbing some of the huge amount 93 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:10,000 of material that there is, 94 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,000 and what happened to who and when, 95 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,640 which is a big part of crunching down 96 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:17,160 just the chronology of the story 97 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:18,680 so that you can begin to find 98 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,440 the really good dramatic moments. 99 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,280 There was this affair, 100 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,880 and you know, that world affair which brings with it 101 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,040 a rather, sort of whiff of another era 102 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,560 that you just imagine people drinking martini glasses 103 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,360 and smoking a lot, and looking very chic. 104 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,680 And, you know, in truth, it was an affair 105 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,520 between a middle-aged powerful man 106 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,440 and a teenage, powerless young woman. 107 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,560 - The terminology we use for Christine is, 108 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,400 you know, she was a prostitute, she was a call girl, 109 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:53,240 and poor Profumo, you know. 110 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:55,400 It was all that sort of rhetoric 111 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:56,800 surrounding this particular story, 112 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:58,640 that she was the kind of wanton woman 113 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,120 and he was the fallen angel, 114 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,840 and that's obviously just not the case. 115 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,440 And what's kind of fresh about this story 116 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,800 is we take it through the girls' eyes. 117 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:11,000 And it's through Mandy and Christine, 118 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,280 and they are young women, 119 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:13,680 and no one ever talks about the fact 120 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,880 that Profumo was in his late 40s 121 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:18,880 and Stephen was in his mid-40s, 122 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,000 and they were teenagers. 123 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,120 And that's never really been addressed. 124 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:25,840 - Christine's story as written by Amanda 125 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,680 is very much about somebody who refuses to be contained. 126 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,000 She had a vulnerability because of her upbringing, 127 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,560 but just such a tremendous strength. 128 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:36,720 Visually, we came up with slightly different ideas 129 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:38,880 for how we would handle the different worlds in the show. 130 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:40,200 So, Christine's world, 131 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,840 the aesthetic was that it should feel quite 132 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,960 intimate, subjective, realistic, in a way, 133 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,960 within the confines of the genre and the period. 134 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,480 And then, with the other worlds that we were creating, 135 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,360 like Profumo's world, Profumo at home with Valerie, 136 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,120 and Profumo in the House of Commons, 137 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:00,960 we took a slightly more elegant approach, 138 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,000 and the camera tended to be more on track and dolly, 139 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,880 and sliding and gliding. 140 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:07,920 I think when you go from world to world, 141 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,560 hopefully, those choices have a nice effect 142 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,240 on how you experience the character as well. 143 00:06:13,280 --> 00:06:15,600 - We are predominantly handheld with Christine. 144 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,480 So, in her world, that's one of the decisions we made, 145 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:20,840 really just to, 146 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,480 so that the camera was representative of her energy. 147 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:26,880 And when we're in the House of Commons, 148 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,160 or wherever it might be, we're on track, 149 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:30,600 and you know, we're a little bit more considered 150 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,480 in the way we're moving the camera. 151 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:34,960 And again, it was just to sort of represent that energy. 152 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,520 And also, we tend to tilt the lens up a little bit, 153 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,320 become a little bit more, kind of objective 154 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,400 with the establishment. 155 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:44,880 And then when we were in anti-establishment, 156 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,200 we would be sort of in closer, handheld, and moving around. 157 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,840 It'd become a little bit more subjective. 158 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,120 And then, obviously, as we get later into the series, 159 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,280 the energies of those two worlds have collided, 160 00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:58,600 and we're seeing the aftermath. 161 00:06:58,640 --> 00:06:59,960 - There was a romance. 162 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,520 She was very impressed, 163 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,000 but I think, from someone from such a low social standing, 164 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:11,280 she had no idea who Jack Profumo was when she first met him. 165 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:12,560 She just happened to 166 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,240 kind of get involved with the wrong guy. 167 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,480 - I play Jack, or John Profumo. 168 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,240 The title's really fantastic, I think, 169 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:22,280 "The Trial of Christine Keeler," 170 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,200 it's not "The Profumo Affair." 171 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,400 It's chiefly a story about how young women of that time, 172 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,880 particularly Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, 173 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,000 were treated when they tried to get on in life 174 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:36,480 and better themselves, 175 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,080 and try and take control for themselves over their destiny. 176 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:42,040 I think what he found in Christine 177 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,160 was a sort of closeness and a sense of fun 178 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,760 that I think he may have found 179 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,600 lacking in his and Valerie's marriage at the time. 180 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,240 - I think Valerie shows such dignity throughout the series, 181 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,520 and she holds it all in for so long, 182 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,880 and there is so many things which are unspoken, 183 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,920 that after the scandal, 184 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,600 she sort of survived the infidelity, 185 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:17,200 but it was the exposure, obviously because of the media, 186 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:20,040 that's what she found difficult, 187 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:21,600 because it was humiliating. 188 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,080 There's a sort of female empathy 189 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,960 for how Christine was treated, 190 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,640 and that she was a sort of pawn 191 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:38,120 in a power game, and that's professional power, 192 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:43,160 but also sexual power that men had over women at that time. 193 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:46,960 - What was really interesting in the drama 194 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,360 was seeing how many of the themes 195 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:51,800 that are very current at the moment with MeToo, 196 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,640 just playing out, you know, to the power of 10 at that time, 197 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:57,600 which has to do with 198 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,120 shutting people's stories down. 199 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,760 One thing that really struck me 200 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,360 about revisiting this material and making it now 201 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,720 is how young those girls were. 202 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:14,760 And that, at the time, was not seen as anything, really. 203 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,120 - What the drama as a whole shows 204 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,280 is that 1963 was a very explosive year because 205 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:26,400 the strange and bizarre things that happened to Christine 206 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:30,080 to mean that this scandal happened 207 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:32,880 meant that the press were never the same again. 208 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:34,400 People no longer treated politicians 209 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,920 with the level of kind of respect or deference, really, 210 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,000 they just didn't sort of, 211 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:42,520 they started to question them all, 212 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:43,800 and the government changed. 213 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,880 You know, it did bring the government down largely. 214 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:48,800 - Christine and Stephen first meet 215 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,760 when she is dancing at Murray's Club. 216 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,040 I don't think Stephen was an out for her, 217 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,880 but she was definitely attracted by this man 218 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,480 who seemed to have a lot of power, incredibly charismatic, 219 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:06,040 and that was his skill, kind of bringing people together. 220 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,520 She was definitely used by him to kind of entertain guests 221 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:13,280 and things like that, but she did love him. 222 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:14,880 - So, when Stephen arrives in her life, 223 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,840 her assumption is that he's one of these sugar daddies, 224 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:20,760 and what he sees in her 225 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:25,480 when she's this unformed, crude, young 17 year-old, 226 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:27,080 but inside is this power, 227 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,040 and this, as we said, this femininity, 228 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,840 this beauty which exudes from her, 229 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,600 which he kind of wants to have himself, 230 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,960 he wants to be a part of, he wants to channel her power. 231 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,600 It's such an extraordinary and complex relationship 232 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,000 to excavate, and it's what most actors crave. 233 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,600 It makes total sense for us 234 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:50,360 to hear this story from Christine's point of view. 235 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:52,920 We know what it was like to be a man in the 1960s, 236 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,720 we know the old boys' club, and the ins and outs of it, 237 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,720 but we don't know what it was like for a young woman, 238 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:04,840 partly victim, partly vanguard, partly trailblazer. 239 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,840 Right now, whilst women are being empowered 240 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:08,960 in the modern world, 241 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:12,480 we need to understand that 242 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,480 and Christine's journey is a wonderful, delicate, 243 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:17,680 complex way of understanding that. 244 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,800 - Mandy always knew that she wanted to be, 245 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,800 you know, married to a millionaire, living in Chelsea, 246 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:25,080 with a Jaguar. 247 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,080 Whereas Christine was much more of a survivalist, 248 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,000 and I think that's what kind of attracts 249 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:34,200 the two girls together. 250 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:38,080 But also, ultimately, what kind of makes them 251 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:39,600 have a lot of friction. 252 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,360 - Mandy, [chuckles] she's crazy. 253 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,000 She has this incredible hunger 254 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:49,040 for success that kind of leads her through life. 255 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:50,600 These were two young girls 256 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,280 who kind of turned on its head 257 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:54,680 what was socially accepted of them. 258 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:57,160 They said well, no, why can't we have fun, too? 259 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,600 Which I think was so brilliant. 260 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,240 And because of that, they were punished by the government, 261 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,440 and so was Stephen Ward. 262 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:08,800 Mandy and Christine have this such close relationship 263 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,160 that is so gorgeous that we see at the start. 264 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:16,240 You know, how they become, they're kind of two young girls 265 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,640 who are so free-spirited and who run about together, 266 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:19,960 just having fun. 267 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,560 And particularly the Wimpole Mews 268 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,520 when they have the most fun with Stephen. 269 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:30,800 - When we meet Christine and Lucky in the show, 270 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:35,920 they've broken up and now it's quite volatile and violent. 271 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:37,880 Lucky's appearing where he's not wanted 272 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,560 and trying to talk to her, trying to get back with her, 273 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:42,920 and so, yeah, it leads to an altercation. 274 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:44,480 That story develops, 275 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,040 and then spills into the other story with Profumo, 276 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,760 and becomes a massive, massive scandal. 277 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:52,720 You know, when these things happen, 278 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:54,400 they're easily forgotten about 279 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,360 with the generations that come on if they're not read, 280 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,120 the stories aren't retold. 281 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:00,680 And with distance from the time, 282 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,960 you get more clarity, you get more perspective. 283 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:04,560 And so, hopefully, what we've done 284 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:09,000 is found a more objective look at what happened, 285 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,280 how this young woman was portrayed in the media, 286 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:15,680 what she was going through, the mistakes she made. 287 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:17,400 She was a young woman who was expected 288 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,080 to sort of know it all and do right by everyone, 289 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:21,680 especially all these older men. 290 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:26,600 Now we're able to see how incredibly unfair that was to her. 291 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,560 I think the audience can expect, hopefully, authenticity, 292 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,880 and hopefully be moved and entertained at the same time. 293 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:38,240 - I think having female directors, with Andrea and Leanne, 294 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:43,200 and having, you know, a lot of heads of departments, 295 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,160 producers, involved who are female 296 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,360 has been the right thing to do, absolutely, 297 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,600 with this production, which is 298 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,600 so focused on the female side of this story. 299 00:13:57,640 --> 00:13:59,520 [somber music] 300 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:02,120 - I think the Christine Keeler that we're unpacking, 301 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,280 the real Christine Keeler that we're shining the lens on 302 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:06,320 in this drama, 303 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,600 is a really complicated young woman. 304 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,000 And that's what drew me and Doug, Leanne, 305 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,360 and the majority of people who came to the show. 306 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,960 She had a kind of real sense of justice, of her own agency, 307 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,920 but didn't have the power to have her own agency. 308 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,000 And I think that particular period, 309 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,640 you know, women didn't have their own bank accounts, 310 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,120 they couldn't have their own mortgages. 311 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,360 It was all very much the patriarchy, 312 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:29,840 very, very kind of oppressive, 313 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,320 so she was a character that really rallied against that, 314 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:35,440 and she is a wrecking ball. [chuckles] 315 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,080 You know, and that's what's very compelling about her. 316 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:42,000 And I just think Sophie brings an incredible energy to that. 317 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,400 - What interests me about Amanda's script was just the, 318 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:47,880 first of all, Christine's point of view. 319 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:49,160 Being it sort of felt, 320 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,760 felt like a very feminist retelling of the tale, 321 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,840 and it felt a little bit revisionist, which was helpful. 322 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,280 Yeah, what I think what's sort of interesting 323 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,880 about the story for a modern audience today is that, 324 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,680 you know, back in 1962 or 1963, 325 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:05,760 when this whole scandal broke, 326 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,560 the idea of a powerful politician having sex a young woman 327 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,160 was scandalous and considered to be morally corrupt. 328 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:17,640 That sort of notion of establishment power, 329 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,560 I think, is still strongly there today in a different way, 330 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,520 because we're not so scandalized anymore by sex. 331 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:24,960 So the world's obviously changed, 332 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,160 but in terms of the vulnerability of people 333 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:30,600 who think that they have any sort of power whatsoever 334 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,800 up against very, very powerful establishments, 335 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,840 I think is something that is still extremely relevant. 336 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:41,080 - I think it was unimaginably overwhelming. 337 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,920 I mean, even if we think in terms now 338 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,240 of what that would feel like to a 19 year-old now. 339 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,760 Come to that at a time when, really, 340 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,200 the attention paid to Christine and Mandy Rice-Davies 341 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,120 in the press and in all the attention surrounding them 342 00:15:58,160 --> 00:15:59,280 had been unprecedented, 343 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:01,880 so there was no model for her to look to 344 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:03,800 about what this would feel like. 345 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,520 - This is a story about women, 346 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,080 written, directed, produced by women, 347 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:15,440 and it is significant, 348 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,120 and it does make a difference. 349 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,160 - Brilliant heads of departments, 350 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,240 Inma doing incredible make-up and hair, 351 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,920 every single day with an enormous cast. 352 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:29,800 And the attention to detail, 353 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,960 and Pam's costumes are just magnificent. 354 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,640 - I think the harder challenges of the show, 355 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:40,960 I mean, we have to change 356 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,680 nearly all the women hair colors for this. 357 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:46,200 So, Emilia has to change her color, 358 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,000 Rosalind, Ellie, Sophie, like, most of them. 359 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:54,160 But then, like, the men have end up being into make up 360 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,600 more time than the women. 361 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,760 In the 60s, so the hair is really full. 362 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:00,120 Because sometimes with the ladies, 363 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,720 you just put a piece on and then that's done, 364 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,960 which the men, every single man, have so much. 365 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,320 - I found out that that period 366 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:11,320 didn't really have what we consider a 60s look, 367 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:12,680 it's more of sort of a 50s look. 368 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,320 So, having looked at images of Keeler 369 00:17:15,360 --> 00:17:16,360 and what she was wearing, 370 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:17,640 you kind of got the sense 371 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:19,160 that she had this kind of 50s silhouette, 372 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,520 and they all did, really. 373 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,440 I think that we only have ever seen one side of her 374 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,440 through all those news reels and photographs 375 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:27,360 and stuff like that. 376 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:28,840 And what this script brought out 377 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,640 was kind of three sides to her, I think, really. 378 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,600 Which was predominantly the side we've never seen before, 379 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,120 was the whole life she had in Notting Hill. 380 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,320 And then you had the images of her sort of dressed up, 381 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,240 you know, when she was going out with the guys 382 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:44,600 and stuff like that, there's a rich man. 383 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:46,440 And then you had her court sort of stuff. 384 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,040 So, for me, there was kind of three sections to her 385 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:50,880 kind of character. 386 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:51,880 - You know, there are a lot 387 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,280 of very strong women leading this, 388 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,800 and you know, it's my job is simply, 389 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,200 it's not as a male cinematographer, 390 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:00,640 it's simply as a cinematographer. 391 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,000 To be respectful of these other filmmakers in the room, 392 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,720 and very much sort of 393 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:08,360 help tell their, 394 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,680 you know, get that voice and tell their story. 395 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,600 - With this interpretation, what I take from it, 396 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:19,440 is that it is not just about the scandal. 397 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,880 And I feel that having six parts to tell this story 398 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,040 allows us to highlight 399 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:31,080 those very sort of human reactions, human emotions. 400 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,840 - I think it's a really exciting version of this story. 401 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,720 I think it's the version for now, definitely. 402 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:40,000 [pensive, emotional music] 403 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:43,000 - These characters are so real and so relatable, 404 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,040 that I think everyone will be able 405 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:47,720 to take something from it. 406 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:51,280 - It had sex and glamor, 407 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,120 and lies, and 408 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:57,000 drugs, and violence, and espionage, and politics, 409 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,600 and hypocrisy, and race, and class. 410 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,080 - It's a human story that we all go through. 411 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,360 It's about finding your place in the world 412 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:06,920 and not knowing where you belong. 413 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,120 It's about having your heart broken, 414 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,200 having to stand up, even when you've been beaten down, 415 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:14,440 and get back up and face the world. 416 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:16,960 I can't think of any story more universal.