Lucan (2013 TV series)

Lucan is a two-part British television drama, starring Rory Kinnear, Christopher Eccleston and Catherine McCormack. It portrays the disappearance in 1974 of the Earl of Lucan, following the murder of his children's nanny. It was written by Jeff Pope and directed by Adrian Shergold. It was broadcast in December 2013.[1]

Lucan
GenreThriller
Based onThe Gamblers by John Pearson
Written byJeff Pope
Directed byAdrian Shergold
Starring
ComposerBen Bartlett
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes2
Production
ProducersFrancis Hopkinson
Chris Clough
Production companyITV Studios and Motion Content Group
Release
Original networkITV
Original release11 December 2013 (2013-12-11)

Although the drama describes actual events, it also has a fictional element[2]

Plot

In 2003, author John Pearson, while researching a book about gambling in high society London, becomes interested in the unexplained disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974. He pieces the story together through interviews with some of Lucan's contemporaries, notably his family friend, Susie Maxwell-Scott.

In 1974, John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, is a member of the exclusive Clermont Club. The club is owned by John ("Aspers") Aspinall and is frequented by aristocrats and society figures. Lucan spends much of his time gambling at the club, losing heavily and getting into debt.

His gambling causes tensions with his wife, Veronica. Lucan is violent toward Veronica, while telling his friends that she is mentally unstable and it is she who is violent towards him.

After the couple's relationship deteriorates, Lucan moves from the family home to a rented flat. He obtains a court order giving him custody of his three children, having persuaded a judge that Veronica's mental health is putting the children at risk. Veronica succeeds in getting the ruling reversed, but on the condition that she employs a full-time nanny. She hires 29-year old Sandra Rivett.

Lucan continues to harass Veronica, making silent phone calls in the middle of the night and tape-recording conversations with her which he plays back to his friends in an attempt to cast doubts on her mental health.

On the evening of 7 November, Lucan surreptitiously enters the family house and waits in the basement kitchen. He mistakenly believes that Veronica is alone in the house with the children, unaware that Rivett has changed her evening off. When Rivett goes to the kitchen to make tea, Lucan, thinking that she is Veronica, bludgeons her to death.

Veronica goes to the kitchen to look for Rivett. She too is attacked by Lucan but fights him off. With blood streaming from her face, she runs for help to a nearby pub. The police arrive at the house and find Rivett's body.

At 11.35 pm, Lucan arrives at the Maxwell-Scotts' house in Uckfield. He tells Susie Maxwell-Scott his version of the evening's events: that an unknown intruder attacked Veronica; that he (Lucan) fought the intruder off; and that he fled the scene for fear that Veronica would unjustly accuse him of the attack. He leaves the Maxwell-Scotts' house at 1.15 am. This would be the last time that anyone was known to have seen Lord Lucan. The police later find his car abandoned in Newhaven, but there is no sign of Lucan.

On the days following the murder, Aspinall persuades members of the club to close ranks around Lucan and to do whatever they can to protect him.

Seven months later, a coroner's jury determines that Rivett was murdered, naming Lucan as the perpetrator.

In 2003, in a final interview, Susie Maxwell-Scott tells Pearson what she believes happened to Lucan. She pieced the story together from information provided by her late husband, who was a friend and business associate of Aspinall at the time of the murder. According to Maxwell-Scott's theory, after leaving Uckfield, Lucan telephoned Aspinall to ask for help. Aspinall arranged for Lucan to be taken to France in his (Aspinall's) private boat, and then by car to a remote cottage in Switzerland where Lucan hid for several months. Lucan eventually decided to come home because he wanted to see his children and to clear his name. Aspinall, afraid of what an investigation would reveal about his involvement in the escape, arranged for Lucan to be shot in mid-Channel and his body dumped overboard.

Pearson concludes that Maxwell-Scott's theory is one of the more intriguing ones concerning Lucan's fate, but that's all it could ever be: a theory.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

Lucan received generally positive reviews in the British press, with the lead actors singled out for praise. Sameer Rahim, writing in the Telegraph, said that "Rory Kinnear played [Lucan] superbly: emotionally repressed, pinched and prone to sudden violence."[3] Sam Wollaston, in The Guardian, praised what he called the "extraordinary performances" of Kinnear, Eccleston and McCormack.[4]

In The Independent, Sarah Hughes wrote "Rory Kinnear perfectly caught Lucan's ponderous charm, making you see why women such as Susie Maxwell-Scott might have covered up for him simply by dint of his birth, while there were strong performances from Jane Lapotaire as the older Susie, Leanne Best as Rivett and, in particular, Catherine McCormack as poor beleaguered Veronica." But Hughes also criticised the drama as "murder regurgitated as entertainment", saying that "the real story is the brutal death of Sandra Rivett and there was something wrong about the way she was reduced to a bit part in her own tale. Lucan was a brilliantly acted, cleverly scripted and beautifully shot drama. I'm not sure it should have ever been made."[5]

Controversy

Both Lord Lucan’s daughter and Sandra Rivett's son have strongly criticised the making of the drama. Rivett's son, Neil Berriman, said in an interview that, "the programme is not entertainment. They are profiting from my mum's death. I can understand interest in certain aspects of the case, but I think depicting the murder is appalling."[6]

Lucan's daughter, Camilla Bingham, said that "the collective Lucan family has never endorsed this drama and I don’t believe that the Rivett family has either. I am not aware that the drama will offer any new insights into the tragic events of 7 November 1974 ... If there were new insights, the proper course would be for the relevant evidence to be submitted to the police, not titivated and presented to the public under the guise of entertainment. ... This drama will not inform or educate and no right-thinking person could regard it as entertainment."[7]

In reply, ITV said that "the drama is not a re-hash of the story but rather seeks to provide a new insight into the events of 7 November, 1974 and, crucially, attempts to answer the riddle of what became of Lord Lucan."[8]

References
  1. "Rory Kinnear and Christopher Eccleston to star in Lord Lucan drama". Radio Times. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. An opening caption states: "Much of this story is based on fact, though we have also included an element of speculation. Some scenes and characters have been created for dramatic purposes".
  3. Rahim, Sameer (11 December 2013). "Lucan, episode 1, ITV, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  4. Wollaston, Sam (12 December 2013). "Lucan - TV review". Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  5. Hughes, Sarah (12 December 2003). "Lucan, ITV: Review". Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  6. "ITV's Lord Lucan drama criticised by victim's son". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  7. Dowell, Ben (29 November 2013). "Lord Lucan's daughter: 'My family has never endorsed this drama'". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  8. "Lucan: a new drama stirring up fresh controversy over a mysterious high-society murder". Radio Times. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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