The Trial Of Christine Keeler starts on BBC One TONIGHT at 9pm – but what is the true crime drama about?

THE Trial of Christine Keeler gripped the nation in the ’60s and now a new BBC drama is set to explore what happened.

Ahead of the six-part series’ premiere tonight, here, we take a look at the story that inspired the TV show as well as the cast, led by James Norton.

When does The Trial Of Christine Keeler start on BBC?

The Trial of Christine Keeler will premiere on BBC One tonight at 9pm.

If you happen to miss the show, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer after it has aired on the box.

Part two will air tomorrow night (Monday, December 30) on BBC One at 9pm, with the third episode set for the same time and channel on Sunday (January 5).

The drama will run for six episodes.

What is The Trial Of Christine Keeler about?

Written by award-winning novelist and screenwriter Amanda Coe (Apple Tree Yard, Room At The Top) the compelling drama takes a fresh look at one of the most infamous British stories: the chain of events in the 1960s which came to be known as the Profumo affair.

The Trial Of Christine Keeler takes us behind the headlines to tell a human story about the sexual and cultural politics of one of the most revealing and iconic stories of modern times.

At the centre of the storm was 19-year-old Christine Keeler – a young woman whom the powerful, male-dominated establishment sought to silence and exploit, but who refused to play by their rules.

Who is in the cast of The Trial Of Christine Keeler?

• Sophie Cookson as Christine Keeler – The actress is known for both Kingsman films and the Netflix series Gypsy.
• James Norton as Stephen Ward – The handsome actor is known for Grantchester, Happy Valley and McMafia.
• Ellie Bamber as Mandy Rice-Davies. The actress recently starred in BBC One mini-series Les Misérables.
• Ben Miles as John Profumo – Ben is known for The Crown, Coupling and recently The Romanoffs.
• Emilia Fox as Valerie Profumo – There aren’t many shows that Emilia ISN’T in at the moment. More recently she can be found starring in Delicious and Silent Witness.

Who was Christine Keeler?

Christine Keeler was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex, in 1942 and raised in Berkshire by her mum and step-dad.

Still only a teenager, Christine was a topless cabaret dancer in London’s Soho when she met society man-about-town Stephen Ward.

He introduced her to a whirlwind party scene involving what were described as orgies attended by aristocrats and VIPs.

It was through Ward that she met both Cabinet minister John Profumo and Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov in 1961. She had affairs with them both.

When the love triangle came to light two years later, fears of a Cold War security leak sparked a lurid scandal that rocked the government and had the public transfixed for months.

It made Christine Keeler one of the most famous women in the world in 1963.

She died in December 2017. shortly after it was announced that the BBC would be making this series.