639 The Member for Chelsea

First  viewed : 24  August  1981

Here's  one  I  realise   I've  missed   from  somewhat  earlier.

The  Member  for  Chelsea  was  a  dramatisation  of  one  of  the  Victorian  era's  most  infamous  political  scandals. Sir  Charles  Dilke  was  a  rising  star  of  late  Victorian  politics, a  radical  Liberal  tipped  as  a  future  leader  but  his  prospects  were  smashed  when  he  was  cited  in  a  divorce  case by  a  fellow  MP  Donald  Crawford. Dilke  made  things  much  worse  for  himself  by  needlessly  taking  the  stand  and  though  he  remained  an  MP  until  his  death  years  later  his  prospects  of  high  office  were  smashed  completely.

No  one  really  knows  what  went  on  behind  closed  doors. If  I  remember  correctly,  the  three  part  serial  ( on  consecutive  nights ) posited  the  idea  that  the  woman  involved  Virginia  Crawford  ( Felicity  Dean )  was  actually  using  Dilke  ( Richard  Johnson )   as  cover  for  the  active  sex  life  she  and  her  friends  were  enjoying  with  much  younger  men. There  was  a  fair  amount  of  nudity  involved  which  is  probably  why  I  recall  it, Miss  Dean  being  particularly  well  endowed.