New drama on Profumo scandal aims to correct infamous misquotation
It was the riposte that earned Mandy Rice-davies an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations – and inspired endless misquotations.
Now a major new BBC drama about the Profumo affair will ensure that the line, “Well he would, wouldn’t he?”, is presented correctly, in the showgirl’s own words.
Rice-davies is a central figure in The Trial of Christine Keeler, which tells the story of the sex scandal that rocked 1960sbritainandhelpedbring down the Conservative government.
Teenage model Keeler’s concurrent sexual relationships with the secretary state of war John Profumo, who was forced to resign, as well as a Soviet naval attache Eugene Ivanov in 1961, led to fears of a breach of national security.
Rice-davies, who lived with
Keeler, became notorious for claiming to have had an affair with Lord Astor. When presented with his denial in the witness box during the trial at the Old Bailey, she delivered her famous reply – an aphorism regularly misquoted as “well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?” – to indicate scepticism about a denial.
The drama’s writer Amanda Coe said: “It’s the line as it was delivered in court, ‘He would, wouldn’t he?’” Ellie Bamber, who plays Rice-davies, said: “Mandy was so smart, she said the line came from a place of honesty. She wasn’t trying to be cheeky, she just thought ‘Well, he would, wouldn’t he?’”
However the truth of Ricedavies’ fabled line is still contested. Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, then appearing in court as a barrister’s pupil, made a note of her aside, which reads: “Of course it’s not untrue that I have had relations with Lord Astor. I’m not going to perjure myself in court.” Sir Ivan said: “She may have said the famous line to reporters or at another court appearance but I took a very good and careful note at the time.”
Speaking a year before her death in 2014, Rice-davies asserted that she had indeed said “He would, wouldn’t he?”, but at a magistrates’ court hearing.
The six-part drama stars Sophie Cookson as Keeler and starts on 29 December.