Naked truth about Lady Chatterley
LADY Chatterley’s Lover is synonymous with graphic sex and obscene language.
So anyone planning to tune in to the BBC’s latest adaptation of the DH Lawrence classic might naturally expect both in liberal doses.
There was confusion yesterday, however, at what awaits viewers.
While the writer behind the drama said he had removed the swearing and focused on the ‘emotions of the characters’, the producer claimed it was as racy as it could get without being branded porn.
The last time the Corporation brought the novel to the screen in 1993, Joely Richardson’s Lady Chatterley romped in the
‘Not sure what more we could have shown’
nude with co-star Sean Bean in scenes risqué enough to spark complaints.
But this version will see Constance Chatterley – played by Holliday Grainger, 27 – remain largely clothed.
The same cannot be said of her Renfrewshire-born co-star Richard Madden, 29, who plays groundsman Mellors. In an effort to recapture the excitement that surrounded Aidan Turner’s portrayal of the brooding Ross Poldark, programme makers quickly have Madden whip off his shirt.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover, written in 1928, tells the story of Constance Chatterley, a woman who seeks sexual satisfaction outside of her marriage after her husband is left paralysed from the waist down after being injured in the First World War.
Uncensored versions were banned in the UK until 1960 when Penguin published the book in its entirety and then successfully defended itself in a trial under the Obscene Publications Act.
The new show’s writer, Jed Mercurio, said he had deliberately steered away from coarse language and sex. He said: ‘It doesn’t excite me as a writer to write some swearing or sex scenes because they don’t have any emotional content.
‘What makes an audience watch something and care about the characters is the emotional life of the characters.’
His producer, however – perhaps aware of how controversy can help a show’s ratings – painted a different picture. Serena Cullen claimed the drama, which airs next month, pushes its steamy scenes as far as it can within the boundaries of decency. She said: ‘I was quite shocked reading the script and when I saw the film, watching one of the sex scenes. I’m not sure what more we could have shown that could have been on any channel unless you were watching porn.’
On Madden, she said she could see the Scottish-born star giving Aidan Turner a ‘run for his money’ as the nation’s favourite Sunday night heartthrob.
The actor, who found fame in Game of Thrones – in which his father, ironically, was played by Bean – is shown bare-chested in one early scene. Miss Cullen said: ‘I loved Poldark and I love what we’ve done with Lady Chatterley and I think they are appealing to a similar audience, so I don’t mind if there’s a bit of healthy competition between the two shirtless wonders.’