Scandal is a 1989 British historical drama film, directed by Michael Caton-Jones. It is a fictionalised account of the Profumo affair that rocked the government of British prime minister Harold Macmillan. It stars Joanne Whalley as Christine Keeler and John Hurt as Stephen Ward, personalities at the heart of the affair. Scandal was screened in competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. Its theme song "Nothing Has Been Proved" was written and produced by Pet Shop Boys and sung by Dusty Springfield. Plot An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him. He serves as friend and mentor, and through his wide range of contacts and his parties she and her friend meet and date members of the Conservative Party. A scandal develops when her affair with the Minister of War comes to public attention. Cast John Hurt as Stephen Ward Joanne Whalley as Christine Keeler Bridget Fonda as Mandy Rice-Davies Ian McKellen as John Profumo Leslie Phillips as Lord Astor Britt Ekland as Mariella Novotny Daniel Massey as Mervyn Griffith-Jones Roland Gift as Johnny Edgecombe Jeroen Krabbé as Eugene Ivanov Jean Alexander as Mrs. Keeler Deborah Grant as Valerie Hobson Alex Norton as Detective Inspector Ronald Fraser as Justice Marshall Paul Brooke as John, Detective Sgt. Keith Allen as Kevin, Reporter Sunday Pictorial Ralph Brown as Paul Mann Iain Cuthbertson as Lord Hailsham Johnny Shannon as Peter Rachman Leon Herbert as Lucky Gordon Production Development Australian screenwriter Michael Thomas and prospective producer Joe Boyd approached the BBC with the idea of a three-part mini-series on the Profumo affair. The BBC agreed to finance scripts for two of the 90-minute episodes, but support dried up when internal memos were found that forbade their production. Channel 4 turned them down on grounds of taste. Boyd and Thomas joined forces with Palace Pictures who invested nearly £200,000 by 1985; a further £184,319 of development funding was raised from Robert Maxwell. As the prospects for a television mini-series began to fade, Palace Pictures became increasingly interested in making a feature film and estimated the budget requirements at £3.2 million. Co-founders Stephen Woolley and Nik Powell signed up first time director Michael Caton-Jones on a pay-or-play contract and began a marketing campaign to raise the finance. The controversial nature of the story, as well as its sexual content, appealed to Bob and Harvey Weinstein's independent