Jeremy Thorpe later 1950s Thorpe juggled his legal and television work with his political duties in North Devon, where he worked tirelessly to build up support. From September 1956 the Liberal Party was led by Jo Grimond, a more up-to-date figure than his elderly predecessor Davies, and more in tune with the ideas of Thorpe and the Radical Reform Group. After an uncertain beginning—the Liberals lost one of their six seats to Labour in a February 1957 by-election—Grimond's leadership began to produce results. The party polled well in a series of by-elections during 1957 and 1958, culminating in a victory at Torrington
Jeremy Thorpe by Terrance Dicks, both Liberal supporters, has an unseen, offscreen British Prime Minister named "Jeremy", which was intended by the production team as a reference to Thorpe. In 2009, the BBC attempted to film a TV biopic of Thorpe's life, slated to star Rupert Everett in the title role, but this was subsequently abandoned after legal threats from Thorpe. "A Very English Scandal", a true crime non-fiction novel covering the Thorpe/Scott affair, by John Preston, was published on 5 May 2016 by Viking Press. The book was described as "a political thriller, with urgent dialogue, well-staged scenes, escalating tension and