Lucan

In 2003, author John Pearson (Paul Freeman) interviews elderly John Burke (Sir Michael Gambon) and Susie Maxwell-Scott (Jane Lapotaire) for his book "The Gamblers", centering on the Clermont Club, a Mayfair casino run by ruthless zookeeper John Aspinall (Christopher Eccleston) around thirty years earlier. His chief client is John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (Rory Kinnear), ironically nicknamed "Lucky" due to his consistent losing streak. When Lucan's long-suffering wife Veronica (Catherine McCormack) protests at his profligacy, he gets violent, and, under Aspinall's malign influence, tries, and fails, to discredit Veronica's sanity to gain custody of their children after their divorce. While Veronica delights in the friendship of her nanny Sandra Rivett (Leanne Best), Lucan, once more led on by Aspinall, arrives at Veronica's house with murder in mind, but, in the dark, accidentally kills Sandra, rather than intended victim Veronica. Realizing his mistake, he attacks Veronica, but she escapes and seeks help in a pub from where she is taken to the hospital. As Lucan goes on the run, Aspinall summons fellow club members and insists they close ranks to help the fugitive, but the fair-minded Dominic Elwes (Rupert Evans) refuses and writes an article putting Veronica's case and showing up the Clermont members for what they are. As a result, he is made a social pariah and commits suicide. Meanwhile, Lucan, in his absence, is found guilty of killing Sandra and attacking Veronica. In 2003, the dying Susie Maxwell-Scott summons John Pearson and tells him she believes that Aspinall got Lucan to Switzerland, though she also considers that Aspinall persuaded Lucan to return to England to see his children and threw him over the side of the boat to prevent further disgrace. Veronica surmises that Lucan killed himself, but both are of the opinion that his corpse lies in the English Channel.