Getting ready for the 'Anatomy of a Scandal' premiere with Hannah Dodd and Nancy Farino

Introducing the stars of Netflix's new number 1 show....

Forget the regency of Bridgerton and embrace the drama of Netflix's new number one show, Anatomy of a Scandal. Released on Friday it's risen to the top of the leaderboard in both the UK and US and whilst it isn't technically a true-crime series like their recent hit Inventing Anna the series does take some inspiration from real-life political figures.

Adapted from Sarah Vaughan's 2017 novel of the same name, this series comes from Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley and the former House Of Cards showrunner Melissa James Gibson. Anatomy of a Scandal follows Sophie Whitehouse (Sienna Miller) who lives a dreamy life with her high-ranking politician husband, James (Rupert Friend), her world and view of it are turned on their head when an affair with his parliamentary researcher Olivia Lytton (Naomi Scott) is uncovered and he is accused of rape.

Hannah Dodd plays the role of young Sophie, whose earlier university years at Oxford are revisited through flashbacks, which lead her to question the start of her relationship with her husband James and her friendship with Holly Berry (Nancy Farino).

After becoming firm friends on the pandemic set, Hannah Dodd and Nancy Farino invited Marie Claire for a sneak peek of their premiere looks ahead of the red carpet. Filmed and produced by Kyle Galvin.

Hannah prepared for the role of young Sophie by diving into the direct source sharing, "I was obsessed with Sarah Vaughan's book so that was the best resource. I like to map out my scenes as a timeline so when we’re shooting out of continuity I can keep track of what we know and where we’ve been. 90s music played a big part too - think, Spice Girls Wannabe, Natalie Imbuglia's Torn and the TLC classic Waterfalls." Nostalgic playlists influenced Nancy too who curated a "Holly playlist which I listened to every day on set, filled with a lot of Pulp and Oasis."

If you've already watched the show you'll know that each character's wardrobe really informs their lives with several Pinterest boards already dedicated to Sienna Miller's flawless coat curation. "After the first day in full hair, makeup (including the blue contacts) and wardrobe I think we all breathed a slight sigh of relief" Hannah shared. "I felt totally different, we did a few earlier fittings where the vibe felt more Cher from Clueless which is iconic but just not the right tone of the character. I'm so grateful to the show's costume and makeup team, Sam Perry and Kate Benton. Getting to share a few pieces with Sienna helped to connect us too."

"I was relentlessly un-cool as a teenager and despite vowing to myself that I’d get loads of piercings and dye my hair. Yet, the furthest I got was a magnetic nose piercing from Claire’s" Nancy shared. "So getting to wear Holly’s grunge-inspired look was very very fun. In comparison to the rest of the Oxford students, Holly’s bold red/black colour palette and big Dr Martens made her stand out like a sore thumb, which in terms of acting, kind of did half the job for me. My favourite piece was her huge grey coat - definitely from the men’s section in a charity shop and giving the fella from The Breakfast Club vibes. I like to imagine that was her inspiration."

Almost famously now, the whole cast coincidentally wore black to the Anatomy of a Scandal London premiere. Both Hannah and Nancy got premiere ready with their stylist, and Marie Claire contributing fashion editor Sarah-Rose Harrison. 

With Anatomy of a Scandal marking both Hannah and Nancy's red carpet debuts, each of their looks was carefully considered. "I knew I wanted a really simple, glamorous look with some kind of bow in the hair moment and when we tried on the Galvan dress it was an instant winner. Simone Rocha x H&M provided the bow and Missoma the beautiful jewellery. It was a great contrast to Holly’s oversized more tomboyish wardrobe."

"I love fashion, because of the storytelling element of it" shared stylist Sarah-Rose, "for both Hannah and Nancy I wanted their looks to showcase another side of them to the roles they portrayed on-screen. Whilst also empowering them on the red carpet - somewhere which can quickly feel very overwhelming. With Hannah we had a big discussion about the themes of the show and it was important to her to have a nod to the 90s."

They achieved this through a vinyl David Koma look, bedazzling Bulgari jewellery and a ponytail. "A scandalous twist on a classic" as Hannah calls it.

With thanks to:

Stylist, Sarah-Rose Harrison @sarahroseharrison / @styledbysrh Assisted by, Lauren Cunningham @thatfashionassistant Hair and makeup for Hannah, Emelia Corfe @emeliacorfe Hair and makeup for Nancy, Tasha Vincent @tasha_vincent

Nancy Farino wears: Dress, @galvanlondon Shoes, @jimmychoo Jewellery, @missomalondon Clutch, @nativedubai Bow, @simonerocha_ x @hm

Hannah Dodd wears: Top and skirt, @davidkomalondon @theoutnet Shoes, @jimmychoo Jewellery and clutch, @bulgari