JOHN Profumo's affair with a Soho showgirl forced him to resign amid a scandal involving sex, Cold War espionage and suicide.

Following the death of Christine Keeler at the age of 75, and with a new BBC drama is set to retell the dramatic story, here's what you need to know about the Profumo Affair.

Who was John Profumo?

The descendant of Sicilian migrants, diplomat's son John Profumo was nonetheless firmly grounded in the British Establishment.

He was educated at Harrow and Oxford – where he was in the Bullingdon Club – and fought the Nazis in North Africa and Normandy.

He was first elected to Parliament aged 25 in 1940, while still in the Army, but lost his Kettering seat in 1945.

Profumo left the Army a brigadier in 1950 and took the safe Tory seat of Stratford-on-Avon.

He rose through the ministerial ranks to become Secretary of State for War in 1960, and some touted him as a future prime minister.

In July 1961 he and his actress wife Valerie Hobson were at Lord Astor's country house Cliveden when he first saw 19-year-old model Christine Keeler swimming naked in the pool.

He started an affair with her days later – the beginning of his downfall.

What was the Profumo Affair?

The scandal came to light after one of Keeler's ex-lovers fired gunshots at Dr Stephen Ward's flat in Marylebone, where Keeler was cowering inside.

Rumours began to swirl about her fling with the government minister.

It then emerged she had also been sleeping with Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov, a naval attache in London who was also at the Cliveden party.

Ward, a society osteopath and artist, was the orgy-loving "fixer" who had introduced all three.

The scandalous love triangle sparked fears for national security as it was claimed Keeler may have tried to pass on nuclear secrets obtained through pillow talk.

In March 1963 Profumo denied the affair in a statement to the Commons.

It did not stop a series of lurid newspaper stories about Keeler, who briefly became one of the most famous women in the world.

In June Profumo had to admit he lied to Parliament and resigned in disgrace.

Stephen Ward was then arrested and put on trial accused of pimping Keeler and her teenage friend Mandy Rice-Davies. He took an overdose, was found guilty while in a coma and died days later.

The scandal tainted the whole Tory government. Months later Harold Macmillan quit as prime minister, citing ill health, and his successor Alec Douglas-Home lost the election the following year.

Keeler, branded a "tart" by Macmillan, always denied she was a prostitute.

What did Lord Denning's inquiry find?

Senior judge Lord Denning was appointed to investigate the scandal as it threatened to overwhelm the government.

His September 1963 report on the seedy love triangle was full of what one commentator called "lip-smacking relish".

But some claimed it was a whitewash as it found no evidence of any security breach and exonarated intelligence officials.

He found Profumo had been guilty of an "indiscretion", but no one could doubt his loyalty to Britain.

The judge laid most of the blame on Ward, who he described as "utterly immoral".

When did he meet Nazi Spy Gisela Winegard?

Profumo also romanced Nazi Spy Gisela Winegard for at least 17-years.

Winegard's American husband, Edward, blamed their split in 1950 on “letters from Profumo on Commons notepaper” according to newly released documents.

They also show she gave the Lothario MP’s name as a reference when she applied for a UK visa the following year.

MI6 said it was denied as authorities feared the Weingards — by then reunited — were “engaged in blackmail”.

The declassified papers, released by The National Archives, do not confirm Profumo as the target.

Profumo told MI5 he met Wiengard, then going by her maiden name of Klein in 1936, “and got to know her well”.

In 1944 Klein, who had a child wiht a Nazi officer, was banged up for spying in Paris.

US Army jailer Winegard married her after getting her freed.

What happened to John Profumo?

He retreated from public life and dedicated himself to voluntary work, cleaning toilets at the charity Toynbee Hall in East London.

He continues to work there for the next 40 years, only reluctantly taking on a more prominent role as chief fundraiser.

One friend said he "had to be persuaded to lay down his mop and lend a hand running the place".

This good work earned him redemption in the eyes of many and in 1975 he was awarded a CBE.

Twenty years later he sat next to the Queen at Margaret Thatcher's 70th birthday party.

His wife stayed loyal to him through it all and also devoted herself to chairty work until her death in 1998.

Profumo died of a stroke aged 91 in 2006.

When does The Trial Of Christine Keeler start on BBC?

The first episode of the BBC1 series will air on Sunday, December 29.

The show, written by Apple Tree Yard screenwriter Amanda Coe, will run for six episodes.

Here is the cast:

• Sophie Cookson will play Christine Keeler
• Emilia Fox will play Valerie Profumo
• Ben Miles will play John Profump
• James Norton will play Stephen Ward
• Anthony Welsh will play Lucky Gordon
• Visar Vishka plays Yevgeny Ivanov

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