Steve Coogan stars in a new TV drama that portrays one of the most notorious paedophiles in British criminal history – Jimmy Savile. The presenter and radio DJ had a successful career over several decades, and at the time was known for his eccentric personality and charitable fundraising. However, following his death, the full extent of his sexual abuse became clear. Savile had utilised his celebrity status to prey on hundreds of people for decades, many of them minors, and had evaded punishment by denying and deflecting allegations about his behaviour.
The Reckoning, which airs on BBC One, follows Savile’s career and examines why he never had to face consequences for his actions. The drama is produced by ITV Studios, offering valuable distance from the BBC’s editorial process. However, some have criticised the series for not being critical enough of the BBC and not depicting the shelving of a Newsnight investigation into Savile in 2011. Although the drama includes testimony from some of Savile’s real-life victims, it does not depict his assaults on screen, but shows the moments leading up to them, maintaining a constant air of threat.
Coogan admits that he felt “great trepidation” about playing Savile, realising the potential for catastrophic failure if he got it wrong. However, he felt that bringing Savile to life again was timely, as the drama helps to understand how such abuse can happen, showing the things that initially seem counterintuitive. One advantage of a drama over documentaries is the ability to get “under the skin” of a character, to learn about how these things happen, and to prevent them occurring in the future.
The script was written by Neil McKay, who previously worked on dramas about the Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley as well as serial killer Stephen Port. While many of the conversations in the series are imagined, some are dramatisations of real-life events, such as Savile’s cameo on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, and the police interview which followed, after his appearance prompted some victims to come forward. The fact that Savile never had to face the consequences of his actions is what has angered so many about his case. Bringing it to the screen may help to prevent future cases of a similar nature
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