Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story | |
---|---|
Genre | Docu-series |
Directed by | Rowan Deacon |
Starring | Jimmy Savile |
Country of origin | United Kingdom United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 2 |
Production | |
Running time | 79 minutes (Part 1) 91 minutes (Part 2) |
Production company | 72 Films |
Original release | |
Network | Netflix |
Release | April 6, 2022 |
Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story is a two-part Netflix documentary series released on April 6, 2022. It covers the life and career of the British television personality Jimmy Savile, his history of committing sexual abuse, and the scandal that occurred after his death in 2011, when numerous complaints were raised about his behaviour.
As well as colleagues, associates and victims of Savile, some of the public figures interviewed for the series include:
A number of media personalities and significant historical figures are featured in archive footage.
No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Part 1" | Rowan Deacon | April 6, 2022 | |
Jimmy Savile rises to superstardom, first as a radio DJ, then as a TV presenter for Top of the Pops and children's TV show Jim'll Fix It . His apparently tireless volunteer and charity work, particularly for Stoke Mandeville Hospital, combined with his eccentric personality, make him a beloved public figure, and by the 1980s is one of the most famous faces in Britain. He develops close relationships with the British establishment, including politicians and members of the British royal family. But many who encounter him are struck by dark undercurrents to his persona, and sinister rumours circulate around his private life. | ||||
2 | "Part 2" | Rowan Deacon | April 6, 2022 | |
Savile's fame and charity work allows him extraordinary access to vulnerable patients as a volunteer at Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital and Stoke Mandeville. Journalists probe the rumours around him but are never able to expose him, as Savile is protected by powerful political and professional connections, the affection of the general public, and his own skill in controlling and manipulating his public image. In 2007 an ageing Savile is questioned under caution by police but is not charged, and in 2011 he dies as a loved and admired "national treasure". A damning posthumous investigation by journalists at the BBC's current affairs programme Newsnight indicts Savile, but the film is shelved by the producers and never broadcast. Nearly a year after his death, Savile's crimes are finally exposed by rival TV channel ITV, creating a scandal that implicates some of the most important institutions in the country. |
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 86% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.00/10.The website's consensus reads: "Charting the rise and fall of Jimmy Savile's public persona, A British Horror Story is a chilling examination of how a nation became enamored with a monster hiding in plain sight." [3]
Reviewing the programme for The Independent , Louis Chilton said, "Netflix's two-part documentary is a slick and occasionally devastating portrait of Savile's evil life, but the subject matter proves too thorny for the standard true crime treatment." [4] Carol Midgley for The Times said, "... like all documentaries about this disgusting pervert, unpleasant to watch. This is not just because of the gruesome detail, such as Savile routinely sticking his fingers into girls' vaginas and promising troubled teenagers trips to the BBC studios in return for oral sex. It is also uncomfortable because, as we know, the nation lauded, hero-worshipped and indeed knighted a psychopathic paedophile." [5]
Writing in the Radio Times , Jane Garvey said "I was a student in the 1980s and we all 'knew' about him. There were always rumours. Some seemed faintly plausible, if unpleasant; others sounded quite outlandish and impossible, surely... In fact, they all turned out to be true. Even the outlandish stuff." [6] The Globe and Mail 's John Doyle wrote, "One approaches this very thorough, meticulous production not with the vague sense of dread that accompanies watching other true-crime docu-series. Instead, you come to it already unsettled by knowledge of the sheer scope of his crimes, and with knowledge of his fame and reputation in Britain." [7]
Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.
Jill Wendy Dando was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her television work included co-presenting the BBC One programme Crimewatch with Nick Ross.
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile was an English media personality and DJ. Savile was well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image, charitable work, and hosting the BBC shows Top of the Pops, a pop music programme, and the popular children's programme, Jim'll Fix It. After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse made against him were investigated, leading the police to conclude that he had been a predatory sex offender and possibly one of Britain's most prolific. There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers were ignored or disbelieved.
Jim'll Fix It is a British television series broadcast by the BBC, presented by Jimmy Savile and running for almost two decades, between May 1975 and July 1994. Devised by Bill Cotton, the show encouraged children to write a letter to Savile with a "wish" that would come true at the end of each episode, upon which the child would be granted a medal. Famous people who appeared on the show included Muhammad Ali, Doctor Who stars Tom Baker and Colin Baker, Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter, Margaret Thatcher and Peter Cushing.
George Alfred Carman, QC was an English leading barrister during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1979, he successfully defended the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe after he was charged with conspiracy to murder. Carman had been appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) eight years previously. He later appeared in a series of widely publicised criminal cases and libel cases.
This is a list of British television related events from 1975.
This is a list of British television related events from 1970.
This is a list of British television related events from 1964.
This is a list of British television related events from 1962.
This is a list of British television related events from 1947.
This is a list of British television related events from 1940.
Meirion Jones is a Welsh journalist. He worked for the BBC from 1988 until 2015 and is now the editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman described Jones as "a dogged journalist with that obsessional, slightly nutty commitment that marks out all successful investigative reporters".
Operation Yewtree was a British police investigation into sexual abuse allegations, predominantly the abuse of children, against the English media personality Jimmy Savile and others. The investigation, led by the Metropolitan Police (Met), started in October 2012. After a period of assessment, it became a full criminal investigation, involving inquiries into living people, notably other celebrities, as well as Savile, who had died the previous year.
In late 2012, it emerged that Jimmy Savile, a British media personality who had died the previous year, had sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, mostly children but some as old as 75, and mostly female. He had been well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and was generally respected for his charitable work, which associated him with the British monarchy and other individuals of personal power.
In 2012 and 2013, the British Broadcasting Corporation was involved in a series of investigations, accusations and scandals related to sexual abuse committed by employees, and the reporting of allegations of abuse by others. The issue of child sexual abuse by BBC employees was publicised nationally in October 2012 as part of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal. Savile was a radio DJ and TV personality who presented the programmes Top of the Pops, Jim'll Fix It and Clunk Click, and was a well known charity fundraiser. Allegations of sexual abuse by Savile and other BBC employees were reported to have taken place in a number of locations across the country, including BBC Television Centre.
Elizabeth Mary MacKean was a British television reporter and presenter. She worked on the BBC's Newsnight programme and was the reporter on an exposé of Sir Jimmy Savile as a paedophile which was controversially cancelled by the BBC in December 2011. The decision to axe the Newsnight investigation became the subject of the Pollard Inquiry. She and colleague Meirion Jones later won a London Press Club Scoop of the Year award for their work on the story. She also won the 2010 Daniel Pearl Award for her investigation of the Trafigura toxic dumping scandal.
Giving Victims a Voice is a report published in January 2013, relating to allegations of sexual abuse made against English DJ and BBC Television presenter Jimmy Savile (1926–2011) as part of the Operation Yewtree criminal investigation. It was initiated as a result of publicity surrounding the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) jointly produced this report. It marked the end of investigations made under the operation regarding Savile alone.
Mark Alan Williams-Thomas is an English investigative journalist, sexual abuse victim advocate, and former police officer. He is a regular reporter on This Morning and Channel 4 News, as well as the ITV series Exposure and the ITV and Netflix crime series The Investigator: A British Crime Story.
Rowan Deacon is an English director and filmmaker.