The BBC has released further details of its new Jimmy Savile drama, The Reckoning.
Set to air this autumn, it’s been created by writer Neil McKay and executive producer Jeff Pope (Four Lives, The Moorside, Appropriate Adult).
The 4-part series stars Steve Coogan as Savile and will trace his life, when he was one of the country’s most influential celebrities, but in death has become one of the most reviled figures of modern history following revelations of extensive and horrific abuse.
The BBC said that the drama will place events in their “emotional and historical context” exploring how Savile used his celebrity and powerful connections to conceal his crimes and exploit institutional failings.
Those behind the drama said that it was important to understand how he was able to hide in plain sight and aims to highlight the “importance of confronting the horrors of the past and talking openly about abuse.”
4 survivors of Savile have contributed to The Reckoning and will also feature in the series, interviewed on camera to offer their insight.
Staring alongside Coogan are Gemma Jones (Marvellous, Gentleman Jack), Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley, Time), Mark Lewis Jones (Outlander, Chernobyl) and Mark Stanley (Happy Valley, White House Farm).
The 4 x 60 minute series is written by McKay and executive produced by Pope McKay for ITV Studios, and Lucy Richer (The Sixth Commandment, Time) for the BBC.
It was directed by Sandra Goldbacher (Ordeal by Innocence, The Accident), with Clare Shepherd (The A Word, Bancroft) as producer.
