A first look at Steve Coogan playing the disgraced former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile has been released.
Saville was discovered to have instigated abuse over decades during an investigation that followed his death in 2011. He will be played by Coogan as part of an upcoming BBC drama called The Reckoning.
The behind-the-scenes shot via News For All shows Coogan with Savile’s light blonde hair in a jester’s outfit on a Bolton hospital ward, signalling that this would be the phase of the presenter’s career where he volunteered at Leeds General Infirmary and Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
| NEW: Steve Coogan has been spotted dressed as Jimmy Saville for the first time ahead of the BBC drama on the peadophile
Via @DailyMirror pic.twitter.com/Nj7gr4TNYX
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) October 11, 2021
The show will follow Savile through his early years as a DJ in the dance halls of North England, his career with the BBC â right up to his twilight years â and how he used his celebrity and powerful connections to dispel the growing rumours about his personal life.
âTo play Jimmy Savile was not a decision I took lightly. Neil McKay has written an intelligent script tackling sensitively an horrific story which â however harrowing â needs to be told,â Coogan said of his casting (via BBC News).
The show’s director Sandra Goldbacher said: âThe Reckoning is a unique opportunity to give Savileâs survivors, the people who inspired this project, a voice. I feel sure that Steve Cooganâs powerful performance as Savile will create a debate around how the cult of celebrity cloaked him from scrutiny.â
The team have said that they are working closely with people whose lives were impacted by Savile to ensure their stories are told with sensitivity and respect.
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