BBC One orders Jimmy Savile drama
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BBC One has commissioned a drama about the life of Jimmy Savile from the award-winning team behind The Moorside and Appropriate Adult.
Writer Neil McKay and executive producer Jeff Pope will team on The Reckoning (w/t), produced by ITV Studios.
The mini-series will trace the life of Jimmy Savile, a man who rose from working-class origins to become one of the biggest stars of British television, but in death has become one of the most reviled figures of modern history.
The story will trace Savile through his early years in the dance halls of northern England, his career with the BBC, to his twilight years when, in failing health and with his fame in decline, he sought to dispel the growing rumours about his life and the legacy he would leave behind.
The team is working with many people whose lives were impacted by Savile, as well on drawing on other wide-ranging sources.
Pope, said: "I think this is a story that has to be told. We must understand why a man like Jimmy Savile seemed to remain immune for so long to proper scrutiny and criminal investigation."
Piers Wenger, controller, BBC Drama, added: “The story of Jimmy Savile is one of the most emotive and troubling of our times. We do not intend to sensationalise these crimes but to give voice to his victims.
“We will work with survivors to ensure their stories are told with sensitivity and respect and to examine the institutions which Jimmy Savile was associated with and the circumstances in which these crimes took place. Drama has the ability to tackle sensitive real life subjects and consider the impact of a crime on its survivors and what lessons can be learnt to stop this ever happening again.”
The Reckoning is executive produced by McKay, Pope and Lucy Richer.
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