The star of controversial BBC drama about the serial sex abuser reveals the stresses of the role
teve Coogan, who plays the serial sex abuser Jimmy Savile in a highly controversial BBC drama, has challenged accusations made this weekend that the four-part series is a useful fig leaf to cover the public broadcaster’s damaged reputation. Talking to theon the eve of the broadcasts, he spoke candidly about the dangers of taking on the disturbing role of the paedophile entertainer and suggested that predators and bullies often adopt a charismatic persona to mask their abuses.
“There is no approach that we could have taken with this drama that would stop people using it as a stick to beat theif they want to,” said Coogan. “If they had avoided making a drama, they would have been attacked for that. I’m no agent for the BBC and it often annoys me, but sometimes it seems like a beacon in a sea of darkness.”
Pope, also reacting this weekend, said he still believes that a fictionalised drama was the right way to communicate Savile’s bullying personality because, unlike a documentary, it let them show how the predator is known to have behaved off-camera. A similar forensic approach won Pope and McKay plaudits with
One of the lesser villains of the story is the BBC’s Bill Cotton, the late former controller of BBC One who allowed Savile to take the presenter’s job on the long-running children’s show, overriding the misgivings of a few colleagues. “I think Bill was hoodwinked by Savile, like thousands of others,” said Pope. “We contacted Cotton’s relatives about the drama and did not hear back.
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