{"id":37624,"date":"2023-10-07T01:01:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T23:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1902970"},"modified":"2023-10-07T06:42:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T04:42:17","slug":"the-reckoning-review-jimmy-savile-drama-is-an-unrelentingly-grim-watch","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-reckoning-review-jimmy-savile-drama-is-an-unrelentingly-grim-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reckoning review: Jimmy Savile drama is an unrelentingly grim watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Coogan stars as the disgraced BBC presenter and DJ in this four-part series from true crime duo Neil McKay and Jeff Pope. <\/p>

By Abby Robinson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 07 October 2023 at 23:01 PM<\/p>

\n\n
<\/div> 3.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was only a matter of time before a Jimmy Savile drama arrived on our screens, and it\u2019s the BBC, of all places, where The Reckoning, an ironic title considering he died before he could face justice, will make its debut on Monday 9th October \u2013 although interestingly, it was made by ITV Studios.<\/p>\n

It is, as you\u2019d expect, a relentlessly grim, nauseating and blood-boiling watch.<\/p>\n

How on earth<\/em> did he make the leap from dance hall DJ to a one-man institution with unfettered access to do whatever he wanted in hospitals, schools, children\u2019s homes, and even the BBC studios where he filmed Top of the Pops and Jim<\/span>\u2018<\/span>ll Fix It.<\/span><\/p>\n

The question that viewers will have as they sit down to watch is: do writer Neil McKay (Four Lives, Appropriate Adult)<\/span>\u00a0and executive producer Jeff Pope (Four Lives, Appropriate Adult) <\/span>hold the BBC, which made Savile a household name, to account?<\/p>\n

Are those who enabled him despite the growing swell of ghoulish rumours about his conduct also placed under the microscope?<\/p>\n

Fail to do that and The Reckoning fails to do its job, in turn rendering it futile.<\/p>\n

\"Steve\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Steve Coogan as Jimmy Savile in The Reckoning.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/YouTube<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

McKay does take aim at the BBC throughout the four-part series, which charts Savile\u2019s meteoric rise to the top, including his friendship with Margaret Thatcher, his OBE, and his knighthood both here in the UK and from the Pope.<\/p>\n

We also witness his waning popularity, during which time he is interviewed by journalist Dan Davies (played here by Mark Stanley) for his book In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile.<\/p>\n

Michael Jibson\u2019s broadcasting executive Bill Cotton, who was instrumental in giving Savile career-making opportunities within the corporation, is warned about him on more than one occasion by a female colleague, but her concerns are not heeded. And there<\/span> are others within the BBC who furthered his career in spite of the growing noise surrounding him.<\/p>\n

One employee says to Savile that he had never personally witnessed any such behaviour that was cause for concern, a staggering comment in and of itself, but also, you didn\u2019t have to look far to see it. That same employee also acknowledges that the rumblings of extreme misconduct could well be true, another shocking statement. It\u2019s more than any of the other men who worked with the presenter were willing to say, but that\u2019s as far as that goes.<\/p>\n

The suicide of 15-year-old Claire McAlpine in 1971 \u2013 a different name is used in the drama \u2013 also features. She had written a diary entry before she overdosed about having sex with a Top of the Pops presenter, which prompted bosses to question Savile following her mother\u2019s complaints to the BBC and the story being picked up by the press. B<\/span>ut he did what he continued to do until his last breath: point blank deny he had done anything of the sort, then, or ever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was an internal investigation of sorts in response but as we know, Savile remained a key part of the BBC long past the \u201970s.<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
The real-life Jimmy Savile in 1972, outside Buckingham Palace after being awarded an OBE<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The drama also acknowledges the scrapping of the Newsnight report on allegations about Savile a month or so before the BBC aired tributes to him, which says all you need to know about what shape it was in at that time.<\/p>\n

But while the organisation certainly doesn\u2019t come out of The Reckoning in good shape \u2013 the processes that were supposedly in place to protect people from dangerous individuals like Savile were extremely lax to the point of being non-existent \u2013 some might feel that it isn\u2019t quite damning enough, acknowledging that mistakes were made, but not being explicit enough in its rebuke of the BBC.<\/p>\n

What the script does effectively, however, is illustrate how Savile hid in plain sight. There\u2019s a scene when journalist David Frost asks him about the meaning behind a provocative statement emblazoned on a top he\u2019s wearing, and he answers: \u201cTo give victims fair warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brazenness is already well-documented, but to see it play out again through Steve Coogan\u2019s portrayal will leave you aghast. It was all there, out in the open.<\/p>\n

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