Jimmy Savile was regarded by most people including me as some rich eccentric television and radio personality. He had lots of jewellery, a Rolls Royce and weird long blond hair.
Only in the 1980s after he was knighted by Mrs Thatcher I heard about his volunteering in hospitals as a porter. He was also a devout Tory, a keep fit fanatic who liked to run the London marathon. In the 1960s and 70s he was also a wrestler who lost most of his matches.
When Savile died in 2011 there was an outpouring of grief which soon turned to anger. There were a crescendo of claims that he had been a serial sexual abuser for decades. That he had been protected by rich and powerful people and organisations.
There was a story I heard a few years ago. A man once contacted broadcaster Terry Wogan about what Savile had done to him. Wogan was so shocked he instantly drove the man to the police station and implored him to tell the police everything. Only the police did not believe him or were just not interested. I think Wogan then realised that Savile may be untouchable. Savile was never convicted while he was still alive.
The Reckoning starring Steve Coogan as Savile is framed as a drama documentary. There is footage from real life survivors.
The first episode is a hybrid of Savile being passive/aggressive to someone who wants to write a biography about him. To his early days from nightclubs, to a DJ at Radio Luxembourg to trying to get into hospitals to cheer up patients when it was a way to abuse kids. There is also the kindling of his television career.
You also see his creepy obsession with his mother who he called Duchess and infatuation with Catholicism. It should not be forgotten he even got a papal knighthood.
Coogan started out as an impressionist, so I knew he would be able to mimic Savile. You see that 'Savile persona' when he meets the public. I don't think anyone could capture the real darker twisted side of the man. Only his victims and those who enabled him saw that part.