Steve Coogan refused to shoot sickening Jimmy Savile crime for The Reckoning

17 October 2023 , 14:12

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The Reckoning is on BBC iPlayer

BBC's The Reckoning star Steve Coogan refused to shoot one sickening Jimmy Savile crime for the series.

The actor has taken on the role of disgraced TV and radio presenter Savile in the new four-part BBC series The Reckoning. Steve has since revealed that he requested one scene to be left out of the programme.

The show includes dramatised events with real-life testimonies from Savile’s victims, with Steve saying the series took so long to produce because of finding a way of "striking that balance". He said it was difficult to find a way of "showing too much of Savile’s offences" while making sure not to "sugar-coat them".

Steve Coogan is playing Jimmy Savile (BBC/ITV Studios/Matt Squire)

The actor, best known for playing Alan Partridge, said he didn't want to reenact a scene in the original script which was set in a morgue. He said: "There was a certain shot they wanted to do that I didn’t want to do.

"It was just a detail that I was uncomfortable with, so I had a conversation with the director and we came to an agreement on what was the most appropriate way to depict it". The scene is set in a mortuary at Leeds hospital, which Savile visited so regularly that he had a bedroom there. Savile places his hand under a sheet covering a corpse of a woman in her seventies.

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The actor said that the scene was "really disturbing". He said: "It was really disturbing, what can you say? It’s as disturbing as it looks." Steve said he ultimately decided to play the role in the series due to Savile’s survivors being involved. The programme took two years to produce.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "It’s crucial that when making a drama like this you walk side-by-side with the people whose experiences you are depicting. That’s the grown-up and responsible way to do this.

"Having the participation and endorsement of so many was absolutely crucial to the process, and everyone has made sure this was handled sensitively. That’s why it’s taken a long time for the series to get to screen – you can’t just chuck it out there, you’ve got to do it properly, and be fastidious and diligent. To not do that would be a dereliction of our duty."

The Reckoning is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Charlotte Everett