Steve Coogan responds to backlash about his upcoming Jimmy Saville TV series

In recent years, we’ve seen such an uptick of TV shows and movies following the lives of heinous criminals, whether it be serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, or sex offenders such as Dr. Donald Cline and Warren Jeffs. People are obsessed with true crime, and streaming services and TV networks are really taking advantage of that. Up next, the BBC is releasing a show called The Reckoning, which will tackle the story of sexual predator Jimmy Savile.

The four-part series is set to chronicle the life of Savile, an English TV and radio personality who was exposed to be a serial sexual abuser after he died in 2011. Of course, this show won’t be for everyone because of its sensitive topics, and according to the Independent, many have criticized the BBC for even deciding to make a series about the disgraced celebrity.

Steve Coogan, who’s best known for his role as Alan Partridge along with other TV shows and movies, will star in The Reckoning as Jimmy Savile, and in a recent interview he defended his decision to take on the part. As reported by NME, the 56-year-old actor appeared on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and discussed the upcoming show.

Coogan believes that showing the lives of people like Savile on TV will teach viewers of the history and hopefully keep things like this from happening again and again. Explaining why it’s important to make a show about the late criminal, Coogan said:

"“But you need to look at someone like that to understand how they’re able to operate and to prevent it happening again. If you sweep it under the carpet and don’t talk about it anymore, then those people are destined to come back.”"

The Philomena actor also stressed that behind the scenes, he was sure to be as careful as possible when tackling such a story. He said of working with the actors who were playing victims on the show: “I’d go and talk to them as myself and go, ‘Hi, I’m Steve, I’m not Jimmy Savile, that’s who I’m going to play today.” He added:

"“And you’re playing a role and we’re going to do it professionally, and it was so that they knew I was someone else. So it was a tightrope, but I think we did it properly.”"

The Reckoning does not yet have a release date, but it’s expected to premiere on BBC One sometime in 2022.