BBC to make drama about Jimmy Savile's life:

I remember a documentary (?!) about Harold Shipman being aired ages ago. I didn't watch it for obvious reasons but at the time, apart from the victims and their families, feeling so sorry for his wife, and children, especially Primrose who always seemed a particularly vulnerable victim of this dreadful man. It must have been almost unbearable for her to have this horror committed by her husband out there on TV for the world to see and gossip about. Like J.Saville, insensitive doesn't even begin to describe it!

Really scraping the barrel to serve up this as entertainment, bad things happen and we should do all we can to prevent them, dramatizing Saville is disgusting.

Jaberwok

Absolute disgusting and a new low for the beeb who knew perfectly well what Saville was like and shielded him for years as they did other notables! Horrible for the victims, and horrible for the Saville family, but no doubt it will up the ratings so who cares?! No doubt people will be gravely told that this is a story that needs to be told! the fact that without BBC conivance, there wouldn't have been a story will be conveniently glossed over! No, I will not be watching, in fact we hardly watch anything on the Beeb these days and resent that wretched licence with a vengeance!!

Oh my, I could have written this post. Well said!!

Spending licence payers money on this despicable subject is beyond me.

I was never a fan when he was alive - just a bit too creepy - so I am unlikely to watch anything about him now.

Absolute disgusting and a new low for the beeb who knew perfectly well what Saville was like and shielded him for years as they did other notables! Horrible for the victims, and horrible for the Saville family, but no doubt it will up the ratings so who cares?! No doubt people will be gravely told that this is a story that needs to be told! the fact that without BBC conivance, there wouldn't have been a story will be conveniently glossed over! No, I will not be watching, in fact we hardly watch anything on the Beeb these days and resent that wretched licence with a vengeance!!

Why are they giving this @?&% the oxygen of publicity?

Downright tragedy to raise that odious person from the ashes.

Ahh I didn't know hw was a bouncer or a wrestler. I used to watch Jim'll Fix it with family and some of my family even applied to be on the show! Thanks God they never got accepted!

He should not be given air time. Vile, evil, creepy little man.

Oopsadaisy Hughie Green was an odious man. In 70s,when he was well known, he worked with a youth drama group I was part of. His attitude and language towards us was appalling behind the curtain, then the 'act' appeared as soon as the curtain opened. Insincere and nasty.

Late to this, but...

That anyone thinks this would make for entertainment utterly sickens me. What a disgusting society we have become.

I agree that a documentary would have been OK.

He was also a professional wrestler. Given the reaction on this thread, it made me wonder if there's something similar on a wider audience like Twitter. I have never tweeted but if anyone does, do share any links.

Is this what we pay our licence fees for?

Lavazza1st that sounds a bit odd!
Savile was a bouncer when he was a young man and was notoriously good with his fists!

I recently met a man who thought he was a good man. I was speechless. Apparently he knew JS's swimming teacher who said he was a weak man and wouldn't hurt a fly. But as we know, bullies and opportunists often ARE weak people.

SueDonim

Yuk. I can’t imagine any actor wanting to play the role of Saville.

A few years back there was a play on in London about Savile.
It starred Alistair McGowan.
It was very dark, obviously.
It wasn't well publicised, at the request of the writer and production team.
McGowan refused to be photographed in role.
It was kept quiet as they knew how controversial it was, and those involved didn't want to upset the survivors of Savile's abuse.

It's a horrible idea and far too soon. Capitalising on heinous crimes when the victims and their families are still alive is beyond any limit of decency.

Why not go the whole hog and upset the victims of Rolf Harris and Clement Freud as well? After all it's "good, prurient telly".

Oh no, that's a good point SueDonim; a horrible role to have to take on. <<shudder>>

Louis Theroux made an excellent programme about him, and I’ve read where he wondered if he could have done more.
He interviewed his assistant who said she refused to believe any of the allegations.

The problem with a Drama is that they change events to make it more ‘watchable‘, so they can and probably will ignore the BBCs involvement.
I wouldn’t watch it anyway, because i couldn’t stand him, but a Documentary would be better.
They dramatised the story of Hughie Green a couple of years ago and I don’t know how much of it was fact or fiction, but he was ( on this programme) an absolute horror, but was it true or artistic licence?

A documentary is one thing, but a drama.....who on earth would want to be cast as the creepy Savile? Bit of a career killer I would think.

Yuk. I can’t imagine any actor wanting to play the role of Saville.

He lived local to us when I was growing up and used to take the children from the local children's home to Scarborough ever year. I could not watch any sort of programme about him although it is perhaps sad for the victims to be forgotten.

Extremely bad taste in any format, either drama or documentary. I didn't like him at all when he was alive, in the spotlight and supposedly raising money for Stoke Mandeville Hospital. I always found him sleazy and creepy!