The Reckoning: Release date speculation for BBC Jimmy Savile drama

BBC drama series The Reckoning is set to tackle the infamous life and crimes of disgraced television personality Jimmy Savile.

The series will tackle Savile's life, rise to fame, and wide-ranging sexual offences, and comes from Neil McKay and executive producer Jeff Pope, who developed the hard-hitting true crime dramas The Moorside and Appropriate Adult.

Executive producer Jeff Pope said: "The purpose of this drama is to explore how Savile’s offending went unchecked for so long, and in shining a light on this, to ensure such crimes never happen again. Steve Coogan has a unique ability to inhabit complex characters and will approach this role with the greatest care and integrity."

Coogan himself said: "To play Jimmy Savile was not a decision I took lightly. Neil McKay has written an intelligent script tackling sensitively an horrific story which – however harrowing – needs to be told."

So, when can we expect the series The Reckoning to arrive on the BBC? Here is all you need to know.

The Reckoning is expected to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later in 2022.

Production on the series began in October 2021 and filming has taken place in the North West of England and in North Wales.

Responding to criticism of the BBC's decision to produce the drama, Head of BBC Drama Piers Wenger said in October 2021: "I mean, it is a decade since Jimmy Savile died, it will be a decade next year since his behaviours first came into the public eye.

"But, you know, our primary intention with the drama is to give voice to the victims - to tell their stories sensitively and with the utmost respect. And we have an amazing, award-winning team who are renowned for their factual drama.

"And I think there are still many important questions that need to be answered about Savile, and many questions that we are asking of ourselves through that drama. So I think it's incredibly important that the BBC, you know, do tell that story."

The full cast of the BBC drama series The Reckoning has yet to be announced.

However, it has been confirmed that Steve Coogan will take on the role of Jimmy Savile himself.

Coogan commented on BBC Radio 5 Live: "The script is very well written. And it's something that needs to be talked about because to understand how predators operate, you have to look at the whole picture.

"Like any kind of figure who is repellent, you have to understand it. You have to look at the whole picture. You can't just caricature them, because if he was a caricature, he wouldn't have got away with it, because he had a certain amount of charisma.

"So you have to look at that and understand it, and then it's less likely to happen in the future."

We shall update this article when further cast members have been confirmed.

The official press release for The Reckoning from the BBC states: "The mini-series will trace the life of Jimmy Savile, a man who rose from working-class origins to become one of the biggest stars of British television, but in death has become one of the most reviled figures of modern history following revelations of extensive and horrific abuse.

"The story will trace Savile through his early years in the dance halls of northern England, his career with the BBC, to his twilight years when he sought to dispel the growing rumours about his life and the legacy he would leave behind."

It adds: "The drama will explore the way he used his celebrity and powerful connections to conceal his wrongdoings and to hide in plain sight."

Coogan also said of taking on the role on The One Show in April 2022: "We need to recognise the environment in which [predators] thrive. Because he didn't just trick individual people, he sort of tricked the nation through the media."

The Reckoning will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.

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