Netflix plan Jimmy Savile doc exploring shamed paedo’s celeb friends and lifestyle
IT’S not all dating shows and big cats on Netflix these days – they’ve also developed a hard edge.
Following on from their ten-part Madeleine McCann series and their upcoming programme about the Yorkshire Ripper, the streaming giant is delving into another dark story: Jimmy Savile.
I’m told work is underway on a feature-length film about the shamed entertainer. It will take a look at Savile’s life before he was exposed as a predatory paedophile.
A source said: “Netflix hope it will air next year. It will consider some of his friendships with famous faces and the Royal Family, and how he got away with so much despite being in the public eye for so long.”
Almost a year after Savile’s death, an ITV documentary examined sexual abuse complaints against him. It opened the floodgates, with hundreds of victims coming forward.
I hope this new documentary gives a voice to some of those affected, and helps them to get some closure.
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A place in the chaos, Laura
IT was a bittersweet moment for Laura Hamilton when filming was shelved this week on A Place In The Sun.
The two-week quarantine slapped on Brits returning from Spain has halted work on the new series – though presenter Laura only learned of the measure when she was flying out.
At least she got the chance to pull on her swimming cossie and enjoy some sunshine after landing.
The long-running property series remains one of Channel 4’s most-watched daytime shows – and Laura one of its most popular hosts.
It follows property experts as they find homes for Brits in sun-kissed countries ranging from Australia to Bulgaria.
But for now, Laura will have to stick to sipping sangria by the pool.
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Hotting up again
DATING show Too Hot To Handle became one of the first telly hits of lockdown – and it has now been given a second series.
I’m told the new outing of Netflix’s raunchy answer to Love Island will be filmed in Australia, rather than Mexico as before.
Contestants on the show are docked money from the prize pot if they have sex or fool around. The challenge for producers is how to keep that twist secret to those applying.
A source said: “Contestants are set to isolate first so that there’s no health risk to anyone, particularly as they’ll get quite close up.”
The show’s premise was to teach young, single people to make genuine connections rather than just knocking knees.
But none of the four couples who were in the final are still together. So much for a deeper connection.
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DANCING On Ice judge John Barrowman says it would be left to him, the ITV show’s hosts and his fellow panellists to bring the energy if Covid means the next series cannot go ahead with a live studio audience.
Shaughna shocker
EVEN when matchmaking on Celebs Go Dating goes horribly wrong, it doesn’t normally require police intervention.
But when Shaughna Phillips went on the virtual version of the E4 show, the Love Islander considered calling the cops over the guy she got set up with.
She said: “Honestly, I was going to call the non-emergency police line because he was borderline predatory. I actually thought he was paid to offend me.
“I think people who have seen Love Island might assume that I am one way, based on what they’ve seen, but that’s not the case.
“My date was absolutely shocking. I’ve been less offended reading my comments.”
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LOVE Island winner Amber Gill revealed she deleted her Instagram account after being trolled for attending Black Lives Matter protests during lockdown.
She said: “Human rights were more important.”
Chateau no show
LAST year I revealed how Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree were making a fortune as stars of Channel 4’s Escape To The Chateau.
Their palatial French home is now worth almost ten times the £280,000 they paid for it, and couples are charged about £34,000 to hold weddings there.
But that all changed when lockdown was enforced. The couple had every event in their diaries cancelled and filming of the show’s new series was shelved.
Angel said: “There was no one around to do anything.
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“That was at the start of March. Our production company was ready to start a new show but we said, ‘We think you’d better go home’.”
I’m sure they wouldn’t have minded being in lockdown in a French chateau though.
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