Jimmy Savile
I watched it so that you didn’t have to: ITV2’s Big Brother reviewed
Big Brother is Nineteen Eighty-Four rewritten by Aldous Huxley. The detail that George Orwell got wrong is that far from…
The BBC is self-destructing
There are still 27 people left in the British Isles – at the time of writing – who are unaware…
How did he even fool the Duke of Edinburgh? Netflix’s Jimmy Savile – A British Horror Story reviewed
The only impersonation I can do is my Jimmy Savile impersonation. This is not uncommon among people of my generation:…
CCHQ's unfortunate Jimmy Savile link
Oh dear. Just last week, on the day that Boris Johnson raised National Insurance, it was pointed out to the bright…
PMQs: Boris doubles down on Jimmy Savile claims
Today’s PMQs suggests that some of the immediate heat has gone the partygate crisis, if only temporarily. Sir Keir Starmer…
Is the life of Jimmy Savile a suitable subject for drama?
Translating the story of Jimmy Savile to stage or screen is a creative minefield, says Jonathan Maitland, who knows from first-hand experience
Keeping yourself angry, the Hare way: We Travelled, by David Hare, reviewed
A character in David Hare’s Skylight claims she has at last found contentment by no longer opening newspapers or watching…
Louis Theroux’s podcast reveals a master at work
I always want to know more about Louis Theroux, which is odd, since I’ve seen so much of him already.…
We’ve made morons of our police force
I never believed Carl Beech’s allegations that he had suffered multiple depravities, including sexual abuse, at the hands of various…
Portrait of the week
Home An official analysis by the Cabinet Office said that if Britain left the EU it would lead to a…
A worthy film that just doesn't fly: Spotlight reviewed
Like The Revenant and The Big Short, Spotlight is yet another Oscar contender ‘based on true events’ — although it…
Edward Heath and a very modern witch-hunt
There was a grim inevitability that the name Edward Heath would one day be trawled up in connection with allegations…
Who would have thought that about Ted Heath? Well…
In another blow for freedom and the protection of the vulnerable, Conservative MP Mark Spencer has suggested that anti-terror legislation…
We’ve forgotten just how attractive Jimmy Savile once was
Ho hum. Bit icky. Not bad. Hardly dazzling. The lukewarm response to An Audience With Jimmy Savile has astonished me.…
Elisa Segrave’s diary: A prison visit to a friend
Off to prison to visit a writer friend, first jailed led some years ago for trying to find a hit…
Are we ready for a play about Jimmy Savile?
Will Gore talks to the playwright who has brought Jimmy Savile’s crimes to the stage
Charles Moore’s Notes: Cameron should bring back twice-weekly PMQs
David Cameron is taking a bit of trouble to unite his parliamentary party. Having built a coalition outside it last…
Portrait of the week
Home The man seen in several Islamic State videos of hostages being beheaded, nicknamed Jihadi John by the British press,…
Another enemy within: Thatcher (and Wilson) vs the BBC
In a ‘Dear Bill’ letter in Private Eye, an imaginary Denis Thatcher wrote off the BBC as a nest of…
Critical on Sky1 reviewed: a new medical drama where everyone radiates an unusual degree of competence and concern
Sky1’s new hospital drama Critical (Tuesday) can’t be accused of making a timid start. Within seconds, an urgent request had…
Fellow saddoes rejoice: BBC4 has made a comedy-drama about metal detecting
Detectorists (BBC4) is a sad git’s niche comedy that would never have been commissioned if it hadn’t been written and…
The indiscreet charm of Jim Davidson
Le tout Torquay was there, cramming into the Princess Theatre with a drink in each hand ten minutes after the…
Spectator letters: A surgeon writes on assisted dying, and an estate agent answers Harry Mount
Real help for those in pain Sir: The fickleness of existence is exemplified by the fact that being Tony Blair’s…
What kind of idiot tries to stand in the way of a national child abuse panic? I do
As essay titles go, ‘On losing an argument with Tim Loughton MP’ may fail to catch the imagination; but there…
I thought paedophiles were rare – but then I read the newspapers
One problem from which I am confident I don’t suffer is paedophilia. I have always liked picking up babies and…
