Warning: this article contains discussion that some readers may find distressing.
ITV has commissioned a documentary on former child entertainer and convicted paedophile Rolf Harris. The two-parter will examine “how the TV personality got away for his crimes for so long,” ITV said in a statement.
Titled Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, the unique access documentary will feature interviews with Harris’s victims, the police who investigated him and his colleagues.
“Harris led a toxic double-life, molesting contributors and crew on the shows he worked on for years,” ITV’s synopsis reads. “Almost a decade on from his arrest, the films speak directly to Harris’s accusers, telling the story of how his assaults became gradually more serious throughout his excelling television career in the 70s and 80s.”
Each part will be an hour long and will track Harris’s rise and fall, from eccentric artist and child entertainer to the trial that ensued following an investigation in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal. The films are set to explore Harris’s remorseless attitude in court, and his wife and daughter’s decision to stand by him.
Speaking of the news, ITV boss Kate Teckman said: “There are few stories as shocking as Rolf Harris. These films give a voice to Harris’s accusers, and will reveal just how the seemingly wholesome ‘national treasure’ was able to molest and abuse his victims in plain sight.”
There is no release date for the documentary as yet.
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If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit its website here.
