Steve Coogan has said his Bafta nomination for his portrayal of Jimmy Savile feels like a ‘vindication’ of his decision to take on the risky role.
The TV star earned himself a leading actor prize nomination at the TV awards for his star turn in BBC drama The Reckoning.
Released in 2023, the programme told the story of Savile’s life from his working-class roots to his rise to TV stardom as a presenter, plus his later years when he managed to conceal his sexual abuse crimes until he died in 2011.
Understandably, the project was met with huge backlash, given Savile’s legacy as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.
Arriving on the red carpet, Coogan told the PA news agency of his gratitude for the recognition.
‘I’m very grateful to be acknowledged by the academy because the role I played was quite a difficult one, it was quite controversial and there was a lot of opposition to it when it was announced.
‘So it was fraught with pitfalls, if it was handled badly it could have been a terrible decision.
‘But I think the BBC were vindicated by it.’
He added that ‘everyone had to perform their role very carefully to make sure the result was something that was legitimate, and a worthwhile endeavour. And not least me, playing the main role.’
‘So being acknowledged by the academy feels like a sort of vindication.’
Asked if he anticipated controversy over his casting, Coogan replied: ‘I understood some of the consternation about me playing the role of Jimmy Savile, some people have seen me as just a comic actor but I have got provenance as a dramatic actor and I thought I knew how to do it.
‘All the people involved were very professional so I knew that the decisions made would be a bit careful and considered, but I didn’t jump in with both feet before carefully looking at the scripts and raising concerns and making sure that it was done the right way.
‘I knew it was a gamble but I thought it was a gamble that would pay off and I think it has.’
Coogan said the participation of some of the survivors of Savile’s crimes ‘legitimises it and neutralises a lot of the negativity that was directed at the whole venture’.
He added: ‘Because their presence was an endorsement of that process, and gave voice to it and legitimised and made people realise why the programme was being made.
‘It wasn’t just a piece of entertainment, it was about looking deeply at how something like this occurs.’
Coogan admitted previously that filming for four-parter became ‘difficult at times’.
The Alan Partridge star told BBC Breakfast hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt that it was a ‘gamble’ of a role, given how the series touches on those who ‘failed to bring [Savile] to account.
However, he assured viewers that working alongside survivors aided the research and ensured the process was ‘very, very careful’.
When asked how playing a ‘sinister’ character like Savile affected him, Coogan stated: ‘I was very pleased the last day of filming, because I thought, I’ll never have to dress as him again.’
Full list of Bafta TV nominations 2024
Leading actress
- Anjana Vasan, Demon 79 (Black Mirror) – Netflix
- Anne Reid, The Sixth Commandment – BBC One
- Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us – Sky Atlantic
- Helena Bonham Carter, Nolly – ITVX
- Sarah Lancashire, Happy Valley – BBC One
- Sharon Horgan, Best Interests – BBC One
Leading actor
- Brian Cox, Succession – Sky Atlantic
- Dominic West, The Crown – Netflix
- Kane Robinson, Top Boy – Netflix
- Paapa Essiedu, The Lazarus Project – Sky Max
- Steve Coogan, The Reckoning – BBC One
- Timothy Spall, The Sixth Commandment – BBC One
Supporting actress
- Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown – Netflix
- Harriet Walter, Succession – Sky Atlantic
- Jasmine Jobson, Top Boy – Netflix
- Lesley Manville, The Crown – Netflix
- Nico Parker, The Last of Us – Sky Atlantic
- Siobhan Finneran, Happy Valley – BBC One
Supporting actor
- Amit Shah, Happy Valley – BBC One
- Éanna Hardwicke, The Sixth Commandment – BBC One
- Harris Dickinson, A Murder at the End of the World – Disney+
- Jack Lowden, Slow Horses – Apple TV+
- Matthew Macfadyen, Succession – Sky Atlantic
- Salim Daw, The Crown – Netflix
Female performance in a comedy
- Bridget Christie, The Change – Channel 4
- Gbemisola Ikumelo, Black Ops – BBC One
- Máiréad Tyers, Extraordinary – Disney+
- Roisin Gallagher, The Lovers – Sky Atlantic
- Sofia Oxenham, Extraordinary – Disney+
- Taj Atwal, Hullraisers – Channel 4
Male performance in a comedy
- Adjani Salmon, Dreaming Whilst Black – BBC Three
- David Tennant, Good Omens – Prime Video
- Hammed Animashaun, Black Ops – BBC One
- Jamie Demetriou, A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou – Netflix
- Joseph Gilgun, Brassic – Sky Max
- Mawaan Rizwan, Juice – BBC Three
Drama series
- The Gold – BBC One
- Happy Valley – BBC One
- Slow Horses – Apple TV+
- Top Boy – Netflix
Limited drama
- Best Interests – BBC One
- Demon 79 (Black Mirror) – Netflix
- The Long Shadow – ITV1
- The Sixth Commandment – BBC One
Scripted comedy
- Big Boys – Channel 4
- Dreaming Whilst Black – BBC Three
- Extraordinary – Disney+
- Such Brave Girls – BBC Three
Soap
- Casualty – BBC One
- EastEnders – BBC One
- Emmerdale – ITV1
Entertainment programme
- Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas – Apple TV+
- Later… With Jools Holland – BBC Two
- Michael McIntyre’s Big Show – BBC One
- Strictly Come Dancing – BBC One
Entertainment performance
- Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! – ITV1
- Big Zuu, Big Zuu’s Big Eats – Dave
- Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show – BBC One
- Hannah Waddingham, Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – BBC One
- Joe Lycett, Late Night Lycett – Channel 4
- Rob Beckett & Romesh Ranganathan, Rob & Romesh Vs – Sky Max
Comedy entertainment programme
- The Graham Norton Show – BBC One
- Late Night Lycett – Channel 4
- Rob & Romesh Vs – Sky Max
- Would I Lie To You? – BBC One
Factual entertainment
- Celebrity Race Across The World – BBC One
- The Dog House – Channel 4
- Endurance: Race To The Pole – Channel 5
- Portrait Artist of the Year – Sky Arts
Reality
- Banged Up – Channel 4
- Married At First Sight UK – E4
- My Mum, Your Dad – ITV1
- Squid Game: The Challenge – Netflix
Daytime
- Loose Women and Men – ITV1
- Lorraine – ITV1
- Make It At Market – BBC One
- Scam Interceptors – BBC One
International
- The Bear – Disney+
- Beef – Netflix
- Class Act – Netflix
- The Last of Us – Sky Atlantic
- Love & Death – ITVX
- Succession – Sky Atlantic
Live event coverage
- The Coronation Concert – BBC One
- Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – BBC One
- Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance – BBC One
Current affairs
- Inside Russia: Traitors And Heroes (Storyville) – BBC Four
- Putin Vs The West – BBC Two
- Russell Brand: In Plain Sight (Dispatches) – Channel 4
- The Shamima Begum Story (This World) – BBC Two
Single documentary
- David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived – Sky Documentaries
- Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family – ITV1
- Hatton – Sky Crime
- Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris – Netflix
Factual series
- Dublin Narcos – Sky Documentaries
- Evacuation – Channel 4
- Lockerbie – Sky Documentaries
- Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland – BBC Two
Specialist factual
- Chimp Empire – Netflix
- The Enfield Poltergeist – Apple TV+
- Forced Out – Sky Documentaries
- White Nanny, Black Child – Channel 5
News coverage
- Inside Gaza: Israel And Hamas At War – Channel 4 News
- Inside Myanmar – The Hidden War – Sky News
- Israel-Hamas War – Sky News
Sports coverage
- Cheltenham Festival Day One – ITV1
- MOTD Live: Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 – BBC One
- Wimbledon 2023 Men’s Final – BBC One
Memorable moment
- Beckham, David teases Victoria about her ‘working class’ upbringing – Netflix
- Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa revealed as the 15th Doctor – BBC One
- Happy Valley, Catherine Cawood and Tommy Lee Royce’s final kitchen showdown – BBC One
- The Last of Us, Bill and Frank’s Story – Sky Atlantic
- The Piano, 13-year-old Lucy stuns commuters with jaw dropping piano performance – Channel 4
- Succession, Logan Roy’s death – Sky Atlantic
Short form
- Mobility – BBC Three
- The Skewer: Three Twisted Years – BBC iPlayer
- Stealing Ukraine’s Children: Inside Russia’s Camps – Vice News
- Where It Ends – BBC Three
Writer: Comedy
- Jack Rooke, Big Boys – Channel 4
- Jamie Demetriou, A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou – Netflix
- Kat Sadler, Such Brave Girls – BBC Three
- Mawaan Rizwan, Juice – BBC Three
Writer: Drama
- Charlie Brooker & Bisha K Ali, Demon 79 (Black Mirror) – Netflix
- Jesse Armstrong, Succession – Sky Atlantic
- Sally Wainwright, Happy Valley – BBC One
- Sarah Phelps, The Sixth Commandment – BBC One
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