Janet Street-Porter felt sick watching new Jimmy Savile series

The Reckoning, which debuted on the BBC on Monday (October 9), tells the story of one of the UK's most prolific paedophiles - Jimmy Savile.

Savile rose to become one of the most influential celebrities of his time, however after his death, he was exposed as a paedophile and is now believed to be one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

British actor and comedian Steve Coogan, known for his role as Alan Partridge, plays serial sex offender Savile, who died in October 2011 aged 84 having never been brought to justice for his crimes.

On playing the role of Savile, Coogan said: “I’ve played a few real people in my time, some good and some not, although Savile is certainly the worst."

British actor/comedian Steve Coogan plays the role of Jimmy Savile in new BBC series The Reckoning. (Image: BBC/ITV Studios/Matt Squire)

Janet Street-Porter "felt sick" watching new BBC series about Jimmy Savile

Janet Street-Porter, Ruth Langford, Coleen Nolan and Joanna Page discussed the new Jimmy Savile series on Tuesday's (October 10) episode of Loose Women.

Street-Porter revealed she had met Savile before with both having worked at the BBC around the same time. 

She said watching The Reckoning had a "very powerful effect on me" and she "could barely watch it". 

Street-Porter said: "I could barely watch it.

"Years and years and years ago I was at the BBC and I appeared on several shows with Jimmy Savile, I worked as an executive in the light entertainment department where he made many shows. But I never produced any shows with Jimmy Savile.

"But I have met the real Jimmy Savile and the idea that he re-appeared in my living room that portrayal actually made me and my flesh creep and I felt sick actually. 

"It had a very powerful effect on me."

She continued by saying the new BBC docuseries really upset her and it didn't really add anything to what people already know. 

The Loose Women presenter continued: "But what really upsets me about this drama I think it doesn't really add anything to what we know about Jimmy Savile, what we know now and we ignored or didn't want to think about at the time. 

"What I personally would have preferred, if we are going to go right through how did this horrible thing happen and nobody noticed, I would have preferred a documentary."

Langford added she wouldn't be watching The Reckoning as what she had seen "made my skin crawl".

But Nolan said it had a part to play in making people aware of how Jimmy Savile came about and stopping people doing similar things in the future. 

Coogan, reflecting on why he took on the role of Savile in The Reckoning, said he hoped the BBC series would act as a reminder to “listen to victims and survivors” to avoid history repeating itself.

You can watch all episodes of The Reckoning now on BBC iPlayer.