Louis Theroux admits the one regret he has over his documentary on Jimmy Savile is that he didnt investigate the claims of child sex abuse against the TV presenter further.
The 49-year-old filmmaker created a documentary on Savile back in 2000 before the late childrens TV presenter was revealed to be a sexual predator.
In the two years after the documentary, Louis maintained a relationship with Savile but admits he wishes he looked deeper into the rumours of sexual assault at the time.
Speaking to the Irish Times about his strange feelings of guilt and responsibility, he explained: I think in hindsight, yeah. I think thats the part of it that I struggled most with.
Sharing an insight into his relationship with Savile after the film, Louis continued: It was during that time that, without the presence of the camera, and in a more relaxed atmosphere, I sort of began to think of him in a more friendly way.
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So later on, when it came out that hed been abusing and assaulting men and women, boys and girls, that was what my mind turned to, the sense that Id allowed myself to think of him in a friendly way.
Louis dedicates several chapters to the Savile topic in his new autobiography Gotta Get Theroux This, and said he felt compelled to address it after reading accounts over the years that werent getting him quite right.
There was so much disgust that people seemed to feel that they had almost had to label epithets over everything evil and “disgusting”.
My feeling has always been to let the facts speak for themselves, Louis revealed.
More: Louis Theroux
The danger is that you make malevolence so self-evident that it leaves the realm of the real world and then, when predatory figures appear in your own life or the lives of people close to you, you dont recognise them, because they dont conform to this bogeyman image.
Savile died in October 2011 at the age of 84. After his death, more than 400 people contacted the Metropolitan Police to make allegations of sex abuse against the Jimll Fix It host.
Louis Therouxs new memoir, Gotta Get Theroux This, is out now.
