Filming for BBC’s The Reckoning is taking place at Rhos-on-Sea
British actor Steve Coogan was spotted filming scenes as notorious sex offender Jimmy Savile on the beach at Rhos-on-Sea on Sunday.
The highly-commended actor is starring in a mini-series called The Reckoning, which traces the life of Savile from his working-class background to TV stardom and the sexual abuse scandal that followed after his death.
He looked unrecognisable, wearing a maroon coloured tracksuit and what appears to be a bright blond wig.
The 56-year-old actor, known mostly for the creation of the character Alan Partridge, looks almost the spitting image of the disgraced TV show host, who died in 2011 at the age of 84, reports North Wales Live.
Following Savile’s death, a long list of vile crimes were uncovered – including accusations that he had sexually abused more than 70 people, including children as young as eight.
An ITV documentary investigated claims of sexual abuse against him, leading to further allegations of abuse and a string of public inquiries.
These found that the broadcaster had used his involvement in organisations, such as charities, hospitals, prisons and the BBC, to prey on hundreds of people.
The Reckoning has been written by Bafta-winning screenwriter Neil McKay who previously penned the award-winning Fred West drama Appropriate Adult.
The drama is being directed by Sandra Goldbacher and produced by ITV Studios.
North Wales Live reported earlier on Sunday that there had been intense speculation after TV crews were spotted that scenes for the upcoming BBC drama about Savile were being filmed on the Welsh beach.
On Sunday morning, a fleet of film trucks and catering trailers parked up at the West Shore Beach café in Llandudno.
Crew members were seen arriving and leaving in their cars, which caused speculation over what was being filmed.
People initially believed it was down to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, which will begin later this month from Gwrych Castle in Abergele, but the attention switched to Rhos-on-Sea’s resort promenade where Coogan was spotted.
A film extra from Prestatyn claimed he had been approached to “work on a Jimmy Saville drama in Llandudno for a week starting on Monday, November 8”.
West Shore Beach Café owner, Kevin Rice, said ITV producers had been in touch with him to book the car park “for a week or so”.
On Facebook, he told his customers: “I’m not sure what’s going on but, who knows, you may spot a celebrity or two on the beach.”
Late last month, a casting company appealed for extras for an ITV drama due to be filmed in Llandudno from November 7 to 12.
As some scenes are set in the 1960s, 1970s and later, Liverpool-based Impact Casting said it was looking for “all different hairstyles!”
In recent years Llandudno’s West Shore has become a popular filming base with movie and TV producers.
In 2018 Eddie Izzard’s Six Minutes to Midnight used the resort as a backdrop.
Later the same year Hidden star Sian Reese-Williams was seen filming on the West Shore, prompting the beach café to announce it had “gone all Hollywood again”.
