Steve Coogan corrects reporter who asks him about playing 'Jimmy' ahead of new Savile series

Steve Coogan corrected an interviewer mid question after the reporter asked if he had any doubts about playing 'Jimmy' ahead of the new series.

Coogan portrays Savile in the upcoming four-part BBC series, The Reckoning, which will focus on 'Savile's life, rise to fame and wide-ranging sexual offences'.

The press release for the show states: "The story will trace Savile through his early years in the dance halls of northern England, his career with the BBC, to his twilight years when he sought to dispel the growing rumours about his life and the legacy he would leave behind.

"The drama will explore the way he used his celebrity and powerful connections to conceal his wrongdoings and to hide in plain sight."

Whilst being interviewed about the show for Collider, Coogan was asked: "Was there any apprehension about playing Jimmy?"

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The Alan Partridge star then interjected, saying: "Let's call him Jimmy Savile. It sounds a bit too familiar to call him Jimmy."

Fortunately, the moment isn't too awkward as his interviewer immediately conceded: "Sorry, you're right."

Reflecting on the decision to play Savile in The Reckoning, Coogan said: "I thought long and hard about it.

"I didn't say yes straight away. But it was very well written.

"The supporting cast was exemplary. It had all the things in place to make it worthwhile and not exploitative.

"I felt like I could do it."

The 57-year-old actor also talked about the reaction he'd received after accepting the role.

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Coogan said: "He provokes a very real revulsion. When I said I was doing it, a lot of people were wondering why I was doing it.

"He was a fascinating man and was able to hoodwink a whole nation because he was so famous and successful.

"And at the time, was well loved by people before they discovered the awful truth about him."

He added: "I'm of the mind that to prevent these things happened again, we need to look at them.

"It's an uncomfortable process.

"I think the revulsion is because the whole nation was hoodwinked or if you're being less kind, complicit in enabling him to do the nefarious things he did."

The series has not been released yet but two of Savile's victims have already given their thoughts.

Sam Brown, who bravely worked with producer Jeff Pope and writer Neil McKay, branded Coogan's performance as 'awful' because of how accurate she deemed it to be.

She watched Coogan shoot a scene as the late television presenter and described it as 'creepy'.

Brown said: "Oh my god, [he was] creepy, weird, awful, disgusting.

"The voice was the thing that gave me a proper shock, I’ve got to be honest, and I don’t get shocked by much anymore because I try my hardest not to. But that was difficult."

And Sylvia Brown told Sky News that she hoped Coogan's performance would 'make people realise how much of a monster that man was'.

It is not yet known when The Reckoning is set to air but a BBC spokesperson has said that 'an exact release date will be announced in due course'.