Richard Madeley kicked out of ‘worst prison on earth’ after 15 minutes over question he asked bosses

Richard Madeley dipped his toe into the world of gritty documentary-making with a visit to a notorious prison described as 'hell on Earth'.

Located in a remote area 46 miles southeast of El Salvador's capital is the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a sprawling facility built to hold incarcerated gang members.

With a capacity of 40,000, inmates are housed in mega cells with nothing but a Bible to entertain themselves and exist with the lights on 24/7.

Human rights groups have raised concerns about the conditions in which prisoners are kept, with Venezuelan deportees temporarily housed there saying they were treated 'like animals'.

It's the backdrop of Madeley's foray away from chatshow hosting and into hard-hitting journalism – with the presenter running into difficulties when attempting to ascertain details about the inmates' welfare.

After passing through extensive security checks, Madeley and his documentary crew are escorted into the prison by masked officers - even with CECOT, there are still concerns about reprisals from gangs - and shown around the facility by director Belarmino García.

García insists that none of the inmates' human rights are broken - they're given food, sleep and access to trials - however, when Madeley presses him on the living conditions, the atmosphere becomes tense.

"Having the lights on, having nothing at all to do... that's not remotely cruel?" Madeley asked, to which García insisted it was 'necessary' for keeping prisoners in line.

Just 15 minutes into the programme filming is halted, with Madeley narrating: "I think I may have overstepped the mark."

(Channel 5)

The chaos is captured on camera, with the This Morning presenter heard telling CECOT staff: "I have to ask difficult questions. If I ask 'soft' questions, people at home go 'oh, he's not objective'."

"It's clear the prison director thinks I haven't grasped how effective his CECOT regime is as a deterrent to the gangs," he added.

Fortunately, the documentary crew can return to the facility in the following days, with Madeley being shown a pitch-black isolation cell and even granted five minutes to speak with an inmate named 'Psycho'.

He also delves into the history of gangs in El Salvador, revealing that two gangs are thought to be responsible for the deaths of over 200,000 people.

Madeley is given one of the meals served inside the prison, with inmates receiving 1800 calories a day (Channel 5)

"Through the threat of extreme violence, they controlled vast territories and ran extortion rackets worth millions," he said.

However, this came to an end following the election of President Nayib Bukele, whose administration made a crackdown on gangs, and CECOT, a cornerstone of their promise to transform El Salvador.

With members declared as terrorists and arrested, focus in El Salvador has since turned to developing communities living in areas previously controlled by the groups and scrubbing away any traces of gang history.

Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison is available on Channel 5's streaming service.