Glitter ‘hanged’ in TV drama

Channel 4’s documentary ‘The Execution of Gary Glitter’ will...

12:56 28 October 2009

Former pop music icon and Jailed paedophile Gary Glitter is to be hanged in a controversial new film.

The documentary-style Channel 4 drama, 'The Execution of Gary Glitter', aims to fire up a debate on the pros and cons of the death penalty.

The controversial series is set in a re-imagining of Britain whereby capital punishment has been reintroduced after it was ceased in 1969.

It will, however, adopt Glitter's real life offences as a crux for the show.

Glitter was jailed in Vietnam in 2005 for sexually assaulting two young girls. He was released in 2008 and returned to Britain after being refused entry into Thailand and Hong Kong.

Hilton McRae plays the 69-year-old singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, in the drama.

The film (which will be shown on November 7) portrays the public outcry and heated government debate in the very public case. It ends with the noose around Glitter's neck.

Channel 4's research uncovered that 70% of Brits wanted the death penalty back.

Head of documentaries Hamish Mykura said: "The debate around it arouses passions on both sides.

"High-profile crimes against children often prompt calls for the return of the death penalty - this drama confronts the public with what many say they want.

"Putting a resonant figure like Gary Glitter into a fictional situation helps to engage the viewer as the drama unfolds."