Louis Theroux has admitted he failed to unmask Jimmy Savile as a paedophile - but says he may have stopped him abusing for a YEAR.
Writer and broadcaster Louis, 44, famously spent over a week with Savile for his documentary BBC series ‘When Louis Met’.
Despite unparalleled access to the prolific sex offender Louis failed to uncover the truth about his sexual abuse.
But Louis says despite feeling like a failure he has studied records which show that during the year the controversial show was filmed no allegations have been made.
Louis made his comments on comedian Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre podcast.
Louis said: “I have grappled with, as someone who made a documentary about him, spent 10 days with him and failed to reveal the fact that he was one of the most prolific sex offenders of modern times possibly.
“I feel a sense of responsibility. I’m trying to go back and figure out how did I miss that?
‘”But there is a little bar chart where they have collated all the reported incidents of offences and do you know that [in the year] I was with him for 10 days or so, there is no victims?”.
Louis, who also interviewed sex offender Max Clifford, admitted that since the revelations came to light he has rewatched the show to find out where he went wrong.
He added: “I think none of us wants to believe that someone we know is a sex offender.
“I knew when I was making it there was his sexual side that I had not fully understood. With Jimmy Savile, clearly no one really knew.
“But I knew there was a question that hadn’t been answered to do with what his interests were.”
Louis went on to explain how close he had come to unmasking Jimmy during a scene in a room where kept his dead mother’s clothes.
He had begun to ask him about what his interests were, but rather than push with questions, he doesn’t “nail it”.
Louis said: “When I look back, that is the moment it’s in my hand and it sort of slips away."
