SEARCHING FOR MICHAEL JACKSON’S ZOO WITH ROSS KEMP
ITV, 9pm
Fresh from terrifying daytime TV quizzers in Bridge of Lies and still diving for wrecks in Shipwreck Treasure Hunter over on Sky, Ross Kemp is startlingly busy at the moment. But while these shows keep things fairly light, his new documentary takes on a far more serious matter. This is a bleak and distressing dissection of yet another dark aspect of the tarnished legacy of Michael Jackson. Could the erstwhile King of Pop have been, in essence, another Tiger King?
Deploying his Jeremy Clarkson-esque delivery at a number of unsuspecting Americans, Kemp goes in search of the truth behind rumours of animal abuse at Jackson’s Neverland ranch, attempting to track down the surviving animals and those who trained them. He uncovers a deeply cavalier attitude towards the procurement, treatment and disposal of the elephants, chimps and giraffes that were among Jackson’s menagerie, and discovers yet more evidence of revolting exploitation among owners of exotic animals. A salutary cameo from Jane Goodall underlines Jackson’s blanket refusal to consider the realities of the dreamworld he crafted around himself – but anyone who watched Leaving Neverland won’t be surprised by that. Sobering viewing.