Netflix confirms Garry Glitter documentary series in production after paedophile released from jail

Disgraced 1970s pop star Gary Glitter becomes the subject of a new Netflix documentary series following his release from prison after serving half of his 16-month sentence for sexually assaulting three schoolgirls.

The 79-year-old pedophile, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was reported to have left HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, last month and is on license terms.

His life and fall are chronicled in a new three-part series for the streaming giant.

Hunting Gary Glitter will feature previously unseen photos and archive footage, as well as interviews with journalists who have spent years trying to track him down and bring him to justice.

At the height of his pop career, Glitter was considered one of the most popular glam rock stars of the 1970s.

At the height of his career, Glittermania helped the big-haired singer score 12 consecutive Top 10 singles and performed to sold-out crowds in sparkly, silver jumpsuits and platform shoes.

Hits like “I’m the Leader of the Gang (I Am),” released in 1972, still bring in a fortune in royalties and are streamed on apps like Spotify, where he has over 700,000 listeners every month.

His fall from grace began in 1997 when he took a laptop to a PC World branch in Bristol for repair and a technician found 4,000 child abuse images on the hard drive.

The singer was subsequently jailed for four months in 1999 because of the images.

Glitter emigrated upon her release, before being expelled from Cambodia in 2002 over sex crimes charges.

Four years later, he was imprisoned in neighboring Vietnam for molesting two girls, one just ten years old.

He escaped serious charges of child rape – punishable by death – and returned to the UK in 2008.

He was forced to sign the sex offenders register, but was arrested again in 2012 at his multi-million pound home in Westminster.

Police would later describe him as a “habitual sexual predator who took advantage of the celebrity status bestowed on him.”

Glitter is categorized as a ‘level 3’ offender. It means he is still seen as ‘dangerous’ and ‘capable of causing serious harm’ and needs senior probation officers to keep an eye on him.

News of Glitter’s imminent release was revealed in December and it made one of his victims – who was just 10 when she was abused in Vietnam in 2005 – cry desperately.

The woman, known as Mrs D to protect her anonymity and now aged 27, said she hopes he is never allowed to travel again, claimed he abused “many more victims” in Vietnam, and admitted she fears she will never be able to find love due to the lingering trauma of his abuse.

She sobbed as she said, “He’s free to enjoy his money and his life now, but I live with what that man did to me every day of my life.” “I’ll never find someone to love me, and I’ll never be able to get married because of what happened. No one here will accept anyone with my past.

“There were many other victims besides me in Vietnam. He must never leave England, for he is a very dangerous man and he will do bad things again.’

Mrs D, along with a 12-year-old victim, gave evidence against him, and Glitter was jailed for three years before being deported to Britain.

In 2015, Glitter – who was a familiar face on the BBC TV hit show Top of the Pops – was convicted of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one count of having sex with a girl under the age of 13.

The crimes, committed between 1975 and 1980, included crimes of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13, attempted rape of an eight-year-old and molestation of a third girl.

In June 2021, it was revealed that Glitter had been greenlit for freedom, having served half of his 16-year sentence for sex offenses after being automatically released halfway through his fixed term sentence.

Glitter no longer owns the master rights to his songs, which means he no longer receives royalties.

In 2019, his song Rock and Roll Part 2 was featured in the hit movie The Joker, but rights holders insisted that he would receive no revenue.

He was serving half of his 16-year sentence for sex offenses after being automatically released for a limited period of time halfway through his sentence.

The series is made by Voltage, the production company behind the ITV documentary ‘Savile: Portrait of a Predator’.

Voltage is also lagging behind as an upcoming film about Prince Andrew and his doomed interview on BBC show ‘Newsnight’ in which he was questioned about his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

There had been previous reports of Gary Glitter documentaries in production for both ITV and Amazon Prime Video, sparking fears that survivors would find it ‘too exciting’ to watch.

A source said: “ITN is working on a series that will document Glitter’s success as a glam rock star in the 1970s and how – decades later – he was exposed for using his fame to prey on girls.”

But child sex exploitation survivor Sammy Woodhouse said: ‘This documentary will be too exciting for many (survivors) to watch.

“Many will think that a pedophile should not be given a podium.”