Multiple writers tried to expose Harrods owner, but money, threats and media control kept allegations under lock

When Mike Radford, an executive producer at the BBC, was approached last year about the idea of a documentary on Mohamed Al Fayed’s sexual crimes, he was concerned that it might not be worth putting the women through the trauma of recounting their ordeals on screen.

“If we did not prove that his sexual offences were of the most serious nature, there was a danger that the audience might shrug and say, ‘Well, we know that already,’” he said. The threshold was high; Fayed had to be proven to be a rapist for the world to finally listen.