Who Killed the Playboy Earl?

Who Killed the Playboy Earl?
7 February 2008
Cutting Edge
Channel 4

When Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, went missing from his luxury hotel in Cannes on 5 November 2004, it inspired a press frenzy that exposed a frothy mix of glamour, vice, drink, drugs and fallen aristocracy.

Wayward life

The press exposed the lifestyle of the 66-year old earl – 'Atty' to his friends – who held one of the most distinguished lineages in the country, but who had become an ageing, sex-obsessed adventurer, whose wayward life created passion and jealousy in his many lovers, and eventually a vicious rivalry that led to the Earl's sudden death.

Medallion-wearing lothario

This film tells the extraordinary story of the Earl's downfall – his transformation from the Eton-educated millionaire philanthropist, patron of the Owl Trust and heir to the great social reformer Lord Shaftesbury – into a medallion-wearing lothario with an insatiable appetite for young women who became lured into the ruthless demi-monde of 'hostess bars' on the French Riviera.

See the Channel 4 webpage about the programme, including an interview with producer Adrian Gatton about the making of the documentary, here.

Who Killed the Playboy Earl is an independent production for Channel 4 by Blast Films.

Director: Robert Davis
Producer: Adrian Gatton
Executive Producer: Grant McKee