Chris Atkins (born Christopher Walsh Atkins)
is a British
journalist, documentary film maker and best-selling
author. He has made several
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
feature films, feature length documentaries and television documentaries, which have received three
BAFTA nominations.
His work is noted for causing controversy and has faced legal action as a result of his films. He gave evidence to the
Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of ...
into the ethics of the British press.
In 2016 he was sentenced to five years in prison for
tax fraud.
He published a book about his time in jail entitled ''A Bit of a Stretch'' which became a bestseller in the UK.
Early life and career
Atkins was educated at
Bromsgrove School from 1989–1994.
His early career involved making low-budget dramas with director
Richard Jobson,
including Jobson's debut feature film, ''
16 Years of Alcohol
''16 Years of Alcohol'' is a 2003 drama film written and directed by Richard Jobson, based on his semi-autobiographical 1987 novel. Kevin McKidd stars as Frankie, a violent alcoholic who is partially based on Jobson and his brother.
Plot
The o ...
'', which was nominated for five
British Independent Film Awards in 2003, winning two. He also produced ''
The Purifiers
''The Purifiers'' is a 2004 action film directed by Richard Jobson, and starring Dominic Monaghan. It was produced by Chris Atkins.
Cast
* Kevin McKidd as Moses
* Gordon Alexander as John
* Rachel Grant as Li
* Dominic Monaghan as Sol
* Amb ...
'' with Jobson in 2004, a martial arts film set in the future, which was acquired by
Working Title and released in the USA by
New Line Cinema. In 2005, he produced Jobson's ''A Woman In Winter'', starring
Jamie Sivves,
Julie Gayet and
Brian Cox. It was nominated for two
Scottish BAFTAs, including best film.
Documentaries
''Taking Liberties''
In 2007, Atkins directed his first feature documentary ''
Taking Liberties
''Taking Liberties'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, consisting of tracks not previously released on his albums as released in the United States. It is largely made up of B-sides, but features three previousl ...
'', which criticised the
Blair
Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...
government for undermining civil liberties since the war on terror. While making ''Taking Liberties'', Atkins was held under anti-terror laws when he tried to speak with the Home Secretary
John Reid at the 2006
Labour Party conference.
The film was released in over 50 British cinemas shortly before Blair stepped down in 2007. The ''
Guardian's''
Peter Bradshaw gave the film 4 stars, saying "there's something exhilarating about this thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile docu-blast against Tony Blair's insidious diminution of native British liberties." The film was BAFTA nominated for the "Carl Foreman award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature film" in the
2008 British Academy Film Awards.
''Starsuckers''
In 2009, Atkins directed his second feature documentary, ''
Starsuckers
''Starsuckers'' is a 2009 British documentary film aiming to expose the "shams and deceit involved in creating a pernicious celebrity culture".
Directed by Chris Atkins, director of the 2007 documentary '' Taking Liberties'', it shows the pro ...
'', which heavily criticised the media for the negative effects of celebrity culture. The film gained wide notoriety for selling fake celebrity stories to several British tabloid newspapers, and for secretly filming journalists from Sunday tabloids, who were attempting to buy celebrity medical records. ''
The Guardian'' newspaper published two front page stories about ''Starsuckers'' in October 2009, and the ''
News Of The World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' quickly contacted the filmmakers to assert that they had never threatened libel actions against another publication.
Atkins also secretly filmed the celebrity publicist
Max Clifford boasting about how he kept embarrassing stories about his clients out of the media. Clifford also tried to legally block the film's release.
The film criticised
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
over the negative consequences of both
Live Aid
Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
and
Live 8 charity concerts, leading Geldof to write Atkins a 6,000 word letter, attacking the film days before it was screened on
Channel 4 in 2010. Thirty minutes of footage from ''
Starsuckers
''Starsuckers'' is a 2009 British documentary film aiming to expose the "shams and deceit involved in creating a pernicious celebrity culture".
Directed by Chris Atkins, director of the 2007 documentary '' Taking Liberties'', it shows the pro ...
'' were shown as part of Atkins' evidence to the
Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of ...
.
His evidence was quoted extensively in Leveson's final report.
''UKIP: The First 100 Days''
In 2015, Atkins wrote and directed ''
UKIP: The First 100 Days'', a
mockumentary drama for Channel 4.
The film was set in an imagined future where
UKIP won the 2015 general election, and mixed real news reports with fly on the wall style footage of a fictional MP, Deepa Kaur. The film was broadcast on 16 February 2015 and caused considerable controversy, leading to over 6000 complaints to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom.
UKIP supporters were upset that the film portrayed the party's policies in a negative light so close to the general election. Ofcom rejected all of the complaints and ruled that the film had not breached the regulations.
Work for Channel 4 and BBC
Atkins went on to make TV documentaries for the
Channel 4 television series ''
Dispatches''.
In 2012 he spent a year undercover investigating the illegal trade in confidential data,
in which Atkins bought private information on volunteers from unwitting private detectives to illustrate the ease with which data is bought and sold on the black market. The film culminated in Atkins being unmasked by two private detectives who chased him down a street.
He also produced and directed the ''Dispatches'' special "Celebs, Brands and Fake Fans", which attempted to show how social media popularity can be bought and sold. The film generated considerable controversy when it was revealed that Atkins had secretly filmed several members of the ITV soap ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' at a gifting suite, where he handed out fake products in return for glowing endorsement tweets. The investigation was run on the front of ''The Sun'' and ''The Mirror'' newspapers, and ITV threatened to sue Channel 4 if the film was broadcast. It was screened in August 2013 without any legal action.
In 2013, he produced and directed the ''
Panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' episode "All in a Good Cause", which looked into unethical investments made by charities such as
Comic Relief, the aftermath of which resulted in Atkins claiming he had, "turned into the comedy establishment's most hated man". The investigation into
Comic Relief's investments, and the resulting public outcry, led to the charity selling off millions of pounds of shares in arms companies, alcohol firms and tobacco manufacturers and changing its investment policy. Atkins' Panorama was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA in 2014.
In 2022 it was announced Atkins would write the courtroom drama
Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama for Channel 4. A 2-part miniseries based on the events of the high-profile
Wagatha Christie
''Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney'', which is popularly known as the Wagatha Christie trial, was a libel case between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, two British wives of footballers (WAGs). The dispute began in 2019, when Rooney accused Vardy ...
trial which would recreate scenes using verbatim court transcripts against analysis from the media.
''Who Killed the KLF?''
Atkins directed the 2021 feature documentary ''
Who Killed the KLF?
''Who Killed the KLF?'' is a 2021 documentary film by Chris Atkins about The KLF.
The unauthorised documentary includes reconstructions of the band's dramatic gestures, played by actors. KLF members Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond refused to take ...
'', about
the KLF. He began making it in 2009. KLF members
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million.
He is married to artist and mu ...
and
Bill Drummond refused to appear in the film and at one point filed a copyright claim against Atkins to prevent usage of the band's music.
Writing
Atkins occasionally writes for ''
The Guardian''.
Atkins was also a credited writer on the BBC3 show ''
The Revolution Will Be Televised
''The Revolution Will Be Televised'' is a British television satire show starring Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein, which was first screened on BBC Three in August 2012. Writing for ''The Guardian'', Sam Wollaston said it's "Sacha Baron Co ...
'', which featured political stunts by Heydon Prowse and Joylon Rubenstein. The first series won a Television BAFTA in 2012, and was nominated again in 2013.
Personal life
Atkins was in a relationship with
Lottie Moggach
Lottie Moggach is an English journalist and author.
Career
Her debut novel, ''Kiss Me First'', was published in 2013. It is about Leila, a woman who is obsessed with computers, who helps a woman called Tess disappear without anyone realising by ...
. The pair remain close and have one son.
Criminal conviction
In 2016, Atkins went on trial at Southwark Crown Court for tax fraud. He had been arrested in 2012 by
HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service as part of an enquiry into tax evasion schemes within the British film industry. The court heard how Atkins and others had falsified invoices for a partnership of bankers, in return for their funding his film ''Starsuckers''. He was found guilty on two counts of "conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, theft and fraud", sentenced to five years in jail and disqualified from acting as a company official for 12 years.
[ A later investigation by the ''i'' newspaper established that Atkins did not financially gain and all of the money from the scheme – £85,000 – was spent on funding the film.
]
''A Bit of a Stretch''
Atkins kept a diary recording his experiences in HM Prison Wandsworth
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK.
History
The prison w ...
, between July 2016, when he was sentenced, and March 2017, when he was transferred to an open prison. It was published in February 2020 as ''A Bit of a Stretch'', and received highly positive reviews in several newspapers. Atkins is developing the book into a TV show after the screen rights were bought by Sony-backed 11th Hour Films.
He released a podcast series on prison life, also called ''A Bit of a Stretch'', in October 2020. It was based on over twenty interviews Atkins conducted with former prisoners about their time behind bars. The podcast was given 4 stars by '' The Times'' and achieved over 200,000 downloads. He started a prison literacy campaign the same year, convincing publishers to donate thousands of new books to prison libraries during the pandemic.
Filmography
Bibliography
*
*Atkins, Chris (2020). ''A Bit of a Stretch: The Diary of a Prisoner.'' Atlantic Books.
References
External links
Sentencing of Chris Atkins at Southwark Crown Court
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Chris
1976 births
21st-century British criminals
People educated at Bromsgrove School
British documentary film directors
British film directors
British filmmakers
British film producers
British fraudsters
British journalists
British people convicted of fraud
British people convicted of theft
Living people