Lucan

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Randy Winkman

Original Poster:

17,715 posts

196 months

Thursday 7th November
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Anyone watching this 3-parter on BBC2?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0024qbh/luc...

I'll not say too much as the first one was last night. But I dont think it can be dismissed as a simple re-telling of an old story because it features one of the sons of the murdered nanny Sandra Rivett, who speaks of his quest to find out the truth. In the first one we also hear from one of the staff of his friend John Aspinall who claims to have inside info on what happened to Lucan after the murder. Being a regular at Howletts zoo and having once seen Aspinall in a cage with his granddaughter and various gorillas, I have an interest in him and his friendship with Lucan. But his "always help your friends" approach leaves me cold to say the least. The description of Lucan having both lunch and dinner in the Clermont club and the rest of the time losing his money gambling is also another world to me.

I hope the series has enough in it to make it worth 3 parts. So far I'm not sure, but I'm definitely going to watch Part 2.

crowfield

444 posts

165 months

Thursday 7th November
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Watched part 1 yesterday and part 2 tonight. Not sure what to make of Neil - he obviously wants to find Lucan, but latches on to ideas as fact without any proof

bolidemichael

15,100 posts

208 months

Thursday 7th November
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Damn, I’ve finished the third part and skipped the first as I saw the second episode live on bbc and then went to player for the culmination.

Why could dna tests not be conducted? Why could they not have given the images of the drag queen to the AI guy for another match?

Chauffard

258 posts

4 months

Friday 8th November
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It seems unlikely that Lucan was anything other than 100% guilty, but because someone looking for a quick buck wrote another book, so "doubts" have surfaced, why did Lucan not realise the woman he was bashing on the head was larger, taller, smelled and sounded different than his tiny, skinny very posh sounding wife ? were Lady Lucan's very superficial injuries self inflicted ?

Randy Winkman

Original Poster:

17,715 posts

196 months

Friday 8th November
quotequote all
Chauffard said:
It seems unlikely that Lucan was anything other than 100% guilty, but because someone looking for a quick buck wrote another book, so "doubts" have surfaced, why did Lucan not realise the woman he was bashing on the head was larger, taller, smelled and sounded different than his tiny, skinny very posh sounding wife ? were Lady Lucan's very superficial injuries self inflicted ?
Yes - I dont think there's much debate that it was him and it was probably murder. I think there's a chance he was drunk and simply didnt realise with the first strike that it wasnt his wife. But I do agree that he probably did realise he'd made a mistake at some point after. Possibly soon after he first hit her. But how are we to know?

Willhire89

1,366 posts

212 months

Friday 8th November
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crowfield said:
Watched part 1 yesterday and part 2 tonight. Not sure what to make of Neil - he obviously wants to find Lucan, but latches on to ideas as fact without any proof
Bingham can do many things to change his appearance and many many years have passed but he can't stop being tall and the old boy with the carer just wasn't the right stature

FWIW I think with help from the likes of Aspinall he did get away maybe to Africa or India or both

Chauffard

258 posts

4 months

Friday 8th November
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Even without the murder it's fascinating that idle, privileged, aristocratic Regency fops like Lucan existed as late as the 1970s, spending spent night and day gambling away his inheritance at his club, no means of actually earning any income via gainful employment.

Randy Winkman

Original Poster:

17,715 posts

196 months

Friday 8th November
quotequote all
Chauffard said:
Even without the murder it's fascinating that idle, privileged, aristocratic Regency fops like Lucan existed as late as the 1970s, spending spent night and day gambling away his inheritance at his club, no means of actually earning any income via gainful employment.
It is odd. To have so much and I assume a good education, but at the same time have nothing. I would have thought that he could have used what he did have to make enough to live a pleasant lifestyle but I guess that would have involved actually doing some work. And I've only watched the first one so far but it looked like one of his mates had way more money than him in the first place. I guess that lots of people he hang around with were way richer than him.

Peterpetrole

288 posts

4 months

Friday 8th November
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Willhire89 said:
Bingham can do many things to change his appearance and many many years have passed but he can't stop being tall and the old boy with the carer just wasn't the right stature

FWIW I think with help from the likes of Aspinall he did get away maybe to Africa or India or both
With money anything is possible but I thought Lucan was pretty much bankrupt (could be wrong) and had no realistic options left.

Blackpuddin

17,375 posts

212 months

Friday 8th November
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Lucan's son was very keen to have him declared defunct, for titular inheritance reasons.

Many years ago (but after the nanny's murder) I saw someone on an otherwise empty ferry in the Western Isles who looked exactly like Lucan, but with an eyepatch. He was with a lady.

On another occasion when I found myself doing the Cresta Run in St Moritz (sorry) there was a huge kerfuffle when a rumour spread that Lucan was also there. Turned out to be a hoax organised for a laugh by the locals, one of whom did look a lot like him.

Edited by Blackpuddin on Friday 8th November 16:14

Belle427

9,739 posts

240 months

Friday 8th November
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Fascinating story though, I watched part 2 last night as there was nothing else on so will watch 1 and 3 later.

crowfield

444 posts

165 months

Friday 8th November
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Just finished watching part 3. Neil is coming across as very blinkered in his conviction that the old man is Lucan. I can understand his desire to find Lucan, but I feel the only real proof would be a DNA match with Lucan's son or one of his daughters. Would both parties agree to taking a test? I doubt it. The old man has certainly lead a strange life, with all the name changes and stories of his parents etc

C69

531 posts

19 months

Friday 8th November
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The programme should've been called 'Neil', given that it was about his story (but obviously 'Lucan' is gong to get a lot more attention).

Neil's partner didn't bother hiding that she's now thoroughly sick of his long-running obsession!

PinkTornado

1,096 posts

69 months

Saturday 9th November
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I found it all very odd- Neil was happy until he found out that he was adopted, and then he's latched on to the fate of a woman that he never knew to obsessive lengths that threaten to destroy his own life too.

Lucan? Probably topped himself- if he was bankrupt, how could he have fled so completely and so suddenly?

tribalsurfer

1,164 posts

126 months

Saturday 9th November
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Surely if they had a pic of the drag queen in Toronto they should have run the AI facial stuff on that against the old boy.

edthefed

726 posts

74 months

Saturday 9th November
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Loads more very basic enquiries could have been done

1) Some research into all the aliases used by the old chap and try to corroborate some of what he says
2) they spoke to Eton about only one of the aliases why not the rest ?
3) They simply accepted that the Toronto producer was right in his 60 year old identification based on a photograph, no attempt to track down any of the other cast to corroborate
4) Whilst DNA would be hard to obtain from both sides legitimately - it would have been relatively easy to acquire the old chaps fingerprints on a hard surface and try and preserve them for checking. If they really wanted to they could have found something with the old chaps DNA on - toothbrush, comb, loose hair the possibilities are endless, but that then opens up a can of worms about how to use any evidence arising

It left me thinking they have left the door open for another programme !

Randy Winkman

Original Poster:

17,715 posts

196 months

Saturday 9th November
quotequote all
C69 said:
The programme should've been called 'Neil', given that it was about his story (but obviously 'Lucan' is gong to get a lot more attention).

Neil's partner didn't bother hiding that she's now thoroughly sick of his long-running obsession!
Just watched the second one - it is all a bit sad with regards Neil's obsession isnt it? That he was so sure when they left the home of the old guy that it was definitely Lucan. Desperate.

Though I certainly dont believe the story near the beginning of pt 2 about Lucan fleeing because another man committed the murder and he assumed he'd get the blame. Surely if that was the case he'd think there was a pretty fair chance that evidence would show that? The man was apparently living in the house and the kids used to see him. Anyway, the programme left that idea behind fairly quickly.

Even after 2 episodes I cant work out who the investigative journalist sounds exactly like.

Belle427

9,739 posts

240 months

Saturday 9th November
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So who thinks the old boy was Lucan, im on the fence but his life was really strange.

PinkTornado

1,096 posts

69 months

Saturday 9th November
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Nah, he's just some very random, weird old boy with a strange life; that Neil guy was clearly going to latch onto ANYTHING 'off' about him, and stick with it no matter what. And as has been said above, he had nothing of the physicality about him whatsoever.

Even in normal circumstances Lucan possibly wouldn't have lived to be that kind of age anyway- heavy smoker, drinker, etc.

crowfield

444 posts

165 months

Saturday 9th November
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Lucan was tall at 6'4" The old man looked to be under 6' tall. I know you get shorter as you age, but I cant believe you shrink that much. He had lived a very odd life though, with numerous name changes. At one point he seemed to know Sandra, but later on claimed no knowledge of her. All very odd. Says he went to Eton and was expelled and later on just said he was sent to "school" . His stories about his parents changed too - just a confused old man or is there more to it than he lets on?

Edited by crowfield on Saturday 9th November 14:22