David Baddiel to present BBC doc on Holocaust denial

BBC Two has commissioned a “timely and important” film about Holocaust denial with Jewish comedian David Baddiel.

The national broadcaster said the film would “investigate the history and modern face of Holocaust denial” as the TV personality revealed that he had “always had a dark fascination” with the subject.

Editors said the Holocaust was “one of the most documented, witnessed and written about event in history… so why is Holocaust denial back on the political agenda?”

The film will aim to trace how Holocaust denial has evolved since the end of the Second World War 75 years ago, and “try to discover how and why people are still denying the Holocaust today” through discussions with experts.

“There could not be a more important and pressing subject for us to tackle through the religion and ethics slate,” said commissioning editor Abigail Priddle. “David Baddiel’s intelligence and integrity make him the perfect person to author this.”

Baddiel said he had “always had a dark fascination with Holocaust denial,” which he described as “a key battleground in the fight between truth and lies, a battle made more complex by the emergence of new technology, a post-truth world and more insidious soft core forms of denial”.

He added: “As the last survivors, including those in my own family, begin to pass away, and with them, living memory of The Holocaust, I’m grateful to the BBC for allowing me to explore this complex subject, in all its difficulty and darkness.”