After appearing on screen with neo-Nazis, violent prisoners, drug addicts and Jimmy Savile, Louis Theroux says he doesn’t shy away from “the troubling side of life”.
But for his latest project, the documentary maker has stepped away from the camera to delve into one of the UK’s most notorious murder cases.
Jeremy Bamber has spent more than three decades in jail after being convicted of fatally shooting his adoptive parents Nevill and June, his sister Sheila Caffell and her six-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Nicholas, in 1985.
Image: White House Farm near Maldon, Essex, where the murders took place
Image: June Bamber (L), her daughter Sheila Caffell and grandchildren Nicholas and Daniel were all killed
He has always protested his innocence and insists the murders at the family’s farmhouse in Essex were committed by Ms Caffell – a model nicknamed “Bambi” who was diagnosed with schizophrenia – before she turned the gun on herself.
It is a version of events that police initially believed, and Theroux says there are “legit” people who think Bamber is serving a whole-life prison term for a crime he didn’t carry out.
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“Across the board you’ll find people who believe there were serious problems with the case, in terms of how it was investigated and how it was prosecuted,” he tells Sky News.
“There are things that are quite hard to explain on both sides.
“There was no forensic evidence of his presence at the farm, which is kind of extraordinary.”
Image: Jeremy Bamber was convicted of murdering five members of his family: Pic: Anglia Press Agency/Sky UK
Theroux says former detective Mark Williams-Thomas – who helped expose Savile’s sexual abuse – is one of those who believes Bamber “didn’t do it”.
He explains: “There’s a lot that’s positive about people attempting to find cases of historic crime in which there may have been an error.
“A lot of them are legit people. There are a lot of prominent journalists who would say they would feel Bamber is innocent.
“It’s not by any means a kind of fringe belief.”
While viewers are used to seeing Theroux feature in his documentaries, he is executive producer of The Bambers: Murder At The Farm, a new four-part series which re-examines the case and explores evidence that has emerged since the original trial.
It features first-hand testimony and previously unseen archive footage, as well as recordings of Bamber talking to a journalist while in jail.
Image: Bamber, who is serving a whole life prison term, continues to protest his innocence
So does Theroux himself believe Bamber committed the murders?
He remains tight-lipped on that, apologising for being “coy”, but admits the documentary has made him ask questions about who was responsible.
Theroux says: “Whether you think Jeremy Bamber did it or whether you think Sheila did it, both scenarios have anomalies, or at least require one to accept… surprising and in some cases seemingly anomalous details.
“The journey I went on was hearing something and going ‘If Jeremy Bamber did it, how did they explain that?’ – or ‘If Sheila did it, how would they explain that?'”
He adds: “Because of the nature of the case, we’re not in the realm of absolute certainty.”
Image: Bamber (R) was branded ‘warped and evil beyond belief’ by a judge. Pic: Sky UK
The documentary’s makers had hoped to interview Bamber, but director Lottie Gammon says the Ministry of Justice refused to allow it.
She says some of those campaigning for Bamber’s release have “legitimate” concerns, including how police treated the murder scene.
“There’s a lot of question marks over their behaviour,” she says.
“No one really clearly explains – because they didn’t really have to during the trial – how did he do this crime? That’s not something that was nailed down.
“Because there are these loose threads, many loose threads, it’s easy for people to look at it and have questions.
“I think this case is quite suited to the online world now of deep diving into these cases – especially over lockdown, these groups have really proliferated.”
Image: Bamber (L) pictured being escorted by an officer. Pic: Anglia Press Agency/Sky UK
What happened in the White House Farm murders?
On 7 August 1985, Jeremy Bamber rings police claiming his father had called him to say his sister Sheila Caffell had ‘gone crazy’ and had a gun
Police attend White House Farm and find the bodies of Bamber’s parents Nevill and June, Ms Caffell and her twin sons Nicholas and Daniel
Officers initially treat the case as a murder-suicide after Ms Caffell is found with her fingers around the rifle used in the shootings
A silencer which allegedly had traces of Ms Caffell’s blood on it is found in a cupboard three days after the murders
A month after the killings, Bamber’s then girlfriend, Julie Mugford, tells police he plotted to kill his parents for £436,000 inheritance
Bamber is charged with the murders and stands trial in 1986
The trial hears expert evidence that Ms Caffell – who had two gunshot wounds – could not have placed the silencer in the cupboard given her injuries from the first shot
A jury finds Bamber guilty by majority verdict and he is sentenced to five life prison terms
The judge, Mr Justice Drake, calls Bamber ‘warped and evil beyond belief’
Bamber has lost several legal challenges over his conviction since the original trial, including an appeal which was dismissed in 2002.
At the time, the Court of Appeal judges said the more they examined the detail of the case, the more likely they thought that “the jury were right”.
They also concluded there was no conduct by the police or prosecution which would have “adversely affected the jury’s verdict”.
In 2011, Bamber contacted Ofcom over a documentary about him which he claimed invaded his privacy – but the complaint was rejected.
Theroux believes the convicted killer will “probably take issue with parts” of his latest series.
“Whether or not you believe he did it, he’s on a campaign to have himself freed,” he says.
“I think he’d appreciate the fact we’ve done a nuanced and forensic view, but we’ve clearly included material that undermines or disputes that (campaign).”
Image: Bamber has lost several legal challenges over his conviction
The four-part series, airing on Sky Crime, has been made by Theroux’s production company Mindhouse, which he founded with his wife, producer Nancy Strang, and fellow documentary maker Aaron Fellows.
Now aged 51, Theroux says he intends to keep making documentaries for another “good 25 to 30 years”.
“You could either say that’s a lot or a little,” he adds.
“The stories I most enjoy are not overly cuddly. I think there’s a reason I’ve been on BBC2 for 25 years, as opposed to BBC1.
“I’m interested in stories that have a dimension to them that is in some ways troubling.
“I don’t think you should shy away from the troubling side of life – that’s sort of my bread and butter.”
Image: Louis Theroux is the executive producer of The Bambers: Murder At The Farm. Pic: Freddie Claire
But despite the recent success of his celebrity interview podcast Grounded, a reboot of Theroux’s TV show When Louis Met… – when he famously spent time with the likes of Savile, Max Clifford and Neil and Christine Hamilton – isn’t on the cards.
“I’ve got a lot older. Times have changed, TV’s changed,” he says.
“It would be like doing Weird Weekends again. It would be quite weird, wouldn’t it?
“I would never rule out doing programmes that feature celebrities in… a single person profile, or go on a journey with someone and I’m on camera. I could see that happening and that would be fun.”
The Bambers: Murder At The Farm will premiere on Sky Crime and NOW on Sunday 26 September at 9pm.
Graham Greene, the Canadian First Nations actor best known for his performance in Dancing With Wolves, has died aged 73.
The star died peacefully after a long illness.
His agent Michael Greene (not a relation) said he loved everything the actor “did for his people and for all the world” in a statement sent to Sky News.
“He was a great man of morals, ethics and character and will be eternally missed…God bless his beautiful soul.”
Greene was a “trailblazer” who opened doors for indigenous actors in Hollywood, US entertainment outlet Deadline reported.
He made his screen debut in an episode of the Canadian drama series The Great Detective in 1979, and his first film, Running Brave, followed in 1983.
But his breakthrough came when he was cast as Kicking Bird (Zintka Nagwaka) in Kevin Costner‘s Dances With Wolves, released in 1990.
Greene was nominated for best supporting actor, one of 12 nods for the film, which took home seven, including best picture.
He went on to appear in Maverick alongside Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster in 1994, Die Hard With A Vengeance with Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson in 1995, The Green Mile with Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan in 1999, The Twilight Saga: New Moon with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in 2009, and Wind River alongside Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen in 2017.
His TV credits included Wolf Lake, Defiance and Marvel’s Echo, as well as Tulsa King and The Last Of Us more recently.
Greene also had several projects in the works, according to movie database IMDB.
He is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, his daughter Lilly Lazard-Greene and her son, Talo.
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has said he was arrested at Heathrow Airport, over social media posts sharing his views on trans rights.
Writing on Substack, the 57-year-old said that after flying into the UK from Arizona, he was detained by five armed officers and put in a cell before being questioned over posts published on X in April.
During questioning, he said a nurse checked on him and found his blood pressure had reached “stroke territory”, so he was taken to A&E.
A Met Police spokeswoman confirmed an arrest was made at Heathrow on Monday but did not identify Linehan.
In a statement, the force said: “On Monday 1 September at 1pm officers arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight.
“The man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. This is in relation to posts on X.
“After being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital. His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing.
“He has now been bailed pending further investigation.”
The arrest was made by officers from the force’s Aviation Unit, the Met spokeswoman said, adding that it is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms.
“These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest,” she said.
“AI has changed my life, absolutely,” Lucas Horne tells Sky News. “When I play my music, I’m happy because the words I know mean a lot to me can now be heard by everyone else.”
Lucas was 17 when, in December 2016, with no warning, he suffered a large, traumatic bleed across his brain.
He didn’t wake up until almost four months later.
Unknowingly, he had been living with a defect in the blood vessels known as an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a ticking time bomb which had ruptured, and the next three years of his life were spent in recovery in a care home.
Image: Lucas spent almost four months in a coma after suffering a brain bleed in 2016. Pic: Fanvue World AI Creator Awards
He couldn’t walk and struggled to talk. Writing down his thoughts, almost like a diary, was something he says he wanted to do from very early on.
“During my care home days when I couldn’t really express myself very well – I still can’t – but I could write about it, it was an outlet for me,” he says. “Since I woke up, I’ve been writing… but for a long time I couldn’t record anything.”
Lucas, now 26, has spent years working on his physical recovery and speech. But when he was eventually physically able to record the songs he had been writing himself, he became frustrated by the way his voice had changed.
“It never sounded how I had [it in] my head,” he says. “I’m very monotone in how I speak, I struggle to really display emotion.”
And so he turned to AI (artificial intelligence). Now, Lucas is also known as The BTO Kid, and is one of 15 creators from around the world, shortlisted from more than 500 entries, for the inaugural Future Sound Awards – celebrating artificial intelligence in music.
Image: DJ David Guetta is among the big-name artists who have embraced AI. Pic: Christoph Reichwein/picture-alliance/dpa/AP July 2025
While some artists such as will.i.am, David Guetta, Grimes, Timbaland and even Sir Paul McCartney have embraced certain aspects of AI, it can be a controversial subject in the creative industries – with concerns raised by many in the about issues including copyright, human replacement, fakes, and regulation.
Despite the criticism, AI isn’t going away. Last year was a “breakout” year for the technology in music, according to the International Music Summit’s latest annual business report, with 60m users using AI software.
Lucas says he is a perfect example of how the technology can be used for good.
“I’ve been able to use AI to express how I’m feeling,” he says. “It’s been big for me to create [music] that I’m proud of. I can see the arguments [against it], but from my view I know AI helped me create something I couldn’t before. I’m not Adele, but I have been able to make something that I’m proud of and that expresses my view point of what’s happened to me.”
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Will.i.am starts Sky News interview with AI app
‘AI is lowering the barriers’
BTO stands for Beat The Odds and his shortlisted track is titled AI Gave Me A Voice. “I pinch myself every day because this just can’t be true,” is the opening line – which he says reflects how far he has come from the moment he woke up and discovered what had happened.
“That comes from reality. I do have moments where I think so much has happened that it must not be true… every line means something to me.”
Lucas, who lives in Nottingham, used the AI-powered music production platform TwoShot to create the track, using prompts on what he wanted for the sound alongside his lyrics, inspired by melodic rap.
“I think we’re gonna get quite a lot more people like me that can’t record music and have been given a voice through AI,” he says. “AI is lowering the barriers to entry for a lot of things.” Which can be a negative as well as a positive, he acknowledges. “We’ll have to see where it goes.”
Image: Gallis is among 15 music creators shortlisted for the Future Sound Awards. Pic: Fanvue World AI Creator Awards
Launched by the Fanvue World AI Creator Awards, The Future Sound Awards aim to highlight the ethical use of AI in music, organisers say. Fanvue is a subscription creator platform with more than 180,000 users.
Some 15 artists from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia, as well as the UK, have been shortlisted for prizes, and the winners will be announced later in September.
Lucas is one of two British creators on the list, alongside Gallis, from Essex. The 31-year-old first dipped his toe into the waters of the music industry about 10 years ago, after joining the urban-pop boy band Mr Meanor, but says the industry was hard and “it all got a bit too much”.
He is now a tattoo artist and fine painter, but continued his songwriting and started to try out AI music production tools about 18 months ago.
Image: UK Music organised a protest against AI copyright plans at Westminster earlier in the summer
AI has ‘made me more creative’
As an artist, he says he had his own concerns about AI before he started using it himself, particularly after image generators started becoming prominent online.
“It was stealing the work that I was doing,” is how he describes his initial feelings. “But I ended up jumping on board with it and for me personally, it’s inspired me so much. It’s made me quicker at what I’m doing, it’s made me more creative. And I think it’s the same with music. I think it’s gonna, if anything, grow the industry.”
However, he says he agrees with criticism about the ethics of how some AI models are trained – following controversy about work by human music artists and authors being used without consent. “And trying to impersonate exactly someone else and using someone else’s voice, I don’t agree with that at all,” he adds.
Gallis’s shortlisted song, Chiropractor emerged from “friendly competition” with a community of creators he came across when he moved into AI, trading feedback and ratings. The genre is Trinibad, which he says there isn’t enough of “in the AI world”, and the track is designed to get people dancing.
“I mainly stick to urban music, but I like writing in a lot of different styles,” he says. “I’ve done house songs, I’ve done UK drill songs, Afrobeats, amapiano. I’m a bit of a vibes man so if it makes me dance and move and smile that’s when I really enjoy it.”
Narcis Marincat, head of AI at Fanvue, says the stories behind the selected songs show a “richness and human emotion” that appealed to him and other judges.
“The impact of AI in music continues to divide opinion,” he says. “But for the first time, via the Future Sound Awards, we’re able to show a different perspective on the positive impact of AI in music – uncovering the real people behind the technology and sharing their stories and music.”