BSkyB is planning to reconstruct the forthcoming trial of pop star Michael Jackson on a daily basis in an attempt to circumvent an order banning cameras from the United States courtroom.
Using a technique first used to cover the Hutton inquiry in 2003, BSkyB will partner with US network E! Entertainment Television, employing official transcripts to reconstruct the previous day’s courtroom events.
Jackson (46) was charged on nine felony counts by US prosecutors in December 2003.
He has been accused of molesting a child under 14 at his Neverland ranch and plying the child with an intoxicating substance.
The former child star, who went on to become one of the biggest selling artists of all time, has repeatedly protested his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Jackson, whose career has been dogged by controversy in recent years, is currently free on $3-million bail but faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted.
The half-hour programme will be screened on both Sky News and Sky One every weekday.
A Sky spokesperson said the roles had yet to be cast but that actors would be primarily chosen for their ability rather than their resemblance to their real-life counterparts.
”We’ve got no interest in turning this into a sensational melodrama, we want to do a straightforward reconstruction of what is said,” said Sky News’s associate editor, Simon Bucks.
Cameras have been banned from the California hearing in an effort to dissipate the media frenzy surrounding the trial. – Guardian Unlimited Â