TO DJ Tony Blackburn he was “quite a character.” To then culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, he was “unique and colourful,” with a great “sense of fun.”

But, looking back on the tributes paid to Sir Jimmy Savile on his death in 2011, that of fellow sex pest Dave Lee Travis is perhaps the most telling.

“I’ve known Jimmy Savile for over 50 years and I’ve never had an absolutely in-depth straight conversation with him because he’s constantly got a sort of invisible shield up,” he said.

“He’ll joke his way out of something if he doesn’t want to answer you. I think probably enigma is a good word for it.”

It’s a good word too for the moment when the TV predator is interviewed by the police in An Audience With Jimmy Savile by Jonathan Maitland.

In his private quarters at Stoke Mandeville hospital, where he raised £20 million to establish the National Spinal Injuries Centre and abused at least 60 people, Savile ends up interrogating his supposed interrogators.

So much so, that when a defeated sergeant bemoans his unanswered Jim’ll Fix It letter, he is chided: “What you did wrong is you did not include a stamped addressed envelope!”

This sharply contrasts to the same officer’s distant, suspicious approach to rape survivor Lucy, who’s scornfully told to repeat her story and reminded that it is only “allegations.”

This juxtaposition is the peak of Maitland’s occasionally weak plotting, perhaps understandable given the heavy subject matter.

The script, largely based around a fictional This Is Your Life-style interview in 1991, is at pains to prevent a rewriting of history. Thus fawning tributes from the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles and Cardinal Hume feature prominently and BBC titans turn a blind eye to abuse, even when perpetrated on their own set.

But none of this could be pulled off without Alastair McGowan (pictured), who is chillingly convincing as the “people’s paedo,” down to the last “now then.”

Leah Whittaker as Lucy is suitably determined and solemn, if rather wooden, while Charlotte Page and Robert Perkins are more than competent at switching between other roles, including a very convincing tabloid hack determined to expose the truth in the face of libel threats.

The characters’ direct encounters with Savile are unconvincing if taken at face value but must surely be seen as representative of the power and fear dynamics — and misogyny — that allowed him to carry on regardless.

As we’re reminded, Savile’s gravestone bore the inscription: “It was good while it lasted.” Maitland’s play persuasively illustrates why it did.

But, more interestingly, it questions whether even a man with a clear — if horrifying warped — sense of religious morality could truly have believed this.

Runs until July 11, box office: parktheatre.co.uk

Review by Conrad Landin