Lucan (spoilers)

[TheNinkyNonkyIsATardis]

I binge watched this yesterday, found it a really good watch, though the ending was a bit wishy-washy.

What did others think?

I found it pretty unlikely that they could go to all those lengths, follow all those highly niche clues, and find someone who a) wasn't Lucan but b) had such a strong match on facial recognition and c) spouted so many "appropriate" things like going to Eton (unless the edit just filtered out him saying dozens of things that didn't fit).

And in the end, I thought it was odd that they took one old man's word for it that it was a different person, whilst not taking the same verification steps!

Very sad overall. Especially the ex boyfriend of Sandra who asked her to swap date night, she wasn't even supposed to be there.

I think he did escape to Africa, possibly now dead - or possibly the guy in Australia.

That’s a HUGE age gap

You can simultaneously think that there was probably some sort of conspiracy to get Lucan out of England after the murder, and that the old guy in Aus is not Lucan.

@NukaCola
Agreed and I think the possibility that he went to Africa is definitely a strong one - so many sightings, his brother moved to South Africa only six months after the murder, his son and other family members spent lots of time there plus friends like Aspinall owned huge swathes of land there. It was an obvious place for him to escape to.
But did he then later go to Australia? I just wish they could have told us more about the old man in that documentary rather than leave us still wondering! Even if the old man isn’t Lord Lucan he’s still pretty interesting in his own right - why all the name changes and house moves? How does he afford full time carers? Is he or isn’t he a Buddhist?

The carer could make a lot of money if he chose to tell his story.

Oh gosh, Taki. Gossip columnist and facilitator. I remember his column. He was so bad that even Boris Johnson had to apologise for him.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taki_Theodoracopulos en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taki_Theodoracopulos]]]]

Lovely chap.

One avenue that wasn't explored - Follow The Money.

The Aus guy seems to have never worked. Where is the money for his whole life coming from?

Not sure if this has been explained or if the old man was asked but how has he funded his existence and all the travelling and accommodation over the last 50 years? Too many questions left unanswered on the programme.

As far as his appearance goes a person can change naturally almost beyond recognition in 50 years but his height is another matter. Allowing for natural shrinkage which is a real thing am not sure how much would be reasonable to believe. Lucan at 6ft 4 v the old man's height which wasn't mentioned (sorry if it was and I missed it)

I wanted him to be Lucan.

@MrsGrimshaw
They did briefly mention the height change and Neil said he’d looked into it and you can lose as much as 4 inches as you age. But to me it looked even more than that and also the old man had quite a slight frame - I don’t know that you could change that much? But also it’s hard to judge exactly from watching on tv where the angle of the camera etc can affect the perspective.
The other differences in his nose and ears were explained by plastic surgery. Again that seems plausible - I don’t know what is and isn’t possibly with plastic surgery (would have been good to have an expert discuss that but I imagine Neil has maybe already done that and it just wasn’t shown in the documentary). To me, the apparent height change is the hardest thing to explain away

I’m guessing that’s why he went to an Indian Ashram where he probably lived for next to nothing . Probably worked there for board. He did say he’s spent his life looking for places to stay and friends .

However he’s obviously paid for flights to Aus and India as well as Africa , assuming he lived there before he went to India.

John Bingham (Lord Lucan) was an autocratic POS with a huge gambling addiction. He was penniless at the time of the murder.

That's why he committed it - for money, and for control of his children. He did think he was murdering Veronica. That's why the murder was so brutal. Overkill, due to hatred.

Aspers helped him to escape.

You need to watch the docu-drama with Rory Kinnear, to get a better understanding of what happened.

Or read Laura Thompson's excellent book about the whole affair.

There is no way that such a man as John Bingham would have survived in an ashram, or by doing menial jobs all around the world.

He just wouldn't have done that.

I am really surprised at the BBC for making this banal, foolish piece of populist television.

If that old man in it had been Lucan, Scotland Yard would have arrested him.

Yes he does seem to have more money that you’d expect for someone who was a cabaret performer back in the 60s and doesn’t seem to have worked much since. But I guess he could have had an inheritance etc. If he grew up in London, perhaps he was left a house there - the income from selling or renting that would go a long way in supporting a reasonably modest lifestyle in Australia.

By some quirk of fate, Christobel Boyce, who was also a nanny for the Lucan's at that time was murdered by her husband 10 years later. He disposed of her body in the most gruesome manner and got away with a short sentence for manslaughter because of her 'nagging'.

I agree it is hard to imagine him being able to make such a massive life change successfully.

But, British police couldn't arrest him in Australia, they have no jurisdiction. Australian police would have to agree to do it

@Westfacing
Just googled that. Wow what a grim story!

But British police couldn't arrest him in Australia, they have no jurisdiction. Australian police would have to agree to do it

Yes. Which is why the Australian police did, in fact, arrest John Stonehouse in December 1974, because they thought he was Lord Lucan. It wasn't, of course, although Stonehouse himself was also wanted by the police........... he was an MP who faked his own death, for money.

The Aus. Police would arrest anyone they thought was Lucan, I'm sure. It would be a real feather in their cap.

But they haven't arrested the old man in the documentary. So.................

Link to Stonehouse

I agree that the whole tone of the thing what not what I was expecting from BBC2. It was very "channel 5". Neil's confirmation bias was so strong - anything which supported his theory that this old guy was Lucan was seized upon, anything which didn't support it was dismissed out of hand.

I'm really not sure what the point of the series was at all.

Your last sentence as to the point of the series.

Well I was rivetted! OMG no pun intended 🫢🫤

agree that the whole tone of the thing what not what I was expecting from BBC2. It was very "channel 5". Neil's confirmation bias was so strong - anything which supported his theory that this old guy was Lucan was seized upon, anything which didn't support it was dismissed out of hand.
I'm really not sure what the point of the series was at all.

I totally agree. I watched this episode with the 82yo Aus guy with utter incredulity. Does anyone think that out of ALL the people who've looked for Lord Lucan, a (frankly rather low-IQ) builder is going to be the ONE? Even if he is the son of Sandra. At one point the 'investigator' was almost rubbing his hands at the thought of a nice trip to Australia - and I wondered who's paying for it?

Is the 'next episode' in Thailand? Where they've tracked down another 82yo!? Wonder how many they will harass in their 'search'?

I actually thought this was a Channel 5 production! Not worthy of the BBC.

I don't think it's fair to write Neil off as "low IQ". He came across as really vulnerable, clearly carrying a LOT of baggage from his adoption, his adoptive parents keeping secrets, and then the trauma of finding out what happened to his biological mother.

He needs therapy, not a 3 part series on the BBC.

I don’t think the man was Lucan - but the carer didn’t deny he was in any way. He said, what would Neil get from him even if he IS Lucan. I hope Neil finds peace. Surely the carer would have categorically denied he was Lucan but he didn’t. Strange.

Who described him as low IQ? I wouldn't have said that at all. He struck me as a determined, tenacious man who was desperate for answers. I agree he really needs some therapy to unravel the terrible trauma he has suffered. I felt desperately sad for him and his family.

I agree with this. I haven't seen this series but am old enough to remember it and have read enough to think that if my parent were killed in such a brutal way, with the huge public furore afterwards, I'd want justice. I hope that he finds peace in any way he can, although I don't think that he'll find Lucan.