The BBC's new documentary series, House of Maxwell, tells the story of one of the most controversial family dynasties in the world.
MORE: Call the Midwife star shares major update on series 12
The three-parter takes a look at the controversial family in-depth, from the upbringing of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell to the mysterious death of her multi-millionaire father, Robert Maxwell. Read on to find out what to expect from the new docuseries.
WATCH: The trailer for the BBC's new series House of Maxwell
Last year, Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of grooming and trafficking underage girls, a scandal that came after her long-time associate, Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead in his jail cell while serving a sex trafficking sentence in 2019. She also faces a second criminal trial for two charges of lying under oath about Jeffrey's abuse of underage girls.
MORE: 5 true-crime shows about scammers that are a must-watch
MORE: Call the Midwife star shares major update on series 12
Following Ghislaine's conviction, she became the most prominent member of a family already tainted by controversy. In order to understand her fall from grace, the BBC aims to delve into the "staggering tale of fortunes built and lost, mysterious deaths and a spectacular descent into scandal and criminality".
© Photo: BBCThe series looks at the Maxwell dynasty
The docuseries tells the story using "intimate first-hand testimony - including from a survivor speaking for the first time about their experience of the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell", as well as exclusive never-before-seen sources of archive.
Teasing the series, the BBC synopsis reads: "From her father Robert Maxwell’s beginnings as an impoverished survivor of the Holocaust, via the extraordinary creation and collapse of his multimillion-pound media business, to his apparently accidental death and revelations of fraud on a grand scale. From the dark story of Ghislaine Maxwell’s upbringing as a multi-millionaire's daughter and a life of high society glamour, to her crimes in collusion with Jeffrey Epstein and their impact on their victims."
The first episode looks at Ghislaine's father, from his relationship with his nine children to the scandal that began to unfold following his death.
© Photo: BBCThe documentary addresses Robert's mysterious death
The instalment details the formative influence that Robert had on the lives of his nine children as well as his "intense rivalry" with Rupert Murdoch. The episode will also delve into the media mogul's mysterious disappearance from off his yacht in the Canary Islands and the huge holes in his company's finances that came to light after his passing.
House of Maxwell episode one airs on Monday 4 April on BBC Two at 9pm.
Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
