The Fake Sheikh

Available on Amazon Prime

If you were seeking a physical manifestation of the term ‘gutter press’, it might come in the form of Mazher Mahmood, who for years relished in entrapping celebrities by posing as the ‘Fake Sheikh’, a feat which he achieved through appropriation of Arabic dress. While not quite as morally destitute as the phone-hacking scandal which eventually brought about the Leveson Inquiry and demise (of sorts) of Mahmood’s employer the News of the World, it is certainly a stain on the reputation of the British press that has yet to be fully washed out.

Amazon’s documentary follows the grim rise and belated fall of Mahmood, as told by many of his ex-colleagues and a small handful of his former victims. Tonally, it is an odd series, with creator Ceri Isfryn electing to give a perplexingly generous amount of air time to Mahmood’s former News of the World chums who, unsurprisingly, are mostly in awe of his journalistic prowess, despite the effects it had on the lives of his victims.

Indeed, the series only really clicks into gear in its third and final instalment, where Mahmood’s cold and unfeeling attempted stitch-up of the N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos thankfully lead to the end of his career and brief imprisonment for perverting the course of justice. Anyone with a conscience will enjoy recalling how this grotesque individual got his comeuppance, but will doubtlessly leave The Fake Sheikh wishing it had served as an analysis of journalistic ethics rather than the ambiguous career retrospective it actually is.