Archer in court again on BBC 2's rogue jury

The 'celebrity' jury for the reality TV show
11 April 2012
The Weekender

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BBC Chiefs are set to spark controversy after recruiting disgraced MP Jeffrey Archer and controversial rapper MegaMan to sit as "jurors" for a live televised court case.

The pair are among 12 "celebrities" signed up to appear in The Verdict, to be screened in the New Year, in which a four-day trial featuring real barristers and a real judge will take place before the cameras.

While actors will recount the fictionalised crime - the rape of a young woman by a famous footballer - the court case itself will unfold unscripted and according to the real-life process of the law.

Joining Archer and Mega-Man on the juror's bench are Sara Payne, whose daughter Sarah was abducted and murdered, footballer Stan Collymore, actresses Jennifer Ellison, Patsy Palmer and Honor Blackman, Blur bassist Alex James, Ann Summers entrepreneur Jacqueline Gold, millionaire teen businessman Dominic McVey, ex-Tory MP Michael Portillo and Chris Tarrant's estranged wife Ingrid.

BBC Two controller Roly Keating today described The Verdict as a "hugely ambitious project which brings the law to life in a completely new way."

However, the decision to sign convicted perjurer Archer and Mega- Man, who was implicated in a gangland killing, is bound to stir up anger among some groups.

In real life, Archer would be ineligible to appear on a jury because he has served a custodial sentence.

MegaMan, meanwhile, faced trial at the Old Bailey for the revenge killing of a man, Colin Scarlett, on a Tooting housing estate in 2004. He was accused of ordering the murder of Mr Scarlett, who had "dissed" his friend Carl Morgan by beating him up earlier in the year.

While MegaMan - real name Dwayne Vincent - was acquitted, Mr Morgan was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.

He's been accused of glorifying violence in lyrics like: "Everybody's getting shot, everybody's running around on the block with a Glock."

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