Hutch: High Society's Favourite Gigolo

Channel 4 at 9:00pm (Other show times...)

This documentary traces the meteoric rise and pitiful fall of Britain's first black superstar.

Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson (pictured) was a man who, in more ways than one, seduced high society but discovered that he could never truly belong to it. An obsessive womaniser, Hutch unashamedly traded on his "exotic" sexual appeal in the pursuit of success and had many affairs, including with members of the royal family and a 30-year affair with Edwina Mountbatten, wife of Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Driven by a keen ambition, Hutch managed to escape small island life in Grenada to become the highest paid entertainer in Britain. His friends included Cole Porter, Ivor Novello, Tallulah Bankhead and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Despite a career spanning five decades, Hutch died in 1969 virtually penniless and unmourned. With devastating good looks and a prodigious musical talent, Hutch took 1920s and 30s London café society by storm, propelling himself to the heart of the British establishment; an achievement made even more astounding given that the black population of Britain at the time numbered just 15,000.

It was his passionate relationship with Edwina Mountbatten and her patronage that really set him on the path to stardom. However, the affair created a huge scandal that rocked the royals to the core and eventually led to severe professional setbacks for Hutch.

The film features archive footage of Hutch's performances and interviews, many previously unseen photographs, and interviews with his six children (all by different mothers).

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