Jackson family’s move to Devon ‘was TV stunt’

It has been claimed that the Jackson family’s love affair with the county of Devon, the subject of a 2008 documentary, was as implausible as it seemed. Matt Fiddes, one of Michael Jackson's former bodyguards, was due to tell the High Court today that Tito Jackson's plan to move to the southwest of England was a publicity stunt cooked up purely for the Channel 4 film.
 
The Jacksons Are Coming featured Jackson brothers Tito (left) and Jackie (right), and their large entourage, looking around for a suitable property in Appledore, Devon. The film dealt with the problems their celebrity caused them and their desire to live like normal people. At one point Michael Jackson's voice was heard down the phone.
 
The unlikely expedition was supposed to have come about because 30-year-old Fiddes, originally from Swindon, became friends with Tito while working for Michael, and recommended Devon to him as a good place to get away from it all. For a month, the Jacksons toured the county enjoying fish and chips and cream teas.
 
Now Fiddes, a British martial arts expert from Swindon, is suing Channel 4, production company Studio Lambert and the film's narrator Jane Preston. In papers lodged at the High Court, he alleges that Tito never intended to move to Devon, and that several scenes were staged – including one where two 'paparazzi' were chased off the Jackson’s rented property.
 
Fiddes, who appeared in several scenes himself as the family's local guide, also claims the programme libelled him by implying he had leaked stories about the Jacksons to the press. He seems to admit, however, that he was instrumental in concocting the bogus story, which he claims was intended to earn Tito money and help revive his career.
 
It's not the first time that the head of the company which produced the film, Studio Lambert, has attracted media attention. Stephen Lambert, the man behind Wife Swap and Faking It, was caught up in the 2007 furore over the TV film A Year With the Queen.
 
A trailer for that film, shown to journalists, implied the Queen had stormed out of a photo-shoot with Annie Leibowitz. In fact, the shots had been edited in reverse order, and the Queen was walking rapidly in to meet Leibowitz, not out.
 
The media outcry led Lambert to resign from his then job, despite the fact the 'dodgy trailer' had never been shown to the public, and even though it was not clear he had been directly involved in its production. Some commentators felt the storm had been whipped up unfairly by parts of the media hostile to the BBC's licence fee. ·