High Society's Favourite Gigolo

Leslie Hutchinson seduced high society in more ways than one but discovered that he could never truly belong to it.

Britain's first black superstar was an obsessive womaniser, unashamedly trading on his 'exotic' sexual appeal. The subjects of his many affairs included members of the royal family, and he had a 30-year affair with Edwina Mountbatten, the 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, with friendships with the likes of 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.

High Society's Favourite Gigolo features archive footage of Hutch's performances and interviews, and interviews with his children (he had six by different mothers) and his biographer.

Originally shown as part of Channel 4's High Society season, which examined secret scandals and notorious figures from the higher echelons of British society.