One Rogue Reporter

'One Rogue Reporter' was a bit of a drastic change in tone from all of the other films we saw at Sheffield DocFest. It was intended as a quick hit of comedy to round off a weekend of rather intense screenings - and that is exactly what we found, with Rich Peppiatt and partner in crime Tom Jenkinson, sporting a production with a promiscuous quality for playing with fire. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that although Rich may be a rogue reporter, he's a loveable one at that.

Rich Peppiatt quit his job as a journalist with the Daily Star amidst the storm of hacking scandals back in 2011 - with the public release of his resignation letter exploding in the next day's 'Guardian'. He quickly became one of the only journalists man enough to emerge from the Leveson Enquiry relatively unscathed, due to his truthful account of journalistic life at the paper. However, not only was that a risk in taking on the media giants, but it was also 'career suicide' - which Rich comically tells us is the only suicide he manages to carry out again, and again and again.

The film is exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to turn over to Channel4 for. Its playful spirit in playing some the greatest villains to emerge from the hacking scandals at their own game, is enchanting. Rich maintains a Dom Jolly-esque approach to pranking that comes with a moral agenda that we can't help but encourage, with the clever addition of some very apt archive reels from black and white films.

There's no holding back from the boys either. The film boasts many cock and bull stories - shown in the most literal way possible. A particular 'favourite' being in response to the News of the World story of a naturist B&B where Neville Thurlbeck really launched himself into his research. Nothing like a good old nude massage and some idle flirtatious chit-chat with another man's wife. It's crazy to think that Rich was out of a job as a journalist and Neville was still running around forgetting his underpants as the cornetto among the capitalists. I'm not sure I could ever agree to a meeting with the boss having seen the video that's shown within the film. MAJOR FACEPLANT! - and not just from the audience - waheyyyy.

The last prank of the film was another great one. The victim - Kelvin MacKenzie. Famous for the kiss and tell stories of our celebrities and his 'moral obligation' to share it with the world, how would he fair against Rich's sword when probed about his own saucy text messages. Well, I'm sure his wife wasn't pleased - but there is something satisfying in seeing the intense stare of a rocky balboa performance turn more into a speedy getaway from road runner. Brilliant!

You could argue that Rich is no better than his superiors as he uses the same methods as they do to meet them at their own game - although as Rich maintained in his Q&A - that was sort of the point. He wanted them to hate it, to feel like their own previous victims and empathise with them when it went to print. It's testament to his cause when he manages to secure interviews with Max Mosely, Steve Coogan, Hugh Grant and John Prescott all in the name of vengeance. I think Rich can at least sleep at night knowing that he quit his job for the reasons he protests against in this wonderfully angsty and opinionated production.

The Q&A showed a two-man team who set out with no idea that the film would get such a response. That's almost Sheffield in a nutshell this year to be honest. It was refreshing to see a Q&A that quite honestly presented the film's success as a completely unplanned occurrence. It is presented to us as retribution for his time at the Daily Star and as a healing process that needed to happen in order to leave it behind. I'm not sure it'll be forgotten any time soon though, it's a hit destined to find its way to prime-time TV screens across the country. Or it should be anyway.