TV actor Chris Langham – who won a Bafta for his role in BBC drama The Thick of It – claims he thought he people would “admire” him for downloading child porn images which he claims he did as research for a drama series.

Chris, who was jailed for ten months in 2007 for fifteen counts of downloading and owning child pornography, says the videos and images that police found on his computer were part of his research for a BBC drama to be entitled, Help.

Speaking to The Guardian, Langham said, “I knew it was illegal. It was just hubristic and arrogant of me to think I’m above the law because I’m an artist.

“I thought after (I’d played the character) I’ll reveal I’d researched it and people would say ‘Gosh, you’ve taken this really difficult subject and done something amazing’.

“I’ll do this thing and everyone will think I’m wonderful.

“I thought if I pulled it off, everyone would admire me.

“And I’m a slut for approval.”