Why 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s controversial use of Jimmy Savile isn’t at all what you think

by

Note: The following article contains discussion of sexual misconduct.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple spoilers follow.

The ending of 28 Years Later was a huge surprise. After everything young Spike went through – losing his mother, his childhood, and his sense of belonging – he was confronted with something completely unexpected, something almost impossible to predict.

What to Read Next

Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal appeared, leading a group known as the Cult of Jimmys. They were all wearing tracksuits and inexpensive, bright blonde wigs. British viewers immediately recognized this as a clear reference to Jimmy Savile, a popular children’s entertainer who, after his death, was revealed to have sexually abused hundreds of people.

Fans were understandably curious about Sir Lord Jimmy’s return in the new film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. They wondered why the filmmakers referenced such a troubling part of British history and what director Nia DaCosta – who took over from Danny Boyle – had planned for the character. Here are the answers.

The novel The Bone Temple opens with Sir Lord Jimmy sitting on a lifeguard chair – which he uses as a throne – inside an old, empty swimming pool building. He’s forcing Spike to go through a brutal initiation, a fight to the death against one of Jimmy’s loyal followers, whom he calls “fingers.”

Sir Lord Jimmy always has seven enforcers – known as “fingers” – who carry out his cruel orders, using torture and murder to control the land. Occasionally, he’ll give his victims a desperate chance to survive: if they can kill and take the place of one of the “fingers,” they’ll be spared. Most attempts fail, but this time, it’s different – Spike’s mother is Jodie Comer, and he’s proven to be exceptionally resilient.

According to Sir Lord Jimmy, his seven ‘fingers’ represent the seven fingers within the hand of Old Nick, who is better known as Satan. Sir Lord Jimmy claims to be Old Nick’s son. In Christian belief, Satan is the opposite of God, embodying inversion and having fallen from grace to embrace chaos and evil.

Sir Lord Jimmy is essentially the opposite of Jesus – instead of coming to forgive sins, he believes his purpose is to bring them into the world. He visually represents this inversion with an upside-down gold cross and seven fingers, a dark mirror to the Seven Archangels and the seven deadly sins. Disturbingly, he even refers to his killings as acts of kindness, consistently embodying this twisted reversal of traditional values.

The figure known as Sir Lord Jimmy is never directly named, and the origins of the name “Jimmy” and the group’s clothing are left unexplained. However, there’s a disturbing parallel between how he used the word “charity” to excuse his harmful actions and the public image he carefully created to hide his crimes. He became famous for granting “wishes” to children on his television show, Jim’ll Fix It (1975-1994), but it was later revealed that some of those same children were among his victims.

Within the story of 28 Years Later, the characters wouldn’t know about the crimes of Jimmy Savile. Since Savile died in 2011, and the outbreak happened around 2002 (the same year as 28 Days Later), the public never learned about his actions in this fictional world.

Savile’s disturbing public image would have continued uninterrupted. The film hints at this through a fleeting childhood memory of Jack O’Connell’s character, Sir Lord Jimmy, watching Savile on television alongside the children’s show, Teletubbies – a direct reference included in the movie.

Jimmy, despite claiming a dark heritage, seems to be using his following to cover up harmful behavior, much like others have done before, and he’s willing to be dishonest to get what he wants.

However, as the audience, we understand a hidden meaning that connects to the larger themes of The Bone Temple – specifically, how language and performance define what it means to be human. Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) is almost the opposite of Sir Lord Jimmy; he doesn’t believe in God but deeply respects the human body, and is building a bone temple – a memorial made from the remains of the dead – to honor it.

He’s fascinated by what the Rage Virus—the infection that turns people into zombies—does to the mind. Does it simply confuse things, or completely erase the original personality? He even wonders if the powerful, dominant Alpha zombie might somehow be able to communicate or agree to be studied.

Language can both bring people together and set them apart, but for Dr. Kelson, even a single, basic word like “moon” – something a young child might say – offers a reason for optimism.

Though it might seem strange or unsettling to bring up Jimmy Savile, the filmmakers deliberately include this troubling figure from Britain’s past to suggest we should question the narratives people create about who they are, especially when imagining a difficult future for the country.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is out now in cinemas.

Read More

2026-01-16 19:52