From Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘veneer of respectability’ to a ‘creepy’ birthday song: Most startling moments in Lifetime’s Surviving Jeffrey Epstein documentary - The Independent

Four-part series takes a sweeping look at the accusations of sex abuse and trafficking faced by Epstein prior to his death in 2019. Clémence Michallon examines the programme’s more startling moments.

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, Lifetime’s four-part documentary series about the disgraced financier and registered sex offender, is premiering on Sunday night with two episodes.

The series, similarly to Netflix’s Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich released in May this year, takes a sweeping look at the accusations of sex abuse and trafficking faced by Epstein prior to his death in 2019.

In addition to personal narratives, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein paints a damning picture of how the disgraced financier allegedly groomed his victims.

How Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly gave Epstein a “veneer of respectability”.

The alleged role of Maxwell in helping Epstein find victims is explored in the first part of the documentary?

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein also explores the ways in which Epstein developed a veneer of likeability back in the Eighties – going from his teaching job at Dalton to a career in finance

The documentary briefly revisits that moment in time and includes a snippet of the insert, which reads next to a photo of a young Epstein: “Financial strategist Jeffrey Epstein, 27, talks only to people who make over a million a year

Susan Semel, a former teacher at Dalton, describes Epstein as such: “This is not your typical Dalton teacher.”

Holding up a photo of Epstein during his time at the elite institution, she adds: “Usually, [teachers] did not sport wide lapels, gold chains, and open shirts exposing a certain amount of chest

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein airs on Lifetime on Saturday 9 and Monday 10 August