a London gangster, outside the Ranelagh Yacht Club, in Fulham, London. Darke was stabbed nine times, resulting in his death, and Bindon managed to flee to Dublin with his own knife wounds covered up. He gave himself up to police and was subsequently tried at the Old Bailey in October 1979. The prosecution claimed that this was a £10,000 contract killing over drugs, with the fight as a cover for the death. However, the defence argued that Darke's death was in self-defence, saying Bindon was in fear of his life as he was being blackmailed about losing drug money and cocaine worth thousands of pounds. Bindon was acquitted of Darke's murder in November 1979. It was reported that the "substantial appearance" of actor Bob Hoskins as a character witness at the trial helped sway the jury's verdict and that the judge, Sir William Mars-Jones, "had been sympathetic towards Bindon in his summing-up and unhappy with the ragbag of witnesses produced by the prosecution". Media reports of the trial, along with the Oakland incident, seriously damaged Bindon's reputation and he found it increasingly difficult to find work in the entertainment industry. Later years and death During the 1980s, Bindon became a reclusive figure, spending more of his time at his Belgravia flat. He died on 10 October 1993, aged 50. According to Philip Hoare's obituary in The Independent, he died from cancer. References in popular culture In 2002, a Carlton Television documentary of Bindon's life entitled Real Crime: Starring John Bindon was screened in the UK on ITV. It featured archival footage of Bindon behind the scenes and interviews with Angie Bowie, Vicki Hodge, Billy Murray, George Sewell and James Whitaker. Bindon also featured in the Carlton documentary for ITV, The Secret Life of Princess Margaret, broadcast in 2005. Bindon's relationship with Princess Margaret was the subject of Channel 4's documentary The Princess and the Gangster, which was broadcast on 9 February 2009. In 2010, Bindon was the subject of Ten Men: The Lives of John Bindon, a one-man verse play written and directed by Franklyn McCabe, with Matthew Houghton playing Bindon. The play was performed at the Open House pub theatre as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival in 2010. Bindon appeared as a character played by the actor Jason Merrells in the stage play A Princess Undone which opened at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in October 2016. Filmography From