TVTV NewsRichard MadeleyRichard Madeley faced an alarming moment in a huge and controversial maximum security prison in El Salvador as the trailer for the series is released by Chanel 517:34, 27 May 2026Updated 17:35, 27 May 2026Richard Madeley asked to stop filming during prison documentaryRichard Madeley is told to stop filming during a visit to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), the enormous maximum security prison in El Salvador in a new documentary for 5 tonight.‌The project is titled Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison and sees the presenter, 70, enter a dangerous landscape and interview men who have committed torture and murder in the biggest prison in the world.‌In a clip shared with the Mirror, Richard asks about conditions in the prison and is met with an aggressive response from the reluctant staff. After asking about living standards, a guard responds in Spanish that he thinks the culture is different in the UK and "doesn't know why [the prison] can be interpreted as something cruel."‌The interview is then quickly shut down as a woman tells them to stop filming right now. In a voiceover, Richard reveals that he felt that he may have "overstepped the mark" and then in the footage with the staff asks incredulously, "are we done then?"The full trailer for the documentary shows that Richard will talk to the Prison Governor who is responsible for running the facility, and witnesses first hand the punishments that are doled out to the inmates.‌The prison has become one of the most controversial in the world, with extreme conditions for the inmates including twenty three and a half hours a day are spent inside the cells.In the concrete cells there are more than 80 inmates who sleep in metal bunks stacked four beds high. Prisoners are stripped to boxer shorts with their heads shaved, lights remain on 24 hours a day and there are no family visits, recreational spaces or rehabilitation programmes.‌Also in the full trailer, Richard called what he saw "profoundly shocking". He explores an old execution wall filled with bullet holes where men were killed in their civil war.In the trailer Richard comments; "these guys are serious serious gangsters," and can be seen meeting a man that killed 30 people including women and children.The documentary claims that 2% of the population of El Salvador is behind bars and the purpose of this documentary is to explore whether an 'ultra-tough approach to violent crime could ever be acceptable in the UK' or whether it was the specific type of gang violence in El Salvador that led to such an extreme solution.Article continues belowIn advance of the series launch Richard commented: “I was genuinely thrilled to be asked to front this film for 5. It’s not every day you’re given the chance to step inside a place as extraordinary and talked about as CECOT."What struck me straight away was the sheer scale of it, and the stories behind it. In meeting the people who run the prison and those living inside it, what unfolds is a fascinating and often surprising look at justice, security and the human realities behind the headlines. It’s been a remarkable experience.”Richard Madeley: Inside the World's Mega Prison airs tonight on Wednesday 27th May at 9pm on 5.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Richard MadeleyDocumentariesPrisons