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Robert Pattinson has been praised for his portrayal of Chris Hansen in the upcoming biopic, Primetime.

The A24 film is set to chart the rise and fall of the American TV presenter – who soared to fame in the Noughties hosting To Catch A Predator (TCAP) – which revolved around catching potential child molesters using a sting operation.

On the Dateline series a man was lured to an appointed location by the offer of a sexual encounter with a supposed minor who turned out in fact to be one of Chris' adult decoys.

Chris would then appear on the scene and expose the meet-up as a sting operation, with the authorities poised nearby to make an arrest.

Despite bringing in high ratings, many ethical and legal concerns were raised over the nature of the sting operations it depicted, in particular potential violations of entrapment laws.

TCAP was ultimately scrapped in 2007 after three years after one of its targets, Bill Conrad, killed himself while SWAT was storming his house with Chris' camera crew in tow.

So what became of Chris Hansen?

The rise and fall of To Catch A Predator host Chris Hansen (pictured in 2011) as Robert Pattinson is set to portray controversial paedophile hunter in biopic Primetime

Robert Pattinson (left) has been praised for his portrayal of Chris in the upcoming biopic, with fans saying he perfected the TV host's voice and mannerisms in the trailer

Chris began his career in the Eighties as a reporter for NBC affiliate WILX before landing a role as a correspondent on the short-lived news show Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric.

He then moved over to Dateline NBC, where he began to build his profile with coverage of high-profile news events such as the Columbine High School massacre, the Unabomber and the September 11 attacks.

In 2004, Chris began presenting TCAP, with the series following 12 undercover sting operations across the States with the watchdog group Perverted-Justice.

The first two investigations were done without law enforcement, but Perverted-Justice would give the evidence they collected to police afterwards.

Yet the show soon evolved so that law enforcement and other officials became involved, leading to the arrests of most individuals caught.

Despite its controversial nature, TCAP quickly became Dateline's most viewed recurring segment and led to a spin-off show, Predator Raw.

It also became a pop culture phenomenon, parodied in the likes of 30 Rock, South Park, Arrested Development and the opening segment of the 2006 Emmy Awards.

Yet criticism of the show continued, with TCAP accused of making news rather than reporting news, and claims the show was more concerned about ratings than actually bringing online predators to justice.

As the show began to build momentum in the UK, Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker spoke out, stating: 'When a TV show makes you feel sorry for potential child-rapists, you know it's doing something wrong.'

NBC also faced a lawsuit from a former investigative producer from one of its own staffers in regards to the show.

In 2007, Marsha Bartel, a former investigative producer for Dateline, filed a $1million breach of contract lawsuit stating that the network fired her with three years left on her four-year contract after she refused to work on TCAP because of ethical concerns she had about the series.

NBC stated that Marsha was terminated because of budget cutbacks and the lawsuit was dismissed that year, with a Federal Judge explaining that under New York law, NBC has the legal right to dismiss employees without notification.

In 2011, Chris ironically became the victim of a sting himself when he was exposed for cheating on his wife Mary Joan (pictured in 2007) with a young colleague

TCAP also inspired a trend of YouTube videos emulating the show as a form of social justice activism, without police involvement or legal qualifications.

Concerns were raised over the validity of the videos, and whether the YouTubers were pretending to scold predators to look like white knights, or were in fact catching then releasing real predators because law enforcement weren't involved.

However, it was the suicide of Bill Conradt that ultimately led to the cancellation of the show.

The local assistant district attorney killed himself in November 2006, when Texas police served him with search and arrest warrants stemming from the TCAP sting.

In the aftermath, police were criticised for improperly executing their duties in the service of ratings, while NBC was criticised for leading police operations at the expense of safety and justice.

A $105million wrongful death lawsuit brought by Bill's sister was settled out of court, and none of the other men arrested in the sting were prosecuted.

TCAP was then cancelled.

Chris then went on to front shows To Catch an ID Thief, To Catch an i-Jacker and To Catch a Con Man but none of them captured the ratings or attention of the original.

In 2011, Chris ironically became the victim of a sting himself when he was exposed for cheating on his wife Mary Joan with a young colleague.

Chris, then 54, was caught on tape taking NBC staffer Kristyn Caddell on a romantic dinner at the exclusive Ritz-Carlton Hotel, before spending the night at her Palm Beach apartment.

Kristyn later told the National Enquirer that Chris had fooled her into believing that his marriage was 'filled with misery and on the verge of disarray'.

She added: 'Chris told me a divorce was inevitable and the wedding ring on his finger was all but for show.

'Chris was flying me all over the country; putting us up in the finest hotels; having dinner and mingling with many of his colleagues; having our photographs taken together in public places; he would even speak with my family on the phone.'

It was later revealed that Chris had no plans to leave his wife, Mary, and only told her about the affair shortly before the story was revealed by the Enquirer. Mary filed for divorce in 2018.

In 2013, NBC chose not to renew Chris' contract, ending his 20-year tenure with the network.

Two years later, Chris launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking to raise $400,000 to independently revive TCAP.

The campaign fell short of its initial goal but raised $89,000 from 1,220 backers, who had been promised promotional items like branded coffee mugs, T-shirts, vinyl decals and signed photos.

However, the following year backers complained publicly that they had received none of their rewards, leading to threats of class-action.

After a teaser for Primetime was released, Chris was asked about his thoughts on the film, but kept coy in his response, simply saying Robert's portrayal was a 'little bit' accurate

In 2019, Chris made headlines again when he was charged with larceny after a check bounced with a vendor who delivered promotional items.

He had been charged $12,998 after ordering 355 ceramic mugs, 288 T-shirts and 650 vinyl decals from the local business in 2017.

However, prosecutors decided to drop the larceny charge after his lawyer proved he had paid the $13,000 debt back in full.

That same year, it was reported he was being evicted from his apartment.

In 2021, Chris had another brush with the law when he turned himself in to authorities after a Michigan judge put out a warrant for his arrest when he did not show up to court to present video evidence in a sex-trafficking case.

A bench warrant was issued after he was a no-show for a hearing at Shiawassee County jail in Corunna.

Chris failed to appear in court to testify about a police sting operation that led to the arrest of three men, that he and a film crew worked on with investigators.

He was meant to present video evidence of the three men, which included a state corrections officer, who were charged with trying to meet under-age girls for sex, the Associated Press reported.

Chris and his team had provided an edited video, but a defendant wanted all of the footage in case there is any exculpatory information, AP reported.

His lawyer says he missed the court hearing over bad timing and confusion over a subpoena.

Chris later updated his Instagram followers shortly after his release, posting: 'All matters in the Shiawasse Co predator case resolved! Justice marches on!'

These days Chris hosts a podcast called Predators I've Caught in which he revisits the various predator investigations he has conducted from his perspective.

After a teaser for Primetime was released, Chris was asked about his thoughts on the film, but kept coy in his response.

He mused: 'We had heard that there was something like this in the works.

'They reached out to me this week, and I’ve been asked not to talk about it a great deal at this point.'

Asked if he thought Robert's portrayal of him was accurate, Chris replied: 'Little bit. Very dramatic.'

Primetime will be released theatrically in the United States on September 25, with a UK and Ireland release date set to be announced for this autumn.