A SEX slave master who was unmasked by The Northern Echo has spent more than six months filming a TV documentary.

Lee Thompson, from Darlington, and his new "slave" Angel will be the subject of an hour-long programme to be screened on Channel 4 later this year.

Mr Thompson made international headlines when this newspaper revealed his role in a bizarre science-fiction cult that practises slavery.

He said that he was part of the Kaotian sect, a splinter group of the better-known Goreans, who base their lives on the Gor fantasy novels written by John Norman since the 1960s.

Mr Thompson had met a Canadian woman through the internet who agreed to act as his slave - like many female characters in the Gor novels.

She wore a collar and cuffs, would walk behind Mr Thompson on a leash when they left the house and would sit or beg like a dog if instructed.

The pair's behaviour led to them being banned from their favourite butcher's shop in Darlington market.

Durham Police became involved when the woman contacted a friend in the US to say she was being held against her will.

She later left Mr Thompson and police did not take any further action because the people involved were consenting adults.

Now The Northern Echo can reveal that a film-maker has spent more than six months with Mr Thompson and his new slave.

John Alwen, who works for Wag TV, has filmed the pair and their unusual behaviour in Darlington and Middlesbrough.

Mr Alwen, 28, from London, said: "I first met him in May last year after reading about the story.

"We just sort of got on and I have filmed him on and off for about six months. I spent a long time with them, sometimes a day here or there, sometimes a week."

Angel met Mr Thompson, who is in his early 30s, over the internet. She is Australian. It is not known whether she is still living with Mr Thompson in the Woodland Road area.

Mr Alwen got to know Mr Thompson quite well during his time in Darlington.

He said: "I couldn't say whether they are happy. We had our differences and sometimes we got on and other times we didn't."

Mr Alwen will spend two months editing his documentary. He will provide the voice-over so that the film is more personal and intimate.

Channel 4 will decide when to screen it, but it is likely to be shown at about 10pm.

When The Northern Echo first revealed Mr Thompson's antics he was living with a teenage apprentice called Zachary Nicodemous, from Suffolk.

The pair had met over the internet, but Zach has now returned home.

His father Tony said yesterday: "Zach now has his own flat, his own car and a job. All that is behind him and he no longer has anything to do with that kind of lifestyle."