Convicted South African rapist Thabo Bester has lost a court bid to block Netflix from broadcasting a documentary about his life - including how he allegedly faked his death and escaped from prison.

His lawyers argued that Beauty and the Bester was defamatory, but the streaming giant defended its plan to release the three-part investigation.

Bester's partner, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, features in the documentary, having allegedly helped him escape. She was part of the court bid to halt the release.

In a court ruling on Friday, a judge said the rape case was "firmly in public domain" and that they had failed to prove that their petition was urgent.

Bester was convicted in 2012 for the rape and murder of his model girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu.

A year earlier, he was found guilty of raping and robbing two other women.

Bester became known as the "Facebook rapist" for using the social networking site to lure his victims.

He was serving a life sentence when he allegedly escaped from a maximum security prison in 2022.