Jimmy Savile | |
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 Savile in 2006 | |
| Born | James Wilson Vincent Savile (1926-10-31)31 October 1926 Burley, Leeds, England |
| Died | 29 October 2011(2011-10-29) (aged 84) Leeds, England |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1958–2011 |
| Awards | Knight Bachelor (1990) |
| Signature | |
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Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (/ˈsævɪl/; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English media personality and DJ. He was known for his eccentric image, charitable work, and hosting theBBC showsTop of the Pops andJim'll Fix It. After his death, hundreds ofallegations of sexual abuse made against him were investigated, leading the police to conclude that he was a predatorysex offender,[1] possibly one of the United Kingdom's most prolific.[2][3][4][5] There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers were ignored or disbelieved. Savile's victims allegedly included young children and elderly individuals.[6]
As a teenager during theSecond World War, Savile worked in coal mines as aBevin Boy. He began a career playing records in, and later managing, dance halls. His media career started as a disc jockey atRadio Luxembourg in 1958 and atTyne Tees Television in 1960. From 1964 to 1988, Savile was a regular presenter on the BBC music showTop of the Pops, also co-presenting the last edition in 2006. In 1968, he began hosting his own radio shows forRadio 1, broadcasting until 1987. From 1975 to 1994, he presentedJim'll Fix It, an early Saturday evening television programme which arranged for the wishes of viewers, mainly children, to come true.
Savile was known for fundraising and supporting various charities and hospitals, in particularStoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury,Leeds General Infirmary, andBroadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. In 2009, he was described byThe Guardian as a "prodigious philanthropist" and was honoured for his charity work.[7][8] He was awarded theOBE in 1971 and wasknighted in 1990. Following his death in 2011 at the age of 84, Savile was praised in obituaries for his personal qualities and his work raising an estimated £40 million for charities.[9][10]
In October 2012, anITV documentary examined claims ofsexual abuse by Savile.[11] This led to extensive media coverage and a substantial and rapidly growing body ofwitness statements and sexual abuse claims, including accusations againstpublic bodies forcovering up or failure of duty.Scotland Yard launcheda criminal investigation into allegations ofchild sex abuse by Savile spanning six decades,[4] describing him as a "predatory sex offender," and later stated that they were pursuing more than 400 lines of inquiry based on the testimony of 300 potential victims via 14police forces.[12][13] The scandal had resulted in inquiries or reviews at the BBC, within theNHS, theCrown Prosecution Service, and theDepartment of Health.[14][15][16] In June 2014, investigations into Savile's activities at 28 NHS hospitals concluded that he had sexually assaulted staff and patients aged between 5 and 75 over several decades.[17] As a result of the scandal, some of the honours that Savile was awarded during his career were posthumously revoked and his television appearances are no longer shown.
Savile, born in Consort Terrace, in theBurley area ofLeeds,West Riding of Yorkshire, was the youngest of seven children (his elder siblings were Mary, Marjory, Vincent, John, Joan, and Christina) in aRoman Catholic family.[18][9][19] His parents were Vincent Joseph Savile (1886–1953), abookmaker's clerk and insurance agent, and his wife, Agnes Monica Kelly (1886–1972). His paternal grandmother wasScottish, whilst his mother was ofIrish descent.[20][21] Savile grew up during theGreat Depression, and later claimed that he "was forged in the crucible of want."[22] He described his father as "scrupulously honest but scrupulously broke."[23]
Savile's mother believed he owed his life to theintercession ofMargaret Sinclair, a Scottish nun, after he recovered quickly from illness, possiblypneumonia,[9] at the age of two when his mother prayed atLeeds Cathedral after picking up a pamphlet about Sinclair.[24][22] Savile went to St Anne's Roman Catholic School in Leeds. After leaving school at the age of 14 he worked in an office.[9] At the age of 18 during theSecond World War he was conscripted to work as aBevin Boy and worked incoal mines, where he reportedly suffered spinal injuries from ashot-firer's explosion and he spent a long period recuperating, wearing a steel corset and for three years walking with the aid of sticks.[25][22] Following hiscolliery work, Savile became ascrap metal dealer.[26][20] Savile started playing records in dance halls in the early 1940s, and claimed to be the first DJ. According to his autobiography, he was the first to usetwo turntables and a microphone at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947,[27][28][29] although his claim to have been the first is untrue; twin turntables were illustrated in theBBC Handbook in 1929 and advertised for sale inGramophone magazine in 1931.[30] He became a semi-professional sportsman, competing in the 1951Tour of Britaincycle race[31] and working as aprofessional wrestler.[9]
Savile lived inSalford from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the later period withRay Teret, who became his support DJ, assistant, and chauffeur.[32] Savile managed the Plaza Ballroom onOxford Street, in Manchester city centre, in the mid-1950s. When he lived in Great Clowes Street inHigher Broughton, Salford, he was often seen sitting on his front door steps. He managed theMecca Locarno ballroom in Leeds in the late 1950s and early 1960s[33] as well as the Mecca-owned Palais dance hall inIlford, Essex, between 1955 and 1956. His Monday evening records-only dance sessions (admission one shilling) were popular with local teens.[34] It was while at Ilford that Savile was discovered by a music executive fromDecca Records.[26]
Savile's radio career began as a DJ atRadio Luxembourg from 1958 to 1968.[23] By 1968 he presented six programmes a week, and his Saturday show reached six million listeners.[23] In terms of recognition, he was one of the leading DJs in Britain by the early 1960s.[26] In 1968, he joined Radio 1, where he presentedSavile's Travels, a weekly programme broadcast on Sundays in which he travelled around the UK talking to members of the public. From 1969 to 1973 he frontedSpeakeasy, a discussion programme for teenagers. On Radio 1 he presented the Sunday lunchtime showJimmy Savile's Old Record Club, playing chart Top 10s from years gone by. It was the first show to feature old charts and Savile used a "points system" in an imaginary quiz with the audience to guess the names of the song and artist. It began in 1973 asThe Double Top Ten Show, and ended in 1987 asThe Triple Top Ten Show when he left Radio 1 after 19 years.[35] He presentedThe Vintage Chart Show, playing top tens from 1957 to 1987, on theBBC World Service from March 1987 until October 1989.
From March 1989 to August 1997, he broadcast on various stations around the UK (mostly taking theGold format, such as the West Midlands'Xtra AM and theClassic Gold network in Yorkshire) where he revived his Radio 1 shows.[35] In 1994, satiristChris Morris gave afake obituary on BBC Radio 1 saying that Savile had collapsed and died, which allegedly drew threats of legal action from Savile and forced an apology from Morris.[36] On 25 December 2005 and 1 January 2007, he presented shows on theReal Radio network. The Christmas 2005 show counted down the festive Top 10s of 10, 20, and 30 years previously,[35] while the New Year 2007 show (also taken byCentury Radio following its acquisition byGMG) featured Savile recounting anecdotes from his past and playing associated records, mostly from the 1960s and some from the 1970s.
Savile's first television role was as a co-presenter, withValerie Masters, ofTyne Tees Television's music programmeYoung at Heart, which aired for eight weeks from May 1960.[37] Although the show was broadcast inblack and white, Savile dyed his hair a different colour every week as part of a long-running joke.[38] On New Year's Day 1964, he presented the first edition of the BBCmusic chart television programmeTop of the Pops fromDickenson Road Studios, a television studio in a converted church inRusholme, Manchester.[39] On 30 July 2006, he co-hosted the final weekly edition, ending it with the words "It's number one, it's stillTop of the Pops", before turning off the studio lights after the closing credits.[40] When interviewed by the BBC on 20 November 2008 and asked about the revival ofTop of the Pops for a Christmas comeback, he said he would welcome a "cameo role" in the programme.[41]
In the early 1960s, Savile co-hosted (withPete Murray) the televisedNew Musical Express Poll Winners' Concert, held annually at theEmpire Pool in Wembley, with acts such asthe Beatles,Cliff Richard andthe Shadows,Joe Brown and the Bruvvers,the Who, and many others. On 31 December 1969, he hosted the BBC/ZDF co-productionPop Go the Sixties, shown across Western Europe, celebrating the hits of the decade.[42]
Savile presented a series ofpublic information films promoting road safety, notably "Clunk Click Every Trip", which promoted the use of seatbelts, the clunk representing the sound of the door and the click the sound of the seatbelt fastening.[43] It led to Savile's Saturday-night chat/variety show from 1973 on BBC One titledClunk, Click, which in 1974 featured the UK heats of theEurovision Song Contest featuringOlivia Newton-John. After two series,Clunk, Click was replaced byJim'll Fix It, which he presented from 1975 to 1994. Savile won an award fromMary Whitehouse'sNational Viewers' and Listeners' Association in 1977 for his "wholesome family entertainment".[44] He fronted a long-running series of advertisements in the early 1980s forBritish Rail'sInterCity 125, in which he declared "This is the age of the train."[45] Savile was twice the subject of theThames Television seriesThis Is Your Life in January 1970 withEamonn Andrews and again in December 1990 withMichael Aspel.[46]
In an interview byAnthony Clare for the radio seriesIn the Psychiatrist's Chair in 1991, Savile appeared to be "a man without feelings."[47][48] "There is something chilling about this 20th-century 'saint'", Clare concluded in 1992 in his introduction to the published transcript of this interview.[49]Andrew Neil interviewed him for the TV seriesIs This Your Life? in 1995 where Savile "used a banana to avoid discussing his personal life".[50][51] In 1999, he appeared as a panellist onHave I Got News for You.[52][53][54]
In April 2000, he was the subject of a documentary byLouis Theroux, in theWhen Louis Met... series, in which Theroux accompanied British celebrities going about their daily business and interviewed them about their lives and experiences. In the documentary, Savile confided that he used to beat people up and lock them in a basement during his career as a nightclub manager.[55] When Theroux challenged Savile about rumours ofpaedophilia over a decade before, Savile said: "We live in a very funny world. And it's easier for me, as a single man, to say 'I don't like children', because that puts a lot of salacious tabloid people off the hunt."[56][57][58]
Savile visited theCelebrity Big Brother house on 14 and 15 January 2006 (inseries 4) and "fixed it" for some housemates to have their wishes granted;Pete Burns received a message from his boyfriend, Michael, and Lynn, his ex-wife, whileDennis Rodman traded Savile's offering for a supply of cigarettes for the other housemates. In 2007, Savile returned to television withJim'll Fix It Strikes Again showing some of the most popular fix-its, recreating them with the same people, and making new dreams come true.[59]
Savile is estimated to have raised £40 million for charity.[9] One cause for which he raised money wasStoke Mandeville Hospital, where he volunteered for many years as a porter. He raised money for the Spinal Unit, NSIC (National Spinal Injuries Centre), and St Francis Ward – a ward for children and teens with spinal cord injuries, as well as Ireland'sCentral Remedial Clinic.[60] Savile also volunteered atLeeds General Infirmary andBroadmoor Hospital. In August 1988, he was appointed by junior health ministerEdwina Currie[61] chair of an interim task force overseeing the management of Broadmoor Hospital, after its board members had been suspended.[62][63] Savile had his own rooms at Stoke Mandeville and Broadmoor.[25] In 1989, Savile started legal proceedings againstNews Group Newspapers after theNews of the World published an article in January 1988 suggesting he had been in a position to secure the release of patients from Broadmoor who were considered "dangerous". Savile won on 11 July 1989; News Group paid his legal costs, and he received an apology from editorsKelvin MacKenzie andPatsy Chapman.[64] In 2012, it was reported that Savile had sexually abused vulnerable patients at the hospitals.[65]
From 1974 to 1988, Savile was the honorary president of Phab (Physically Handicapped in the Able Bodied community).[66] He sponsored medical students performing undergraduate research in theLeeds University Research Enterprise scholarship scheme, donating more than £60,000 every year.[67] In 2010, the scheme was given a commitment of £500,000 over the following five years.[68] Following Savile's death in October 2011, it was confirmed that a bequest had been made to allow continued support for the programme.[69]
Savile was a participant in marathons (many for Phab, including its annualhalf marathon aroundHyde Park, London). He also cycled fromLand's End to John o' Groats in 10 days for theRoyal National Lifeboat Institution,[70] and ran in the Scottish People's Marathon.[71] It was reported that he completed theLondon Marathon at the age of 79; rumours that he was driven round in a lead vehicle as an "observer" were denied by marathon officials.[72]
Savile set up two charities, the Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust in 1981, and the Leeds-based Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust in 1984.[73] During the sexual abuse scandal in October 2012 the charities announced that they would distribute their funds, of £1.7 million and £3.7 million respectively, among other charities and then close down.[74] He also raised money for several Jewish charities.[75]
During his lifetime and at the time of his death, Savile was regarded as "an eccentric adornment to British public life ... a ubiquitous and distinctive face on television",[9] who "relished being in the public eye" and was "a shrewd promoter of his own image."[25] He created a "bizarre yodel",[9][76] and catchphrases which included "How's about that, then?", "Now then, now then", "Goodness gracious", "As it 'appens", and "Guys and gals".[9] Savile was frequentlyspoofed for his dress sense, which usually featured atracksuit or shellsuit and gold jewellery. A range of licensedfancy dress costumes was released with his consent in 2009. Savile was often pictured holding acigar. He claimed to have started smoking cigars at the age of seven, saying "My dad gave me a drag on one at Christmas, thinking it would put me off them forever, but it had the opposite effect."[25]
Savile was a member ofMensa[77] and theInstitute of Advanced Motorists[78] and drove aRolls-Royce.[79] He was made a life member of theBritish Gypsy Council in 1975, becoming the first "outsider" to be made a member.[80] In 1984, Savile was accepted as a member of theAthenaeum, agentlemen's club in London'sPall Mall, after being proposed byCardinal Basil Hume.[81] He was chieftain of theLochaberHighland Games for many years, and owned a house inGlen Coe; his appearance on the final edition ofTop of the Pops in 2006 was pre-recorded, because it clashed with the games.[82]
Through his support of charities, Savile became a friend ofMargaret Thatcher, who in 1981 described his work as "marvellous".[83] It has been reported that Savile spent 11 consecutiveNew Year's Eves atChequers with Thatcher and her family,[28] although this is disputed by Thatcher's daughter,Carol,[84] and byLord Bell, a close friend of the Thatcher family, who said "people make up such rubbish."[85] Letters released in December 2012 by theNational Archives under thethirty-year rule confirm the "close friendship" between Savile and Thatcher. Some of the correspondence was heavilyredacted before publication, using exemptions under theFreedom of Information Act.[86][87]
Savile metPrince Charles through mutual charity interests.[88] His work with Stoke Mandeville Hospital also made Savile a suitable figure to whom the Prince could turn "for advice on navigating Britain's health authorities".[89] Charles met Savile on several occasions. In 1999, Charles visited Savile'sGlen Coe home for a private meal and reportedly sent him gifts on his 80th birthday and a note reading: "Nobody will ever know what you have done for this country, Jimmy. This is to go some way in thanking you for that."[88] Savile was also in contact with other members of the royal household and received telegrams fromDiana, Princess of Wales, andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as well as a handwritten letter fromPrincess Alexandra's husbandSir Angus Ogilvy and a homemade card fromSarah, Duchess of York.[90] Savile acted as an unofficial adviser to Prince Charles, who sought his advice on a number of occasions on how the royal family ought to interact with the public and media. In 1989, Savile hand-wrote an unofficial set of guidelines to Charles on how members of the royal family and staff may respond to disasters. Charles showed the dossier to his father, Prince Philip, who passed the contents on toQueen Elizabeth II.[91][92][93]
A lifelong bachelor,[9] Savile lived with his mother (whom he referred to as the "Duchess") and kept her bedroom and wardrobe exactly as it was when she died. Every year he had her clothes dry cleaned. In his autobiography, he claimed he had had many sexual relations with women, and that "there have been trains and, with apologies to the hit parade, boats and planes (I am a member of the40,000 ft club) and bushes and fields, corridors, doorways, floors, chairs, slag heaps, desks, and probably everything except the celebrated chandelier and ironing board."[94]
On 9 August 1997, Savile underwent a three-hour quadrupleheart-bypass operation at Killingbeck Hospital inKillingbeck, Leeds, having known he needed the surgery for at least four years after attending regular check-ups.[95] He arranged for a bench inScarborough, North Yorkshire to be dedicated to his memory, with a plaque saying "Jimmy Savile – but not just yet!"[96][97]
On 29 October 2011, Savile was found dead at hispenthouse flat overlookingRoundhay Park in Leeds.[10][98][99] He had been in hospital withpneumonia, and his death was not suspicious.[10] His nephew, Roger Foster, said he "passed away quietly in his sleep during the night".[10]
His closed satin gold coffin was displayed at theQueens Hotel in Leeds,[100][101] with the last cigar he smoked and his twoThis Is Your Life books.[102] Around 4,000 people visited to pay tribute.[101] His funeral took place at the Roman CatholicLeeds Cathedral on 9 November 2011,[103] and he wasburied at Woodlands Cemetery in Scarborough.[104][105] As specified in his will, his coffin was inclined at 45 degrees to fulfil his wish to "see the sea".[105][106] The coffin was encased in concrete "as a security measure".[107]
An auction of Savile's possessions was conducted at theRoyal Armouries Museum, Leeds, on 30 July 2012, with the proceeds going to charity. His silverRolls-Royce Corniche convertible was sold for £130,000 to an Internet bidder. The vehicle'snumber plate, JS 247, featured the originalmedium wave wavelength used byBBC Radio 1 (247 metres).[108]
Savile often came into contact with his victims through his creative projects for the BBC and his charitable work for the NHS. A significant part of his career and public life involved working with children and young people, including visiting schools and hospital wards. He spent 20 years from 1964 presentingTop of the Pops, aimed at a teenage audience, and an overlapping 20 years presentingJim'll Fix It, in which he helped the wishes of viewers, mainly children, come true.[11]
During his lifetime, two police investigations considered reports about Savile, the earliest known being in 1958, but none had led to charges; the reports had each concluded that there was insufficient evidence for any charges to be brought related to sexual offences. Sporadic allegations of child abuse were made against him dating back to 1963, but these only became widely publicised after his death.[109] His autobiographyAs it Happens (1974; reprinted asLove is an Uphill Thing, 1976) contains admissions of improper sexual conduct which appear to have passed unnoticed during his lifetime.[110]
FormerSex Pistols andPublic Image Ltd vocalistJohn Lydon alluded to sordid conduct committed by Savile, as well as suppression of widely held knowledge about such activity, in an October 1978 interview recorded forBBC Radio 1. Lydon stated: "I'd like to kill Jimmy Savile; I think he's a hypocrite. I bet he's into all kinds of seediness that we all know about, but are not allowed to talk about. I know some rumours." He added: "I bet none of this will be allowed out."[111] As predicted, the comment was edited out by the BBC prior to broadcasting, but the complete interview was included as a bonus track on a re-release of Public Image Ltd's 1978 debut albumPublic Image: First Issue in 2013, after Savile's death.[112] In October 2014, Lydon expanded on his original quote, saying: "By killed I meant locking him up and stopping him assaulting young children... I'm disgusted at the media pretending they weren't aware."[113] In 1987, Scottish stand-up comedianJerry Sadowitz recorded a performance in Edinburgh in which he stated that Savile was apaedophile. The album,Gobshite, was withdrawn amid fears of legal action.[114][115][116]
In a 1990 interview forThe Independent on Sunday,Lynn Barber asked Savile about rumours that he liked "little girls." Savile's reply was that, as he worked in the pop music business, "the young girls in question don't gather round me because of me – it's because I know the people they love, the stars... I am of no interest to them."[117] In April 2000, in a documentary byLouis Theroux,When Louis Met... Jimmy, Savile acknowledged "salacious tabloid people" had raised rumours about whether he was a paedophile, and said, "I know I'm not."[118] A follow-up documentary,Louis Theroux: Savile,[119][120][121][122] about Savile and Theroux's inability to dig more deeply,[123] aired onBBC Two in 2016.[124]
In 2007, Savile was interviewedunder caution by police investigating an allegation of indecent assault in the 1970s at the now-closed Duncroft Approved School for Girls nearStaines,Surrey, where he was a regular visitor. In October 2009, theCrown Prosecution Service advised there was insufficient evidence to take any further action and no charges were brought.[125][126] In March 2008, Savile started legal proceedings againstThe Sun, which had linked him in several articles tochild abuse at theJersey children's homeHaut de la Garenne.[127] At first, he denied visiting Haut de la Garenne, but later admitted he had done so following the publication of a photograph showing him at the home surrounded by children.[128] TheStates of Jersey Police said that in 2008 an allegation of an indecent assault by Savile at the home in the 1970s had been investigated, but there had been insufficient evidence to proceed.[129]
In a 2009 interview with his biographer, Savile defended viewers of child pornography, including pop star and convicted sex offenderGary Glitter. He argued that viewers "didn't do anything wrong but they are then demonised", and described Glitter as a celebrity being unfairly vilified for watching "dodgy films" in the privacy of his home: "Gary... has not tried to sell 'em, not tried to show them in public or anything like that. It were for his own gratification. Whether it was right or wrong is, of course, it's up to him as a person." The interview was not published at the time, and the recording was not released until after Savile's death.[130]
In 2012, Sir Roger Jones, a formerBBC governor for Wales and chairman of BBC charityChildren in Need, disclosed that more than a decade before Savile's death he had banned the "very strange" and "creepy" Savile from involvement in the charity.[131] Formerroyal family press secretaryDickie Arbiter said Savile's behaviour had raised "concern and suspicion" when Savile acted as an informalmarriage counsellor betweenPrince Charles andPrincess Diana in the late 1980s, although no reports had been made.[88] Arbiter added that during his regular visits to Charles's office atSt James's Palace, Savile would "do the rounds of the young ladies taking their hands and rubbing his lips all the way up their arms."[88]
Immediately after Savile's death, the BBC'sNewsnight programme began an investigation into reports that he was a sexual abuser.Meirion Jones andLiz MacKean interviewed one alleged victim on camera and others agreed to have their stories told. The interviewees alleged abuse at Duncroft Approved School for Girls in Staines, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the BBC.Newsnight also discovered that Surrey Police had investigated allegations of abuse against Savile.[132] The item was scheduled for broadcast inNewsnight on 7 December 2011, but was withdrawn before broadcast; over Christmas 2011, the BBC broadcast two tributes to Savile.[133][134][132][135]
In December 2012, a review led byNick Pollard of the BBC's handling of the issue described the decision not to broadcast theNewsnight investigation as "flawed." The review said that Jones and MacKean had found "cogent evidence" that Savile was an abuser.George Entwistle – at that time the Director of BBC Vision – who had been told about the plan to broadcast theNewsnight item, was described by the review as "unnecessarily cautious, and an opportunity was lost."[136][137] There was no public mention of theNewsnight investigation into Savile in December 2011 but in early 2012 several newspapers reported that the BBC had investigated but not broadcast its report of allegations of sexual abuse immediately after his death. An article byMiles Goslett inThe Oldie said that a BBC News source had told him that the BBC's "smokescreen" that the story was dropped only for editorial reasons concealed other reasons showing the BBC itself—on whose premises abuse took place—in a bad light.[138][139]
On 28 September 2012, almost a year after his death,ITV said it would broadcast a documentary as part of itsExposure series, The Other Side of Jimmy Savile.[11] The documentary, presented byMark Williams-Thomas, a consultant on the originalNewsnight investigation, revealed claims by up to 10 women, including one aged under 14 at the time, that they had been molested or raped by Savile during the 1960s and 1970s.[140] The announcement attracted national attention, and more reports and claims of abuse against him accumulated. The documentary was broadcast on 3 October. The next day, theMetropolitan Police said theChild Abuse Investigation Command would assess the allegations.[141]
The developing scandal led to inquiries into practices at the BBC and theNational Health Service. It was alleged that rumours of Savile's activities had circulated at the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s, but no action had been taken. TheDirector-General of the BBC,George Entwistle, apologised for what had happened, and on 16 October 2012 appointed former High Court judgeDame Janet Smith to review the culture and practices of the BBC during the time Savile worked there;[142] andNick Pollard, a formerSky News executive, was appointed to look at why theNewsnight investigation into Savile's activities was dropped shortly before transmission in December 2011.[142]
By 19 October 2012, police were pursuing 400 lines of inquiry based on testimony from 200 witnesses via 14 police forces across the UK. They described the alleged abuse as "on an unprecedented scale", and the number of potential victims as "staggering."[13] Investigations codenamedOperation Yewtree were opened to identify criminal conduct related to Savile's activities by the Metropolitan Police, and to review the 2009 decision by theCrown Prosecution Service to drop a prosecution as "unlikely to succeed."[15][16] By 25 October, police reported the number of possible victims was approaching 300.[12]
On 22 October 2012, the BBC programmePanorama broadcast an investigation intoNewsnight and found evidence suggesting "senior manager" pressure;[143] on the same dayNewsnight editorPeter Rippon "stepped down" with immediate effect.[144][145] TheDepartment of Health appointed formerbarristerKate Lampard to chair and oversee its investigations into Savile's activities atStoke Mandeville Hospital,Leeds General Infirmary, Broadmoor Hospital, and other hospitals and facilities in England.[146]
On 12 November 2012, the Metropolitan Police announced the scale of sexual allegations reported against Savile was "unprecedented" in Britain: a total of 450 alleged victims had contacted the police in the ten weeks since the investigation was launched. Officers recorded 199 crimes in 17 police force areas in which Savile was a suspect, among them 31 allegations of rape in seven force areas.[147] Analysis of the report showed 82% of those who came forward to report abuse were female and 80% were children or young people at the time of the incidents.[148] According to one formerBroadmoor nurse, Savile said he engaged innecrophiliac acts with corpses in the Leeds General Infirmary mortuary. Savile was said to be friends with the chief mortician, who gave him near-unrestricted access.[149][150]
Exposure Update: The Jimmy Savile Investigation was shown on ITV on 21 November 2012.[151] In March 2013,Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary reported that 214 of the complaints that had been made against Savile after his death would have been criminal offences if they had been reported at the time. Sixteen victims reported being raped by Savile when they were under 16 (theage of heterosexual consent in England) and four of those had been under the age of 10. Thirteen others reported serious sexual assaults by Savile, including four who had been under 10 years old. Another 10 victims reported being raped by Savile after the age of 16.[152]
In January 2013, a joint report by theNSPCC and Metropolitan Police,Giving Victims a Voice, stated that 450 people had made complaints against Savile, the period of alleged abuse stretching from 1955 to 2009 and the ages of the complainants at the times of the assaults ranging from 8 to 47.[153][154] The suspected victims included 28 children aged under 10, including 10 boys aged eight. A further 63 were girls aged between 13 and 16, and nearly three-quarters of his alleged victims were under 18. Some 214 criminal offences were recorded, 34rapes having been reported across 28 police forces.[155]
Former professional wrestlerAdrian Street described in a November 2013 interview how "Savile used to go on and on about the young girls who'd wait in line for him outside his dressing room ... He'd pick the ones he wanted and say to the rest, 'Unlucky, come back again tomorrow night'." Savile, who cultivated a "tough guy" image promoted by his entourage, washit with real blows during a 1971 bout with Street, who commented that had he "known then the full extent of what I know about [Savile] now, I'd have given him an even bigger hiding – were that physically possible."[156]
During theIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in March 2019, it was reported thatRobert Armstrong, the head of theHonours Committee, had resisted attempts byMargaret Thatcher to award Savile a knighthood in the 1980s, due to concerns about his private life. An anonymous letter received by the committee in 1998 said that "reports of a paedophilia nature" could emerge about Savile.[157] In 2022, former BBC presenterMark Lawson wrote about his encounters with Savile, and hearing from many BBC personnel – not at the top level – about his abuse and rumoured necrophilia. Lawson ended:
the true story is his victims, and how the BBC, Department of Health, Conservative party, Catholic church, police forces, local councils and libel law let them down. ... a monster for whom the British establishment – political, royal, broadcasting, ecclesiastical, medical, charitable – provided a dazzling shield.[158]
An authorised biography,How's About That Then?, by Alison Bellamy, was published in June 2012. After the claims made against him were published, the author said that, in the light of the allegations, she felt "let down and betrayed" by Savile.[159] Within a month of the child abuse scandal emerging, many places and organisations named after or connected to Savile were renamed or had his name removed.[160] A memorial plaque on the wall of Savile's former home inScarborough was removed in early October 2012 after it was defaced with graffiti.[161] A wooden statue of Savile atScotstoun Leisure Centre inGlasgow was also removed around the same time.[162] Signs on a footpath in Scarborough named "Savile's View" were removed.[163][164] Savile's Hall, the conference centre at theRoyal Armouries Museum in Leeds, was renamed New Dock Hall.[165] The Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust and the Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust, tworegistered charities founded in his name to fight "poverty and sickness and other charitable purposes" announced they were too closely tied to his name to be sustainable and would close and distribute their funds to other charities, so as to avoid harm to beneficiaries from future media attention.[74]
On 9 October 2012, relatives said the headstone of Savile's grave would be removed, destroyed, and sent tolandfill.[166][167][168] The Savile family expressed their sorrow for the "anguish" of the victims and "respect [for] public opinion."[169] Savile's body remains interred in the cemetery in Scarborough, as although it was proposed that it be exhumed and cremated, the campaign was unsuccessful due to the charities who received the money from Savile's will rejecting the cost of £20,000.[170] On 28 October, it was reported that Savile's cottage inGlen Coe had been vandalised with spray-paint and the door damaged.[171][172] The cottage was sold in May 2013.[173][174]
In 2012, Richard Harrison, a long-servingpsychiatric nurse atBroadmoor Hospital, said that Savile had long been regarded by staff as "a man with a severepersonality disorder and a liking for children." Another nurse, Bob Allen, considered Savile to be apsychopath, stating: "A lot of the staff said he should be behind bars." Allen also said that he had once reported Savile to his supervisor for apparent improper conduct with a juvenile, but no action was taken.[175] Psychologists inThe Guardian andThe Herald argued that Savile exhibited thedark triad of personality traits:narcissism,Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.[176][177]
Savile'sestate, believed to be worth about £4–4.3 million, was frozen by its executors,NatWest bank, in view of the possibility that those alleging that they had been assaulted by Savile could make claims for damages.[178][179] After "a range of expenses" were charged to the estate, a remainder of about £3.3 million was available to compensate victims, those victims not having a claim against another entity (such as theBBC or theNational Health Service) being given priority, and all victims limited to a maximum claim of £60,000 against all entities combined. The compensation scheme was approved in late 2014 by the courts.[180][181] Most of Savile's honours were rescinded following the sexual abuse claims. As a knighthood expires when the holder dies, it cannot be posthumously revoked. TheCabinet Office stated in September 2021, with reference to his OBE and knighthood, that "The Forfeiture Committee can confirm that had James Wilson Vincent Savile been convicted of the crimes of which he is accused, forfeiture proceedings would have commenced."[182] Episodes ofTop of the Pops hosted by him are not repeated.[183]
On 26 June 2014, UKSecretary of State for HealthJeremy Hunt delivered a public apology in theHouse of Commons to the patients of the National Health Service abused by Savile. He confirmed that complaints had been raised before 2012 but were ignored by the bureaucratic system:
"Savile was a callous, opportunistic, wicked predator who abused and raped individuals, many of them patients and young people, who expected and had a right to expect to be safe. His actions span five decades – from the 1960s to 2010. ... As a nation at that time we held Savile in our affection as a somewhat eccentric national treasure with a strong commitment to charitable causes. Today's reports show that in reality he was a sickening and prolific sexual abuser who repeatedly exploited the trust of a nation for his own vile purposes."[184]
In April 2022,Netflix released a two-part documentary,Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, commissioned from 72 Films. It covered the life and career of Savile, his history of committing sexual abuse, and the scandal that occurred after his death in 2011, when numerous complaints were raised about his behaviour.[158]
In October 2020, the BBC announced a televisionmini-series with the working titleThe Reckoning, intended to recount Savile's rise to fame and the sexual abuse scandal that emerged after his death. The drama was originally planned to appear in the BBC's autumn 2022 schedule, but after a delay for re-editing, it was broadcast in October 2023. A source said, "The four-part drama is being edited in such a meticulous and careful way, so as not to create more pain and suffering for Savile's victims."[185][186][187] It was based in part on the bookIn Plain Sight: the Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile byDan Davies.[188][189][190]
Writer Neil McKay and producer Jeff Pope had previously worked together on dramatisations on the murders ofFred West, the disappearance ofShannon Matthews, and the murders ofStephen Port.[191] In September 2021,Steve Coogan was cast as Savile; he said he did not take the decision lightly, and that it was a "horrific story which – however harrowing – needs to be told."[192]
Many honours, including some of Savile's, cease to exist on the death of the holder; there is nothing to rescind if misdeeds are later found. Knighthoods, for example, expire with the holder.[195][199] Other honours of Savile's were withdrawn or removed from lists when his abuse became known after his death:
| Year | TItle | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959–1979 | Juke Box Jury | Panelist | 22 episodes |
| 1960 | Young at Heart | Presenter | AlongsideValerie Masters |
| 1961–1964 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Guest DJ | 11 episodes |
| 1964 | Big Beat '64 | Presenter | TV Special |
| 1964–1984, 1988, 2001, 2003, 2006 | Top of the Pops | ||
| 1965 | Pop Gear | Film (American titleGo Go Mania) | |
| 1966 | New Musical Express Poll Winners' Concert | TV Special | |
| 1969 | Songs of Praise | Guest Presenter | 1 episode |
| Pop Go The Sixties | Co-presenter | TV special; alongside Elfi von Kalckreuth | |
| 1973–1974 | Clunk, Click | Presenter | |
| 1975–1994 | Jim'll Fix It | ||
| 1978 | Network | 1 Episode; "Jimmy Savile's Yorkshire Speakeasy" | |
| 1979–2009 | This Is Your Life | Guest | 8 episodes |
| 1999 | Have I Got News For You | Panelist | 1 episode |
| 2000 | When Louis Met Jimmy | Himself | |
| Meet Ricky Gervais | Guest | 1 episode | |
| I Love 1970's | Presenter | 1 episode | |
| 2001 | Top of the Pops: The True Story | Show 1 | |
| 2004 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Guest | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Celebrity Big Brother | Guest Housemate | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Jim'll Fix It Strikes Again | Presenter |
"At this stage it is quite clear from what women are telling us that Savile was a predatory sex offender", said Commander Peter Spindler, head of specialist crime investigations, in an interview with the BBC.
Police believe former TV star Jimmy Savile, a national icon, may have been one of Britain's worst pedophile offenders. Some of Savile's alleged 300 victims had appeared on his TV shows.
Documentary to air claims by several women that TV presenter assaulted them when they were children ... Up to 10 women are said to have come forward to claim that they were sexually assaulted by Savile during the 1970s
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