21 September 2023 , 09:26
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Jimmy Savile came across as charming, attentive and eccentric but behind closed doors he had a dark secret that was only exposed after his death. The 84-year-old fronted popular TV shows like Top of the Pops and Jim’ll Fix during the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s - a job which enabled him to meet children and women impressed by his fame.
It's feared the DJ, TV and radio personality had abused up to 1,000 boys and girls in TV studios as well as patients at NHS hospitals across Britain - some as young as two years old. But it was only when he died aged 84 in 2011 that his crimes were uncovered, leading police to believe he may be the most prolific paedophile in British history.
What do we know about Jimmy Savile?
Police fear Savile could be the most prolific paedophile in British history (Getty Images)
Savile died in 2011 - before his huge list of vile crimes was exposed (Getty Images)Savile often came into contact with his victims through the BBC and his charitable work for the NHS. Top of the Pops was aimed at a teenage audience, whereas Jim'll Fix It was another popular primetime TV programme where he helped make the wishes of viewers, mainly children, come true.
He had an eccentric image and was well respected, even being knighted in 1990 for his charitable work. That said, there were questions and allegations about his private life when he was alive - most notably he wasn’t allowed to take part in Children In Need, because a former BBC governor Sir Roger Jones said he was deeply uncomfortable about the TV presenter having any association with the broadcaster's charity.
Was the Jimmy Saville case a cover-up?
Sir Jimmy Savile OBE and Louis Theroux in this one-off special Louis Theroux spends time with his childhood hero to try and get to know the real Jimmy Savile (BBC)The BBC said no evidence of misconduct by Savile had been found, denying there had been a cover-up of his activities. But rumours of Savile's sex crimes had circulated for years, yet no one dared print them. In a TV documentary presented by Louis Theroux in April 2000, Savile denied rumours about him being a paedophile. Eight years later Savile started legal proceedings against a newspaper linking him to abuse at the Jersey children's home Haut de la Garenne. Then in 2009 Savile was interviewed under caution by Surrey police investigating an alleged indecent assault at Duncroft school - the case was dropped as there was insufficient evidence to take any further action.
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How was he found out?
It only emerged in late 2012 - a year after Savile’s death - that he sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, most of them children but some as old as 75, and most of them female. After his death, a documentary presented by investigative reporter Mark Williams-Thomas featured several women who alleged they had been sexually abused by Savile as teenagers.
In January 2013, Scotland Yard conducted its own investigation labelling Savile a "prolific, predatory" sex offender after finding 214 criminal offences were committed across 28 police forces, between 1955 and 2009. Then in 2014, NSPCC research for BBC Panorama confirmed at least 500 reports of abuse by Savile. This was followed by a Department of Health investigation which found Savile abused 60 people including at least 33 patients aged from five to 75. However, the family of the late Sir Jimmy Savile has denied claims that the TV and radio presenter abused under-age females.
* If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999