At the time the full extent of his crimes became clear,
in October 2012,
Jimmy Savile was still revered
as a British institution.
His name was emblazoned
throughout hospitals across the UK.
Streets were named after him.
But during the weeks that followed,
over a year after his death in 2011,
Savile was revealed
as one of Britain's most prolific sexual abusers.
That is a complete flight of fantasy.
For those that don't know him,
it's hard to articulate
exactly how famous Savile was in the UK.
His bleached hair, gold jewellery,
and outlandish clothes were cultivated
to make him stick in the collective memory
of the British people.
When he rose to fame in the 1980s,
most UK presenters spoke stiffly,
in perfect English.
And as an unrefined miner from a working-class area,
Savile felt like a fresh, genuine voice.
Good morning, my sweetheart.
-How's things? -Oh, alright.
Give us a kiss, baby.
He became as established
as the likes of Oprah Winfrey
or David Letterman -
the sort of household name
whose fame spanned generations.
A kind of private pandemonium.
Many parents grew up listening to him on Radio 1,
and their children watched him on Jim Will Fix It,
a hugely popular show, which ran from 1975 to 1994,
often receiving 20,000 letters a week
from its enraptured audience.
Savile also presented Top of the Pops…
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to Top of the Pops.
…a music show, which, at its peak in the 70s,
was watched by 15 million people a week,
around a quarter
of the British population at the time.
But Savile's novelty figure persona
hid horrific secrets.
Over his 53-year career,
Savile abused countless victims,
aged five to 75.
After his death,
over 450 people came forward with allegations.
Being able to lock things away…
was the way I coped.
His predatory behaviour was allowed to flourish
for over five decades,
and Savile's power and calculating influence
meant that many accusations about his behaviour
were dismissed as ridiculous.
That sort of thing did happen in the pop business.
Savile was able to escape justice for so long
because of his proximity to influential people.
It's difficult to reconcile with his clownish persona,
but he wielded genuine power.
He became synonymous
with large demonstrative charity projects,
raising over 40 million pounds
through events that often gained
widespread media coverage.
He was awarded an OBE in 1972
and a knighthood in 1990,
one of the highest honours the Crown can bestow.
No, it really is mine.
-Are you sure? -It's mine, I'm telling you.
It's mine, yeah. Tell him it's mine.
It is mine. Thought I'd nicked it.
He was an unofficial adviser
to members of the royal family,
the governor of Broadmoor,
a high-security psychiatric hospital,
and an esteemed member of the Catholic Church.
He regularly dined with Margaret Thatcher
while she was prime minister,
and met the pope on his visit to the United Kingdom.
He was friends with some of the most famous
musicians in the world.
Governments, the monarchy,
and established British institutions,
such as the BBC and NHS,
all trusted Savile.
This place would not be in existence
without Jimmy Savile.
But his benevolent persona was a lie,
created to overshadow the truth
about who and what he was.
Some celebrities and producers did raise concerns
about Savile's behaviour,
but nothing ever came of it.
And if they were ignored,
there was even less chance of hearing the voices
of the vulnerable, disenfranchised people
upon whom Savile prayed.
The revelations about Savile
led directly to Operation Yewtree,
a police investigation into sexual abuse allegations,
which led to the conviction
of other British celebrities,
such as Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter,
and Dave Lee Travis.
You can watch the full story
in Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story
available on Netflix now.
I am often tempted.
In fact, my case comes up next Thursday.