The legendary Sir Jimmy Savile was a sexual predator of young girls, a new television documentary claims. Stuart Arnold reports

SIR Jimmy Savile – superstar DJ, television personality, charity fundraiser, marathon runner, parttime wrestler, ex-Bevin Boy, multimillionaire, friend to the Royals and now child abuser?

That’s the claim in a television programme being screened tomorrow which includes the accounts of a number of women who say they were abused by the Jim’ll Fix It star, who died last year aged 84.

It also features contributions from former BBC production staff who claim his “predatory behaviour” was an open secret.

The documentary is fronted by child protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas.

His former force, Surrey police, investigated sex assault allegations against Sir Jimmy in 2007 arising from a visit to the Duncroft Approved School in the 1970s, although no action was taken and no charges ever laid.

While many of the allegations being made are not new, it has prompted a media frenzy, particularly in the tabloid newspapers.

But is it right that these allegations are now being aired when he has no right of reply and they cannot be tested in court?

The star’s biographer Alison Bellamy says Sir Jimmy always strenuously denied accusations of sex abuse. “These allegations dogged him all his life and he said it came with the territory,” she says.

“People I interviewed for the book would say there were always queues of young women waiting for him outside of the Top Of The Pops studio.

“There will never be any positive outcome from this now because he is dead. If the alleged victims do want to find closure, maybe this is their way of doing it. However it will just cause upset and is a slur on his name.

“His family and friends are devastated – I have spoken to them – and they will do what they can to defend his name.”

Sir Jimmy himself claimed rumours of his sexual deviancy originally arose from an entirely innocent incident that happened following a visit to a Leeds school.

A group of schoolgirls, whom he had given a talk to about music, turned up out of the blue at his penthouse flat in the city.

Stupidly – so he said afterwards – he invited them in for a cup of tea. They stayed a while and then went home. Afterwards a furious parent complained to a national newspaper.

They pursued Sir Jimmy and regularly posted a photographer outside his flat in a bid to get a picture of him as he went for his morning jog. However no story was ever published.

The star later said it was the stupidest thing he had ever done.

Today’s allegations are much more lurid and serious and include claims that he raped, groomed and sexually assaulted girls aged under 16 when at the height of his fame.

Scarborough councillor David Jeffels, a freelance journalist, was a former acquaintance of the DJ and provides an insight into the kind of person he was.

Savile had a flat in the town’s Esplanade and also requested that he be buried in Scarborough, such was the television presenter’s love of the resort.

“He was a popular personality, so much so that three years ago he was made a freeman of the borough, which isn’t given out very often,” says Coun Jeffels.

“He was a real charmer, a larger than life bloke, who could relate to kids and vice-versa.

“He always involved himself with the town and would put himself out for any event – big or small – if it was for charity.

“Any organisation that asked for his support inevitably got it. He was a great philanthropist.”

IN the past few weeks, the town’s civic society was involved when a cliff-top path was named after Sir Jimmy called Savile’s View.

The timing now seems poor, but those wanting to genuinely mark Sir Jimmy’s connection with the town are somewhat nonplussed by what has occurred since.

“We could not have forseen this,” says Coun Jeffels. “It is very sad and a lot of people in Scarborough will be sad to hear of these allegations.”

Another question that arises is what damage all this will do to Sir Jimmy’s charitable legacy, which is substantial.

Having raised £40m himself for charity during his lifetime, a charitable trust was set up in the event of his death.

It has an estimated £8m to spend on good causes and there are now fears that its work could be damaged.

If there is anything positive to be drawn from this affair might it be that – whether true or not – the allegations and the furore surrounding them could prompt an increased awareness of sexual abuse, particularly against children?

A spokesman for the charity ChildLine – whose founder Esther Rantzen has claimed many who knew the star “blocked their ears” to previous claims made about Sir Jimmy, such was his power and fame – says children are often silenced in many ways by their abuser.

“Often they do not speak out until long after the incident or are not believed when they do,” the spokesman says.

“It is vital that we send a clear message to victims that they can never be to blame for what has happened to them, that they have somewhere to turn and they will be believed.”