4 years ago
6
ARTICLE AD BOX
"Everyone was bedazzled by him."
Content warning: This article includes references to sexual assault and abuse.
Netflix's two-part documentary "Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story" has just been released. The mini-series sheds light on the disgraced entertainer's sexual abuse scandal, which hit headlines shortly after he died in 2011.
BBC
Via testimony from the victims themselves as well as those who knew him, we learn about the many sexual offences Savile committed and how, in spite of his crimes, he remained unstoppable throughout his career.
Michael Putland / Getty Images
Here are 19 shocking things I learned watching the documentary:
1. To many, Jimmy Savile's crimes were an open secret.
Netflix
Celebrity interviewer Lynn Barber comments that it was no secret Jimmy liked young girls, in fact it was a widespread rumour. However, a lack of evidence due to inadequate investigating meant there was nothing to support these claims for years.
2. Whenever he was confronted about having sex with underage girls, Savile would always brush it off the allegations.
Netflix
Lynn had the opportunity to ask Saville about the rumours when she was commissioned to interview the entertainer about getting a knighthood. "He reacted with a flurry of 'funny-voice'", shared Lynn, "Jimmy Savile patter, which is what he does when he's getting his bearings."
Eventually, Saville ended up explaining to Lynn that because he was in the "pop business", teenagers gravitated towards him due to his celebrity and his connections to other popular figures. He didn't comment on any "relationships" he had with young girls at the time.
3. Saville had done many interviews in his lifetime where he openly expressed an inclination for sexual violence towards women.
Netflix
In multiple interviews throughout his career, Savile would talk openly about his feelings towards women, including his sexually violent tendencies. In one such example in the documentary, TV reporter Mark Young addresses Savile's sexual history first-hand.
"It's made me realise that there are two people in there [and] one half of the brain had broken into the other half for once."
4. Savile would routinely dehumanise woman off camera by referring to them as objects.
Netflix
5. Savile volunteered at many hospital bases including his local hospital, Leeds General Infirmary.
Netflix
Between 1954 and 2009, Savile would work in hospitals voluntarily. He discussed working as a porter at Leeds General Infirmary, where he would often help out on the women's ward and strike up conversations with the female patients.
6. He was appointed chairman of Broadmoor Hospital even though he wasn't qualified for the job.
Netflix
By 1990, Savile would have charitable relationships with over 50 hospitals and children homes across Britain, and it was in these institutions that he found most of his victims. He also expressed that hospitals were his "favourite places", and name dropped Broadmoor as being one of his go-tos.
7. His visits to hospitals and his behaviour with patients was once flagged by an investigative reporter who witnessed it.
Netflix
Majorie Wallace was investigating 19-year-old twins June and Jennifer – known the "silent twins" because they only spoke to each other – when she met Savile. They were both visiting Broadmoor hospital, and Wallace immediately noticed Savile's predatory nature towards June and Jennifer. She would ultimately flag the encounter with MP Edwina Currie, but her account didn't give rise to any investigation at the time.
8. One victim revealed the lengths she would go to to avoid being assaulted by Savile when she was just eleven years old.
Netflix
Sam Brown recounted her harrowing experience with Savile, which she estimates started at a chapel in Stoke Mandeville Hospital when she was 11. Shielded from the eyes of others, Savile would go into the presbytery which overlooked the service and assault Sam for several weeks without anyone knowing. To protect herself. she would wear three pairs of knickers and insert tampons into her vagina. Ultimately, this would not protect her from being assaulted by Savile.
9. Investigative journalist Meirion Jones recalled seeing Savile drive off with three young girls from Duncroft, a reformatory school.
Netflix
Savile and other celebrities would visit the school to raise money and support the facilities, but Savile would start making regular appearances at Duncroft where he would solicit the girls who lived there.
10. Margaret Thatcher repeatedly made attempts to award a knighthood to Savile.
Netflix
Lord Robin Butler, who worked for Thatcher as a private secretary, gave us insight into the former Prime Minister's relationship with Savile, saying it was "quite established". Savile would write letters to Thatcher, and she even invited him to the Chequers, the country house of the Prime Minister.
According to Butler, Thatcher liked Savile because of his "entrepreneurialism". In the early 1980s, she would begin her campaign for him to get a knighthood, and before she ceased to be Prime Minister, she would include him on a list given to the queen. Savile was eventually given a knighthood in 1990.
11. Prince Charles once wrote to Jimmy Savile asking for advice regarding his public image.
Netflix
Alison Bellamy, Savile's biographer showed viewers letters in which Charles asked for Savile's PR advice even though he had a big team of his own advisors. Savile gave instruction to Charles about how to react publicly if there was a major incident in Britain, including how they should act.
12. A letter accusing Savile back in 1998 was not filed or investigated due to lack of evidence.
Netflix
Mike Hames, who was part of the anti child abuse squad, revealed that after he left the police force, he received a letter that exposing the so-called "untouchable" Jimmy Savile. It was sent to Leeds for investigation, as that was where Savile resided, but the letter would not lead to an investigation and it wasn't even filed anywhere.
13. There was a culture of ignorance and even endorsement around Jimmy Savile and his comments on women.
Netflix
When asked to review clips from her interview with Savile, television journalist Selina Scott pointed out how different it was sitting there in that moment compared to watching it at home. "What I'm looking at here is something totally different from [how] I actually felt at the time, so the camera does lie. You know, if the camera never lies, then the camera would've picked up on him years ago."
14. Jimmy candidly spoke about believing in God, and living a decent life in the hopes that he'll end up going to heaven.
Netflix
Savile grew up into a Catholic home, and would continue many of his beliefs into adulthood. He still went to church, and cheekily spoke about "many sorts of Gods" and his "own God", which he described as looking like him.
15. Many believe that Savile did so much charity work to strike a balance with the "bad" he was doing behind the scenes.
Netflix
Throughout the docuseries, many contributors comment on just how much Savile did for his local community, and to some, it was remarkable to note how many lives he changed for the better. Broadcaster Mark Lawson theorises that Savile cleverly flaunted his good deeds and charity work in order to create a public persona who no one could accuse of wrongdoing even if they tried.
16. Savile had a close friendship with several police officers who he would invite to his house as part of a "secret club".
Netflix
Savile had a habit of both intimidating and befriending the police. In May 2007, an investigation was launched due to allegations arising from his Savile's visits to Duncroft. Surrey police called him in to be questioned, and Savile would assert his power and authority as best he could during police interviews, threatening to sue people individually and boasting that he'd done it several times before.
17. Savile regularly promised women that they could appear on his show if they agreed to engage in a sexual acts with him.
Netflix
After becoming a journalist, Meirion Jones decided to take a deep dive into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal. He soon uncovered damning evidence from one of Savile's victim, Karin Ward, who was offered the opportunity to appear on Savile's television show, Clunk-Click, but only if she would have sex with him.
Jones would follow this up with a face-to-face interview exposing Savile for who he was, a sexual abuser of women. Karin's account of what happened, and her appearance on archival footage from the show, proved to be a key in forming a case against Savile.
18. The investigation started by Meirion Jones would eventually lead to many victims coming forward – in excess of 450. However, Savile would never stand trial for his crimes as he passed away in 2011.
Netflix
Many brave women came forward in the investigation, but Savile wouldn't ever stand up in court, as he died in 2011 before his victims could get the justice they deserved. This trajectory of events not only highlights how society failed to believe and support Saville's victims, but how corruptly the police acted. Officers were even discouraging victims to come forward as late as 2009, two years before Savile's death.
If you, or anyone you know, is the victim of sexual assault or abuse, please reach out for help using the links below.
In the UK you can contact the Rape Crisis national freephone hotline on 0808 802 9999, or you can contact voluntary organisations like The Survivors Trust for their helpline and live chat service.
In the US you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to www.rainn.org for more information.
English (US) ·