Jimmy Savile

I feel a strange mixture of emotions at the passing of Jimmy Savile. Mainly sadness but also a slight guilt that I hadn’t seen more of him in the last few years. And also a sense of unreality that a man who seemed indestructible – and who was such a fixture of my childhood and then a kind of personal landmark in my own career – has now succumbed to the inevitable.
I actually started making my Jimmy Savile film out of a fascination with the macabre rumours that used to swirl around the man, many of them started by Jimmy himself.
One was that he didn’t actually like children, despite hosting one of Britain’s most famous childrens’ TV shows.
Another, written in his autobiography, that the few days he spent alone with his deceased mother’s body during her laying out was the time of his life.
That he was in charge of “entertainment” at Broadmoor where he would have tea with Peter Sutcliffe.
That he spent his spare time volunteering as a hospital porter at Leeds General Infirmary where he was known for wheeling bodies into the morgue
I thought if we could experience even a fraction of the darkness and complexity suggested by these stories it would make for a fascinating film especially when set off against the upbeat colourful charity fundraiser and TV personality we were all familiar with.
I started making the film with a sense of trepidation.
After two days of filming I wasn’t sure if it was working and we were considering pulling the plug. He was parrying my questions with catchphrases and Jimmyisms. “I am not a grass.” “Women are brain damage.” And so on.
What I didn’t realize until later was that Jimmy’s evasions were fascinating in themselves. And that without me noticing, Jimmy was working incredibly hard, putting up with”my pestering questions for hours on end, in actual fact “producing” the film just as much as me or my director.
Jimmy’s gameness and his creativity about generating stunts and ideas and pulling “moodies” (his word for pranks) in the end was the most crucial part of what made the film a success.
In the course of about two weeks my director Will Yapp and I went on a strange, fascinating and occasionally infuriating journey with Jimmy.
We saw his dark side. Well, Will did – I happened to be in bed on the evening Jimmy chose to discuss his years of “zero tolerance” in the nightclubs he managed, tying people up and leaving them in the boiler room if they were being lairy.
We saw the eccentric memorialization of his mother, “The Duchess”, whose clothes he had kept in her old closet and which he had dry cleaned once a year.
But we also saw the indefatigable game-playing, the teasing, the playful evasions and his gift for turning the various incidents in his daily life into anecdotes, adventures and, quite often, actual news stories.
When he broke his foot running on “his” mountain, he offered to keep filming. Or, he said, we could take him to hospital.
We opted for the hospital option though I don’t doubt he would have hobbled on if we’d decided it was important for filming (he had a fascination with the stoical martial ethos of the Royal Marines).
Once at hospital, he invited a friend to take photos, the better to place a story in the papers. But in typical Jimmy style, when I called him on this detail, he stoutly denied having laid any such plan.
I think it appealed to his sense of humour that he could produce a national news event under our noses without us noticing.
Seeing Jimmy on the road moving between his various residences – penthouse in Leeds, seafront flat in Scarborough, picturesque cottage in Glencoe – I was struck by his network of friends and helpers he had in each place and their loyalty to him.
I left Jimmy feeling that I was in a small way a part of his “London team”, as he called it.
My director and I were somewhat anxious about showing Jimmy the film before transmission. It was very much a warts-and-all portrait. Will travelled up to Leeds for a special screening. Afterwards Jimmy said, “Yeah, that’s good, that is.”
Every time I remember that I’m reminded how tough he was, how unfazed by negative attention.
In an age of agents, PRs, and media handlers, he was completely the opposite, utterly free of showbiz airs. He was as far from being a diva as one could imagine.
I kept in touch with Jimmy for several years after the documentary was finished.
Will and I would travel up to Leeds for an overnight visit.
We’d go out to the Flying Pizza restaurant with a camera and videotape Jimmy as he presided over the birthdays of strangers with a kind of papal authority. But the camera didn’t have tape in it – as Jimmy himself knew. He just enjoyed the idea that everyone thought they were being filmed and the sense of occasion it created.
He was a complete one-off. Wrestler, charity fundraiser, deejay, fixer, prankster, and professional enigma.
He was also a plainspoken Yorkshire philosopher and psychologist.
There won’t be another one like him

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111 comments

  1. One off indeed.

    RIP

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  2. Good article, and a good documentary – looking back it was the thing that finally humanised Jimmy for me, taking him beyond the one-dimensional caricature…

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  3. RIP Jimmy. Legendary lunatic

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  4. Having met Jimmy on several occasions (and also knowing the photographer that he called for the hospital visit – he did call him, it wasn’t because you were there, this was a quintessential “Jimmyism”), I was always mesmerised by the way he could fill a room with his persona, before he even entered it. He was often mocked by the British public, for his eccentricities and quirky, oddball behaviour. But had he been normal, would he have been as highly respected?
    Inside he was a man who genuinely cared, your documentary showed this. After the documentary was over, you were left with a feeling that it could have gone on for hours, yet still barely brush the exterior.
    As the sign posted in his Glencoe abode declares; “No TV, No Video, So don’t even think of breaking in!” ‘When Louis Met Jimmy’ should have started with a similar disclaimer; “No Women, No Brain Damage, So don’t even think about asking!”
    He will be missed by many as a broadcaster, fund-raiser and all-round good-guy.

    RIP Sir James.

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  5. Now then, Now then, isn’t there 2 L’s in Saville?

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  6. RIP Jimmy – Nice tribute – thanks Louis

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  7. According to Dave Haslam, the ex-Hacienda DJ, Jimmy was the first person in the UK to hook two turntables together and play songs continuously at nightclubs.

    Whatever you may think of the guy, he’s affected almost everyone’s life for the better, even if it was only that time when you heard two really great songs played consecutively on a dancefloor.

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  8. The world has lost a very kind and generous man, his warmth and humour will be missed by many.

    RIP Jimmy -thank you for all your kindness

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  9. Whatever the gossip about the guy, Mr Jimmy Savile was an interesting character.
    Raising something in the region of 40m pounds for charity does happen without a lot of hard work organising and networking.

    I fondly remember watching as a child in the 70′s ‘Jim’ll Fix it’…great stuff.
    I wish I could have met him for moment in time and shook his hand.

    RIP Mr Jimmy Savile.

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  10. nice one L. rip jimmy.

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  11. Jimmy was such a great character that it touched me when I heard he had died, even though I have never met him. i’m just so grateful that Louis made his film as it is the closest we will ever get to knowing the man that was an enigma.

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  12. Thanks for making such a great documentary, Louis. I’ll be watching it frequently now to remember a great man.

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  13. I first met Jimmy when I was a local reporter in the 1970s and he’d been booked to open a new club. The official opening took place in the afternoon, but the management had given the impression Jim would return to spin the first disc in the evening. He said it wasn’t part of the contract, but after negotiation (probably over an addition to his fee), he agreed to return “so all these good folk won’t be disappointed”. He duly did, and stayed for an hour or so.

    In the meantime, though, he went to a nearby village to visit a young woman who’d written to him. She’d been born without arms and said she’d like to comb Jim’s flaxen locks with a comb held in her toes. What a photo opportunity for a publicity-seeker like Mr Savile, you would think. But Jimmy never mentioned a word to us newsmen. As far as he was concerned it was a private visit and he had no intention of turning it to his personal advantage.

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  14. Great article and great film too, Louis. Jimmy was a big part of my childhood and like many, I had huge admiration for him. What an amazing career he had. I was fortunate to meet him at a radio station I worked for and he kindly recorded numerous personal jingle idents for me – encouraging the police to lock me up for having such a good radio programme that I was skinning that Jimmy Savile, so lock him up! :) He also did this for some of my other fellow broadcasters too. Just a small example of how generous he was as he didn’t have to do them. I remember when your film came out, my family and friends were very surprised to see a Gene Hunt ‘Zero Tolerance’ side, but as someone here commented – that ‘humanised’ Jimmy as until that moment we’d just never seen or even expected to see a side like that from the constantly magical, showbizzy Jimmy Savile. The good thing is he lived a life he wanted to a ripe 85 and he’s now with his precious Duchess once more. It was nice to see him warm to you and as you say Louis, there won’t be another like him.

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  15. Amazing man Jimmy, amazing documentary Louis. I still watch the DVD. I think because Jimmy clearly suffered from acute loneliness, and hid his emotions as he admitted, his behaviour was wrongly misconstrued as weirdness.
    Not even mentioning the charity work (which I have), for any person in their 30s and 40′s, Jimmy was part of the furniture, a national treasure, a comfort we took for granted in a fast changing world. As many have said, we won’t see his kind again, and the world will be a poorer place for it.
    I hope history is kind to him because he brought a hell of a lot to the table….

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  16. —-Ever amazed at Louis’s access to the
    ‘usual oddballs’.

    Always disappointed that Louis’s work unflinchingly
    supports the capstone EUGENICS and Globalism
    aims of the Oxford-Fabian front BBC.

    FACT IS, we’ve never come away from ANY of
    Louis’s work with a revelation. of anything.

    Louis has yet to confront a Rothchild or Rockefeller,
    a Ted Turner or BIll Gates on the ruthless agendas
    and methods behind ——EUGENICS.

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  17. Nice article, Louis. It’s fascinating to hear a bit more about the relationship you had with him.

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  18. Jimmy wa sa one off model and although he may of seemed strange to some people he had a heart of gold and always helped people where he could and was able to.

    Rest in Peace Jimmy.

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  19. URGENT – Please could Louis call me regards doing an interview about Jimmy Saville ahead of his burial in scarborough on thursday 10th November.
    Many Thanks
    Anna Wallace
    BBC Radio York
    Tel; 07873 309647
    e-mail: anna.wallace@bbc.co.uk

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  20. A lovely documentary Louis. I just watched it again to remind myself. Jimmy was a fantastic figure in my childhood, although he never fixed it for me to see Showaddywaddy..He reminds me of my Dad in your programme!

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  21. i totally agree with what you say louis,i watched the programme and i noticed that some of the questions you were asking,jimmy would just say something like yes,yes,he had a dry sense of humour,very nice man,i wish i could have met him. i used to travel a lot from middlesbrough to bradford,i would go through leeds delibratly. i would drive past the estate were he lived in the hope of glimpsing him,but it was never to be..never mind. ONE TRUE GENT TO THE CORE..r i p sir jimmy saville.

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  22. He has clunk clicked his last trip, bless you Sir Jimmy x

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  23. He has clunk clicked his last trip, bless you Sir Jimmy x

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  24. He was a big part of my early life (childhood/teenage years and into my 20′s) My dad worked as a hospital porter at the LGI and therefore worked alongside Jimmy when he volunteered. Jimmy often got paid in kind for the jobs he did and he had static caravans at Primrose Valley and a site in Teignmouth in Devon. Jimmy put in place a booking system so his fellow porters could take their families to these caravans for free. He knew the porters got paid very little and for many years the trips to these caravans were my annual holidays. This started when I was 10/11 and I am now 55. I continued to go to his Devon even when my father had retired and I was in my 20′s.
    I also have memories of meeting him when he was out and about on his bike and his hair would change colour due to the exhaust fumes while he was out. So he might start with very blond hair but it often changed to blue or pink!
    He was never too busy or too famous to stop and talk and my childhood memories will always feature him as a large important character.
    RIP

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  25. £40 million for charity- what a legacy! Your best documentary so far Louis- I remember the bit where he said he only ever took one pair of pants with him wherever he went and washed them every night. True or just a quip to make hime seem eccentric? Either way, pure brilliance, pure Jimmy.
    RIP Sir Jimmy

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  26. I’m 37 therefore Jimmy was a huge part of my childhood-what a great man! I was born in Scarborough and remember friends used to see him running across valley bridge and shout “alright Jimmy”, he always returned a greeting with a wave. Ironically I now live 3 miles away from Stoke Mandeville hospital and gave birth to both of my children there.

    Two years ago my Daughter did some homework about my favourite things in childhood, one mentioned was ‘Jim’ll fix it for you’. Two days before he died I found my Daughter’s work and looked through it to see the picture of Jimmy Savile… A lovely reminder of him a couple days before the sad news.

    When I go to Scarborough crematorium to see my Dads headstone I’ll make sure I go and put some flowers on Jimmy’s grave.

    R.I.P Sir Jimmy Savile

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  27. Good one that, Louis.
    I’d always hoped you and Will would’ve made a 10th anniversary special.

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  28. Fantastic doc, watched it last night for the first time sinced he passed away.

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  29. Reply to ANON YMUS

    These people are Assholes and people hold no afinity towards them. He’s not about that, or at least i hope he’s not. Just a regular dude meeting regular people.

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  30. Wohh just what I was searching for, thanks for posting.

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  31. Well, Louis, it seems that your journalistic curiosity and perspicacity in situ for those 2 weeks didn’t extend to probing long-term and widespread suspicions that the dark side of Jimmy Savile included a propensity for paedophilia.

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  32. Louis I think you may have been onto something….

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  33. What a journalist you are.

    He was a rampant paedophile and you ignored the rumours that you could have investigated then you could have asked the man to explain himself.

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    • We’re still waiting for Louis to explain why he and a cameraman friend decided to spend some time with Jimmy on private sleepovers, well after the documentary was made. Louis later stated the revelations about Savile confirmed his “worst fears”. Really? Those fears didn’t stop Louis maintaining and nurturing a friendship with Savile. Why would that be?

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  34. Hello Louis, re: Jimmy Savile. A journalist in the national press who I became acquainted with in the 1980s told me of the darker side of Savile, using the word paederast several times. The issue, she confessed, was one of proof and, I guess having just seen Esther Rantzen’s video on the Daily Telegraph site, one also of adult collusion. I don’t think one ought to forget that Savile was part of what is commonly called ‘the Establishment’.

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  35. The current revelations/allegations come as no real surprise to me. I recall watching your programme and Jimmys response to a particular question which I seem to recall was near the end of the documentary. I cannot recall the exact question, but the response was a curious and evasive one which rang alarm bells in my head. It was something about him not wanting to put himself in a situation where he could be questioned or his motives questioned. The words I have forgotten, but their effect on me has lasted. I have little doubt that they survived the edit for a reason.

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  36. Why, if you were ‘not completely blind-sided’ by these stories of him sexually abusing children, did you opt to spend time with him socially long after you finished your documentary? I cannot understand how so many people normalised this predatory behaviour. Even if only rumors, and that is doubtful as you pretty much acknowledge , wouldnt most people seek to distance themselves from such a person?

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  37. Louis , this superbly crafted piece was one of my all time favorite documentaries however it was obvious to me that Jimmy was a Freudian delight in the area of sexual proclivities of which he now stands accused. Surely nobody was surprised by these allegations……?

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  38. well louis, so much for investigative journalism… you too were blinded by the light huh! you must feel very embarrassed…

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  39. This guy had more “dark side” than darth vader, it’s just that countless people were blinded and silenced by his clever use of power.

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  40. Watching your documentary on Savile again in the light of the recent disclosures of his illegal and abusive actions is revealing. With that knowledge in place his strangeness starts to look like something else, something very wrong indeed and very disturbing.

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  41. Louis – appreciate that you were not around the BBC during the period that all the alleged crimes of Savile are attached. However, I’m confident you would have been briefed on these specific rumours. In retrospect – was this a line of questioning that you momentarily broached, but finally held back on? Your documentary with savile was one I have revisited many times as it made immensely compelling tv. However, the tidal wave of evidence against him is (in my opinion) too overwhelming to ignore. I will continue to love your back catalogue of programmes, but will never watch that particular encounter again, due to the sinister, abhorrent individual that now seems to have been exposed to the world.

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  42. Like another poster your documentary left a chilling impression with me. Even though it was 12 years ago I have remembered the bizarre and evasive things he said. I turned to my husband after it aired and said that when jimmy died all manner of scandal would emerge (I thought it would be allegations of thuggery given his admissions of boiler room antics) I never thought it would be paedophilia. He clearly was a dark and unpleasant character which bwas obvious after airing. People must have been recollecting their memoirs of jimmy, what a pity none of this came out at the time.

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  43. Very weird man was my thoughts when I watched this docu ! My thoughts now are very weird sick man !!!! Just the tip of the iceberg I’m pretty sure alot more celebritys will be outed as peados soon !!!

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  44. Louis I’m a great admirer of your ability to subtly and deftly probe people and their psychologies. I’m really sorry to say your credibility (and to some extent your integrity) as a journalist and documentary maker has for me been slightly diminished however. These rumours could have been probed much further in your documentary. You could also have reported them to the police..It makes me wonder if you ever really get as much to the truth or give us insights into your documentary subjects as I thought you did? It also my skin crawl, as I’m sure it does you, to think you went for social drinks and overnight stays with this man! What were you thinking?! I thought you were a wily, intelligent kind of guy!

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  45. I think the Saville Scandal should be a warning to us all as to how easy it is for someone like him to dupe us. Lets face it some hospitals etc were mesmerized by the donations, others by his exciting personna. It isn’t helped by the worship of personalities in the media. Regarding Louis Therouxs interviews with Saville it left me with an uncomfortable feeling that there was not something right with the man and I am guessing many people felt that who knew Saville but that’s different from knowing what he was really like. I think Louis Therouxs programmes nearly always leaves you with a different image of the people whoever they have.

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  46. Tom in Norfolk-

    “In the meantime, though, he went to a nearby village to visit a young woman who’d written to him. She’d been born without arms and said she’d like to comb Jim’s flaxen locks with a comb held in her toes. What a photo opportunity for a publicity-seeker like Mr Savile, you would think. But Jimmy never mentioned a word to us newsmen. As far as he was concerned it was a private visit and he had no intention of turning it to his personal advantage”

    with the allegations of his rampant abuse of disabled people at various hospitals you can be sure he did “turn it to his personal advantage”.

    Some journalist you must have been…..

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  47. I think the documentary was a fascinating of how a narcissist deflects difficult questions. I have a friend who, when drunk, behaves as Jimmy Saville appeared to behave when sober. He will insist on controlling the conversation, but doesn’t actually have much – if anything – to contribute beyond catchphrases and prosaic commentary.

    There are two things I’d really like to know about, but as it doesn’t look as though comments here garner a response I suppose I’ll be left wondering. The first relates to Louis developing a sort of friendship with Savile after this documentary was made.

    There was no evidence of rapport between interviewer and interviewee. Throughout, Louis seemed uncomfortable and Savile appeared detached and indifferent. Yet it’s almost as though Louis was left with some sense of obligation that went beyond appreciation for somebody well known agreeing to do an interview.

    In that sense it’s an excellent illustration of how despite constant deflection and offering nothing more than a sort of cold joviality, Savile managed to deflect, give very little of himself away, Savile managed to instill in people a sense that they were his friends. Maybe just by ending meetings with his Mr Fixit “you can call me when you need something” approach, is enough for the people in receipt of it to think “well, he seems to regard us as friends now – so maybe we are!” Perhaps that’s how he always operated.

    The other thing is that Louis mentions having missed the more thuggish and darker side exposed later on in the night to a member of the production team. It might be that the combination of the late hour and a documentary depicting lions killing and eating prey encouraged JS to present that other “don’t mess with me” side.

    I can’t help wondering, though, if the production team member he was speaking to managed to pick up on something that Louis missed as regards the best way to wheedle a more meaningful (and dark) disclosure out of Savile.

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  48. It would be interesting to see an updated blog post from Louis in light of recent events.

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  49. It looks like Louis had his big chance and blew it. I think he owes us an explanation……. Louis? thoughts now? accommodation theory?

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  50. Oh dear Louis I remember watching this program you beached the question of abusive and he bullied you.

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  51. Louis, I understand he became a friend of sorts, but your friend thought he could cover his evil by doing good, we all do that in life to some degree as we secretly know life it a test and at the end of it we will be judged, only Jimmy did it in extremes and 40 million raised for charity does not buy you the right to abuse children and the mentally ill, if this turns out to be true. Can any amount of good deeds cover that most grave sin? Was that the reason the 5 police forces dropped all inquiries and his showbiz friends remained silent all these years? If so then we need a full government inquiry in which Louis must testify under oath. Yet if this is all a conspiracy of lies then those who knew him, like Louis, also must speak out. Either which way silence is a deepening chasm, a bottomless pit and a road to nowhere. I feel sad for his family and friends. Yet the worst thing about this is no one stood up to him and told him it was wrong in all these years, apart from one plucky radio journalist in 2007. It must have been terrifying being a child on those wards at night with Saville around and no one brave enough to defend you or want to believe you. Louis had his chance, (reflect) and then repent sincerely and all will be forgiven.

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  52. Louis is still a great journalist, but life is a lesson so this could make him better. That is my hope and prayer. Jimmy should have said to Louis on camera something like, “look, ive done some terrible things in my life I deeply regret, but I cant undo them now”, it was the end of Jimmys life, in a way I think Jimmy wanted to confess all to Louie and thought Louie would go after him more? Didnt we all? The stage was set for the grand confession? If not subconsciously? The desire to confess is strongest when you know you are closer to death/judgement.

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  53. The fact that Louis didn’t uncover all of Jimmy’s dubious history does not in any way detract from his journalistic integrity or perspicacity. Is there really an expectation that he should have said ‘so, you a paedo then?’.

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  54. Hi Louis,
    I re-watched your documentary on Jimmy Savile earlier today, I suppose to refresh my thoughts on the man and had anything changed since I saw it the first time? No… my thoughts are still the same… a very cunning, strange, dark, twisted man. I never really liked him to be honest and I’m not surprised at all that these allegations have come to light. I just feel you could have asked more questions instead of shying away, looking fearful of this aged man. In the car, when you were driving, he was telling you to show the nicer side of people. He was bullying you in a way to show the nicer side of him, not to ask too many dark questions and it seems you went along with it to remain friends with him. You could have exposed so much more of what this man was really about. Ah well, I suppose you’re as sick as the rest of his ‘admirers’ with all that’s been revealed about him.

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  55. Louis will probably delete this comment, but can you imagine what that Christian fundamentalist family Louis stayed with are thinking now! I watched that Jimmy Saville program again and its obvious the way to get Saville to admit it was not to call him a pedo, as obviously he is going to deny that but when Louis mentioned it and Saville said “well I know I am not a pedo”, Louis should have replied “no, but you do like young girls dont you Jimmy”, at which point Louis was more likely to get a confession. Obviously he is a pedo but you are never going to get him to admit that, BUT you could have got him to admit he likes young women and probed from their. Clearly Louis puts people on the defensive as he is often fairly bigoted and ignorant himself about stuff (like porn/Christianity etc), or atleast comes across like that.

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  56. Doesnt Louis try and do what Columbo does? Act a bit naive and stupid to try and get them to open up? Trouble is that only works if they haven’t seen your previous TV shows, duh.

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  57. A lawfirm has received instructions regarding an alleged assault by Sir Jimmy Savile on a 10-year-old boy while he was in care at a children’s home in Jersey.

    Alan Collins, a lawyer for the firm Pannone, said the boy had been subjected to a serious sexual assault.

    He told the BBC victims sometimes felt afraid to come forward for fear of not being believed or listened to.

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  58. Re: Tom, Norfolk, on October 31st, 2011 at 8:47 am

    I guess now it makes sense why he didn’t tell the newsmen that he was going to visit that young girl who had written to him (the one without arms) at home and who wanted to comb his hair with her toes. Poor kid! He preyed on the disadvantaged, young and physically challenged folks. He seemed to have EVERY intention to turning his ‘private visit’ to his personal advantage.

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  59. Yes Saville definately mentioned his “zero tolerance” approach as bouncer, he also referred to sending his men around to “talk” to Louis. So clearly he though he was some sort of gangster/untouchable, naturally defensive (for obvious reasons) and people like that are not nice people. So Louis should have a word with himself about that. Anyone who talks about sending the boys around is generally a complete a** hole anyway. What I want to know is everyone thought Saville liked “young girls” (which included 14 year olds who looked 18) and this in the 70s was just sort of considered almost normal male behaviour (didnt the Sun used to have 16 year olds on their birthday getting their tits out) in those days? With a caption the day before saying “this is Julie, tommorrow is her 16th birthday so buy the Sun as she is getting her tits out”. I am sure I remember stuff like that. However, the stuff about 10 year old boys is 100% pedo so what I want to know is that more extreme stuff REALLY true or are people now trying to make money?

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  60. Yep I was right its on Wikipedia

    “The Sun and other British tabloids also provoked controversy by featuring girls as young as 16 as topless models, when it was legal to do so. Samantha Fox, Maria Whittaker, Debee Ashby, and others began their topless modelling careers in the Sun at the age of 16″

    I can remember reading my Nans Sun newspaper in the 70s when i was about 14 and it had a picture on page 3 of a busty 15 year old with loads of clevage and it said “tommorow its Jules 16th birthday and she is getting her tits out on page 3″. Can you imagine that today? They would all be in jail. Can we have an enquiry into the Sun, the media and the 1970s/80s.

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  61. Am I the only person who couldn’t stand Savile because he was boring? Did no-one else detect his lack of anything to say that made sense or that entertained? He ruined TOTP with his annoying manner and what people kindly call catch phrases. Buy for some reason all we heard was how great he was. He was a creep with very little talent. Yeah, yeah he raised money.

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  62. Hi Louis,
    I would love to hear your thoughts on Sir Jimmy Savile now that these alleged offenses have come to light. Your Jimmy Savile fly on the wall documentary is still a classic, however it’s just a pity that you never caught on to his liking for young girls during the making of the show. If you had, there could have been a possibility that he could have faced these charges before he died.

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  63. I dont think Louis should be scrutinized for not investigating further…so many people wouldnt have had the slightest idea what was going on…

    A particular comment further up this blog posted in 2011 has kind of disturbed me, someone talking about their memories of Savile….shows how he could get away with his assaults so blatantly and it could be read completely the wrong way…

    ‘In the meantime, though, he went to a nearby village to visit a young woman who’d written to him. She’d been born without arms and said she’d like to comb Jim’s flaxen locks with a comb held in her toes. What a photo opportunity for a publicity-seeker like Mr Savile, you would think. But Jimmy never mentioned a word to us newsmen. As far as he was concerned it was a private visit and he had no intention of turning it to his personal advantage.’

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  64. Jimmy had a reputation 20 years ago, the restaurants on Street Lane and in Oakwood near where he lived were well aware of his predilection for young girls. The matriarch of Marlows would serve her himself so he could not thrust his telephone number into the hands of the young serving girls.

    Who knows what Jimmy and his Friday morning men only coffee club got up to, but these cronies, his inner circle I’m sure would have known what he was up to.

    It’s only a shame the dead cant answer for their crimes.

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  65. Dear Louis,

    I only wish you had done more research. Using Google’s “Select Dates” features, I have found over 100 comments pre-dating your documentary, regarding Savile and his predeliction for both young girls and people commenting that they, or their freinds or relatives had been the subject of his sexual assaults, in 1950s dancehalls and on hospital premises. Your researchers could have easily have found this, as pre 2000 and pre your documentary, there were a lot less comments on the internet about him. The most amazing stuff turns up everywhere from UseNet to caravanning forums.

    I will leave you with this interview from 1999 by respected journalist Bill Brewster (who I think is a “youth media” contemporary of yours) with 50s DJ Jeff Dexter. The interview was in 1999.

    http://www.djhistory.com/interviews/jeff-dexter

    You worked with Jimmy Savile, didn’t you? What was it like?

    It was great fun, but if I could tell the story of what happened that week he’d be in jail forever.

    Well I’ve heard a lot of rumours and stories about Jimmy
    Savile over the years.

    Well they’re totally true.

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  66. Very strange reading all the comments on here; pre allegations, all in praise of Jimmy and what a nice man he was how he always went the extra mile, post allegations, he was a wrong’un and everyone knew it!! Funny how hindsight is 20:20. If everyone (and I mean us, not those associated with the media) knew there was something wrong with him why was he such a celebrated individual?

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  67. I have just watched your documentary, and have wondered how you could have been so naive not to have known.
    Now I read what you have written on this Blog after spending time with the man.

    I think it would be a good idea to take this article off your site. At best it does not show you to be a perceptive person, and that is what we want of good documentary makers.

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  68. The way the tone of these comments changes over the space of a year is fantastic. “Nov. 2011, RIP Sir James, one of a kind, etc” nobody says owt about it until Oct. 2012 when it changes to “URGH! Yours, outraged nation.”
    Brilliant.

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  69. Rewatching the documentary today in light of the BBC scrutiny over the spiking of their BBC investigation makes for very interesting viewing.

    I do think that some of the hysterical ‘burn the pedo’ comments above should be deleted as they don’t add to the discussion at all. Nor does saying Louis lacks journalistic integrity. His film is enlightening considering at the time (and even now) people know very little about the man. He was deeply private, troubled person and yet his star personality did allow him a 40 year career at the BBC and on radio. Ubiquitous BBC bores like Paul Gambuccini going on Panorama to say ‘WHY DID NOBODY SEE THIS COMING?’ is the worst sort of television. For someone who actually has been doing the rounds on Today and Panorama beating his chest about Savile, he himself did nothing despite knowing the rumours that circulated the star. I find that, and the hysteria surrounding a dead man, sickening too.

    I also think it’s tasteless to even criticise the money Savile raised for charity. Regardless of any crimes committed, I think it’s trite to whitewash over £40,000,000 in charitable work at this point. His two charities closed today.

    There needs to be some perspective.

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  70. Savile had all the signs of a sociopath, and a clever one at that. They simply don’t play by the same social rules as everyone else, so extracting any sort of confession would have been nigh on impossible… unless they thought they could get away with boasting, which we saw a little of in the whole club basement story.

    Unless Louis knew he was dealing with a sociopath specifically, there was little he could have done. There’s no shame in it. These kinds of people are born manipulators who unfortunately tend to make their way to the tops of society and fool/stranglehold everyone.

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  71. Hi Louis
    I have huge respect for you, but don’t understand why you have not commented on this issue since interviewing him
    James

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  72. 20/20 hindsight yeah. check out the commens before and after the jimmy saville disclosure

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  73. I thought that your documentary was very good, and it did show a side to Jimmy Saville that sent a tingle up my spine.

    He seemed a very dark and in approachable person behind those rose tinted spectacles .

    If you read between the lines I think that the truth came out.

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  74. time for an inquiry

    I am so sorry for those who had to suffer at the behest of Jimmy Savile, protected by the Establishment though he appeared anything but. I also think of all those who were no doubt complicit, in particular his loyal staff. Did they also share Jimmy’s “values” ? These blog words of Louis’ stood out:

    “Seeing Jimmy on the road moving between his various residences – penthouse in Leeds, seafront flat in Scarborough, picturesque cottage in Glencoe – I was struck by his network of friends and helpers he had in each place and their loyalty to him.
    I left Jimmy feeling that I was in a small way a part of his “London team”, as he called it.”

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  75. I do very clearly remember feeling that jimmy seemed very strange and unnerving when I watched the documentary when was first aired. And that was a long time before all the recent news about Jimmy came out. When the story broke I wasn’t in the least bit surprised. Oddball. All that shrine to the duchess stuff?? Blimey.

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  76. I don’t think it’s fair for everyone to make these comments about what Louis should have done and how things may have been different. The sad reality is they actually wouldn’t have. Savile was an expert manipulator and he exploited the power dynamic between himself and others. Those who had suspicions could never have proved it, and those who were abused were kept quiet. The reality is that many, many people knew what Savile was doing and yet nobody did anything about it. Why? Because those people thought paedophilia was okay? No. The reason is that Savile was powerful and that power allowed him to keep the rumours just that – rumours.

    Things we can learn from this are how important it is to protect the vulnerable members of society. And how important it is not to give individuals too much power.

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  77. Louis,
    Your conscience should rest soundly.
    Why on earth are people “Demanding” an explanation for your not realising all his allegedly sordid actions? Allegedly 400+ people knew it to be an absolute fact and reported nothing at the time.
    I have to admit that when I watched your piece on Jimmy Savile I did feel (as I could see that you did), quite disturbed by his evasion and strange statements. This however could easily have been explained at the time as being a result of both his age, and also, his lifestyle which progressed in a world outside that of common reality. I would also class Michael Jackson and others in this group where, they really have no sense of what the common mans reality actually is.
    I feel at odds as I am only responding this to say that the outcome of this sorry situation has nothing whatsoever to do with anything you did, or didn’t do. I am therefore joining the rank of those who feel compelled to comment in ignorance.
    My final word is that I have always both enjoyed and respected your work and the “Jimmy Savile” documentary was no exception. Dreadful individuals seem to be on a “witch hunt” of someone to blame. Please understand that there are those like myself who admire your continuing integrity and insightful form of journalism, and sincerely hope that you shrug off and ignore this ridiculous “blame ANYONE!” nonsense.
    Yours
    Lady Chippendale

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  78. thank you so much for a great tribute to a great man.
    as you know know body ever did more for the disabled and kids than unkle jimmy and the bbc.
    these kind of institutions make this cuntry the the place it is.
    thanks for keeping the masonic stuff and for not mentioning the lovely boys and girls that where drugged unconscious then stroked and pawed by jimmy and his friends.
    some people believe the bbc is not fit for common purpose : )
    some say it is just mi5 and that explains all the sexual deviance.
    i say no we need the bbc so we know what the government wants us to do and think.
    how about a quirky tv show on mk ultra sex slaves.
    or the d notice and tony blair used during operation orea?
    maybe a little heavy but you could make the ministers figures of fun..

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  79. All the so-called evidence is purely anecdotal and impossible to prove one way or the other, but given the amount of witness testimony, it must be almost certain the Savile (a creepy man even before all this!) was a predatory sexual creature. Then again, there seems no balance to set against the hysteria and “I’m Sparticus!” – like nature of a large amount of the testimony; every famous person is subject to claims against them, largely untrue, and everyone seems afraid to say that this is happening here, the cries of such people devalueing the very real terror and horror of the REAL victims in this tragedy.

    No-one seems to be stopping to analyse exactly what the crimes were, when this should be clear. The sexual assault of helpless and vulnerable people is and should be the main charge. Then there is the question of young girls, that grey area of how young they actually were not being on Savile’s mind, or ours either, it seems. Some would be below 16, some wouldn’t. As John Peel said, he didn’t ask. And he wasn’t alone in that either. We seem to be mixing moral judgements on sexual morality with actual crimes, that Savile committed both seems likely, but in this rush to judgement, every possible victim is being believed without question, there is no cautionary or sceptical voice being heard to shed clear light on what exactly took place and with whom.
    Even the way the investigations proceeded should be in question, the producer of the rejected BBC piece stating boldly that as soon as he heard Savile was dead, he rushed to Rippon to say this made the investigation perfect. All this self-rightiousness should have had the courage to state itself while the monster was alive and at least able to answer the charges, hopefully producing satisfaction for the victims and society itself, and a more dignified procedure than this scramble that reminds us that the days of the Witchfinder General are not as far in the distance as modern man would have us believe.

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  80. All the so-called evidence is purely anecdotal and impossible to prove one way or the other, but given the amount of witness testimony, it must be almost certain the Savile (a creepy man even before all this!) was a predatory sexual creature. Then again, there seems no balance to set against the hysteria and “I’m Spartacus!” – like nature of a large amount of the testimony; every famous person is subject to claims against them, largely untrue, and everyone seems afraid to say that this is happening here, the cries of such people devaluing the very real terror and horror of the REAL victims in this tragedy.
    No-one seems to be stopping to analyse exactly what the crimes were, when this should be clear. The sexual assault of helpless and vulnerable people is and should be the main charge. Then there is the question of young girls, that grey area of how young they actually were not being on Savile’s mind, or ours either, it seems. Some would be below 16, some wouldn’t. As John Peel said, he didn’t ask. And he wasn’t alone in that either. We seem to be mixing moral judgements on sexual morality with actual crimes, that Savile committed both seems likely, but in this rush to judgement, every possible victim is being believed without question, there is no cautionary or sceptical voice being heard to shed clear light on what exactly took place and with whom.
    Even the way the investigations proceeded should be in question, the producer of the rejected BBC piece stating boldly that as soon as he heard Savile was dead, he rushed to Rippon to say this made the investigation perfect. All this self-righteousness should have had the courage to state itself while the monster was alive and at least able to answer the charges, hopefully producing satisfaction for the victims and society itself, and a more dignified procedure than this scramble that reminds us that the days of the Witchfinder General are not as far in the distance as modern man would have us believe.

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  81. My theory is Jimmy was more likely to be aspergers , what do you think ? I think it is very sad state of affairs , but i am just putting it out there!

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  82. I like louis for the record , nobody is infalliable as we are finding out !

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  83. I think Louis did the only thing possible. He could not “out” Savile in a sensational exposure, but he did air the concerns publicly and allowed his subject to give an insight into the darkness and complexity he tried to hide behind the clown’s mask. The footage is now an important historical resource. We have the luxury of hindsight. As for Louis keeping in contact with Savile afterwards, I think that was natural. They were indulging him, not approving him. Louis consorts with rednecks and ridiculous extremists; par of his skill is not to judge, but to let these people speak for, and expose, themselves.

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  84. Louis — nobody can hold you responsible for not exposing Jimmy Savile. However, we would very much appreciate your thoughts regarding the Savile abuse revelations. Looking back, we can all see Savile was an extremely cunning and manipulative individual – literally a monster in the most chilling sense. Evil. Obviously he was happy with the documentary because, in hindsight, it simply reinforced his public image of a lovable eccentric celebrity, and failed to open the lid on his box of horrors. Savile, the evil abuser, was safe.

    Also, what do you make of the BBC witch hunt? Is the desire to hold the BBC accountable motivated by our collective shame, it would seem everybody has been ‘had’ – the powerless victims, TV executives, viewers, fans and public alike.

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  85. Louis your still the man, he fooled everyone including your good self. Professional manipulator / influencer.

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  86. Ffs, leave Louis alone. He’s the only journalist I know of who had the courage to ask Savile on film about the rumours of his darker side. If you’re looking for a scapegoat, look elsewhere.
    Let’s not forget the police apparently investigated him a number of times. Did people expect him to confess on film or something?

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  87. Two points if I may.

    1. Our children grew up during Savile’s ‘prime’ years and are now late-20s. Now, they fully remember both we parents cautioning them about Savile’s unsavoury behaviours at the time.

    Call it stereotyping, but Savile’s behaviour always rang alarm bells of the ‘kiddie-fiddler’ sort to all who had the eyes to see and who didn’t need to be hoodwinked.

    2. Here’s a truism: the UK is awash with big money.
    You just have to know how to access it.

    Savile’s ‘saintly’, reputed £40m is relatively small beer to anyone who knows the field, especially in the context of a 50yr career.

    E.g. Over the course of 6 or 7 years, I personally raised c.£10million for charitable purposes. Given 50 years at it, I would have far more to show for my fundraising activities than Savile – and with zero collateral damage.

    Difference is that I raised donations in an entirely low key way for the sole benefit of the recipients. I didn’t want any publicity or gongs and would run more than a mile from such now.

    I’m not alone. Knowing the big money donations field, I can tell you that there are many excellent, genuinely caring people who work tirelessly behind the scenes raising far more than Savile and who do nothing but good, for no personal kudos whatsoever.

    But then, we don’t need a saintly smokescreen behind which to hide.

    Savile was always a dubious lightweight to those who didn’t need to be beglamoured.

    Now we see that he was a highly sinister, thoroughly untrustworthy heavyweight con artist who has harmed many innocent children and adults, wrecked the BBC’s credibility as well as that of the NHS, the Police and the charities with which he was associated, and badly damaged whatever was left of public trust in politicians and authorities. He’s also made it very difficult for genuinely good guy celebrities to get involved in charity fundraising in future.

    That’s all going to take far far more that £40m to put right, if ever it can be.

    In sum, Savile raised absolutely nothing but nationwide deep suspicions, anger and pain.

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  88. Watching the documentary, Jimmy had not one redeeming feature. I am baffled as to why Louis would encourage any type of friendship with the man following the filming. I too have quirky friends but Jimmy’s character went far beyond quirkiness. I wouldn’t have been able to spend more than 5 minutes in his “company” – he was simply a humourless, weird, dark, difficult, defensive, rude old man. Like I said, not ONE redeeming feature. I have to admit I now have reservations about Louis; why cultivate a friendship with such a hateful personality?

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  89. I was born in 1990, so the apparent Saville mania others experienced growing up with the guy was never a factor in my judgement of him.
    I found him creepy from the first time I saw him and wasn’t in the least bit surprised by all of the allegations surfacing now.

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  90. I’m glad everyone’s 20/20 hindsight appears to be in fine working order.

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  91. If everyone knew, as we are all claiming we did, why did we not act? He would still get a CRB and the BBC is going to pay dearly for trading off ratings against safeguarding. The mob will call for him to be dug up and scattered and the press will eventually tire of witchhunting. RIP indeed!

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  92. That man always gave me the creeps. Always. Your documentary, Louis, gave me an extremely disturbing glimpse of who this strange, unlikeable character was. I’m really not in the least suprised by the revelations about him. How anyone could have found anything to like about the man personally – having seen your documentary – is beyond me. It made me feel nauseous.
    I admire your work, by the way. x

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  93. What an interesting social document this is,charting the course from adulation to general condemnation.. I hope to watch the actual show again as I do recall feeling rather disturbed about Mr Saville having watched it the first time. I know he liked cruising (at sea I mean)…and I hear he was kicked off at least two by the captains, for some reason, wonder how he kept that quiet ?

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  94. Unfortunately Louis, it seems although you showed what a strange, forceful and creepy character Mr Saville was, this media whirl wind of wanting to taint all he touched in his life is rabid at the moment.
    What some fail to realise is this expose of a paedophile with power, only reinforces the fact these sick and manipulative ghouls, with sociopathic and psycopathic cunning will infiltrate even the most secure of societies institutionsa for access to vunerable victims, fooling all around. I find it distasteful many comments made blaming you for not being tough enough.
    When it was on the breaking news of Savilles career of depravity, your programme came straight to mind as the one that did give the public a glimpse of a very complicated and darkly evasive man who was`nt all we thought he was. The only one brave enough to broach the ” fire wall” placed about him, admire your work and for me you probabily helped many toward realising this preditors true nature.

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  95. I’m enjoying the continued hypocrisy of the posters below me (except perhaps Chris and Bilbo).

    Simply head over the Guardian and read some of the gushing tributes from members of the public on the reports of his death. Then read comments from last week, and in this thread. “He always gave me the creeps.” What an absolute crock.

    We unsubstantiated accusations of 300 people against a corpse. Nice to see everyone’s RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE

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  96. Louis I would be interested to hear your perspective on this, purely from a point of interest. Were you duped like the rest of us? It now seems Saville was a master manipulator and I suspect a narcissistic sociopath rather than a quirky oddball. I just wonder what your sense of him was before and now after the allegations.

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  97. He was a creepy bastard and it was public knowledge in leeds that he was a prolific and protected paedophile.
    Everybody knew.
    I remember asking my mum if i could write to jimll fix it and she said No categorically i asked why and she said he made her skin crawl the way he was always trying to get close to the young girls on top of the pops…
    he was creepy as fuck and every time he appeared on tv from then on i was always weirded out.
    Working in nightclubs in leeds later in life one of my colleagues who was connected to various leeds underworld figures pointed out his flat above roundhay park and said thats where jimmy saville lives, he never comes out and told me of his reputation- and said if he ever does he will be found in the street with a bullet in his head.

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    • Well, funny how lots of people were always meeting him in the street, in shops, cafés, the local pizza restaurant or out jogging, then…

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  98. Hi Louis. Your continued friendship with Savile is disturbing. It blows big holes in your credibility, especially as you were well aware of the rumours before filming began.

    Would you now care to tell us:

    1. Why did Savile have your contact details when you began filming at his apartment? Who gave him this confidential information, and what efforts have you made to find out?

    2. Why did continue a friendship with an elderly pervert who openly admitted his fondness for schoolgirls and violence.

    3. Why did you agree to mock filming sessions for Savile’s amusement? And what do you say now to the people you cynically hoodwinked during these outings?

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  99. how about a tv show about why tony blair put out over 20 d notices to the media to cover up operation ore.
    what has a police child rape case got to do with the defence of queen and country.
    d.a notices should be used to protect the uk not hide rapists with 100 year cover up.
    jimmy had over 40 years of fun because he was a masonic child wrangler for the movers and shakers

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  100. I want to reply to debbie’s supposition that Savile had Asberger’s, and her apparent equation of the condition with pederasty, as no one else seems to have.
    First, it seems to me that Savile was a sexual bully rather than a true paedophile, as they tend to have types they go for, and he seems to have gone for anyone he could dominate. I am awaiting revelations about his relationship with his mother.
    Second, Asberger’s people don’t have unusual sexual preferences any more than “normal” people do. We lack the filter that normal people have which suppresses uncomfortable input. Lies are very distressing to us, as is loud music, both of which Savile seems to have sought out. Those of us who learn to deal with conflicting information, rather than just burying it as “normal” people do, live “normal” lives. Many become scientists. Many are never formally diagnosed; on the Channel 4 website there is a diagnostic quiz which will give you some idea of the social differences the condition brings. You may even have the condition and not have realised it.
    Finally, Louis, can we not have a director’s cut of your weekend with Savile? You must have left stuff out that you’d now like us to see.

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  101. Jimmy Savile was never convicted of any crime. If you call him a paedo then YOU are the real paedo and a million times worse than Hitler.

    Also, no one in Leeds “knew” or even suspected he was any sort of sex offender and we still don’t.

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  102. That’s not directed at the people running this site, by the way, just the scumbags in the comments.

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  103. I think it’s time to review this page Louis, it was a great documentary but the story’s moved on – behaviour which seemed a bit eccentric, now viewed with hindsight feels really sinister. The page is well written, but it’s a tribute to a man everyone now hates. The story’s now about how Jimmy managed to achieve all that nastiness and who colluded with him, either actively or by failing to voice suspicions. No-ones saying you had a shadow of an idea what he was up to, but I think the article still needs to be rewritten or withdrawn.

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    • I totally agree with Ben, time for the tribute to be removed. He’s not worth the web space.

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      • It’s a piece of history now, though, and just very honest of Louis to leave it here, unaltered.

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  104. ‘the few days he spent alone with his deceased mother’s body’
    and
    ‘spent his spare time volunteering as a hospital porter at Leeds General Infirmary where he was known for wheeling bodies into the morgue.’

    I think he was a lot more weird and ill than we realise.

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  105. I think this page should stay.

    It’s a testament to just how excellent Savile was at hiding his true self. If he fooled a young, savvy, intelligent investigative journalist who had virtually full access & also fooled the millions who watched the show, then it’s no surprise that Savile artfully dodged justice his entire life, and no surprise that his victims were never listened to.

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  106. Hahahaha all you sad men and women, me and Jimbo are laughing at you fools!!! i have girls buried in your backtards and you better be happy i aint alive today!!! all the young pussy on mtv and hsaking there asses on youtube like your whore miley cyris!!! i used to smoke weed with billy ray!! i would cut her fucking head off with a chainsaw!!

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  107. Vance Miller Kitchens. Vance always put others before himself and I know that for a fact as he has looked after me like a father all my life. Caylum Walker

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