Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG (/ˈsævɪl/; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ,

television and radio personality

who hosted BBC shows including Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. He raised an estimated £40 million for charities and, during his lifetime, was widely
praised for his personal qualities and as a fund-raiser.[2][3] After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse were made against him, leading the
police to conclude that Savile had been a predatory sex offender[4]—possibly one of Britain's most prolific.[5][6][7][8] There had been allegations during his
lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or disbelieved; Savile took legal action against some accusers.

Savile worked in coal mines as a teenager, reportedly sustaining spinal injuries at the age of 14, and was a Bevin Boy during the Second World
War.[9] He began a career playing records in, and later managing, dance halls, and was said to have been the first disc jockey to use twin turntables to
keep music in constant play. His media career started as a disc jockey at Radio Luxembourg in 1958 and on Tyne Tees Television in 1960, and he
developed a reputation for eccentricity and flamboyance. At the BBC, he presented the first edition of Top of the Pops in 1964 and broadcast on Radio
1from 1968. From 1975 until 1994, he presented Jim'll Fix It, a popular television programme in which he arranged for the wishes of viewers, mainly
children, to come true. During his lifetime, he was noted for fund-raising and supporting charities and hospitals, in particular Stoke Mandeville
Hospital in Aylesbury, Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. In 2009 he was described by The Guardian as a "prodigious
philanthropist"[10] and was honoured for his charity work.[11] He was awarded the OBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1990. In 2006 he introduced the last
edition of Top of the Pops.

In October 2012, almost a year after his death, an ITV documentary examined claims of sexual abuse by Savile[12] and led to extensive media coverage
and a substantial and rapidly growing body of witness statements and sexual abuse claims, including accusations against public bodies for covering
up or failure of duty. Scotland Yard launched a criminal investigation into allegations of child sex abuseby Savile spanning six decades,[7] describing
him as a "predatory sex offender", and later stated that they were pursuing more than 400 lines of inquiry based on the testimony of 300 potential
victims via 14 police forces across the UK.[13][14] By late October 2012, the scandal had resulted in inquiries or reviews at the BBC, within the National
Health Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Department of Health.[15][16][17] In June 2014, investigations into Savile's activities in 28 NHS
hospitals, including Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, concluded that he had sexually assaulted staff and patients aged
between five and 75 over several decades.[18]

In January 2013, a joint report by the NSPCC and Metropolitan Police, Giving Victims a Voice, stated that 450 people had made complaints against
Savile, with the period of alleged abuse stretching from 1955 to 2009 and the ages of the complainants at the time of the assaults ranging from 8 to
47.[19][20]The suspected victims included 28 children aged under 10, including 10 boys aged as young as 8. A further 63 were girls aged between 13 and
16 and nearly three-quarters of his alleged victims were under 18. Some 214 criminal offences were recorded, with 34 rapes having been reported
across 28 police forces.[21]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
o 2.1Radio
o 2.2Television
 3Fundraising, sponsorship and voluntary work
 4Public image and friendships
 5Health and death
 6Allegations of sexual abuse
o 6.1During his lifetime
o 6.2After his death
o 6.3Aftermath
 7Honours and awards
 8Books, recordings and other works
 9References
 10External links

Early life
Savile, born in Leeds, was the youngest of seven children (his elder siblings were Mary, Marjory, Vincent, John, Joan, and Christina) in a Roman
Catholic family.[2][22] His parents were Vincent Joseph Marie Savile (1886–1953), a bookmaker's clerk and insurance agent, and his wife, Agnes Monica
Kelly (1886–1972). Through his paternal grandmother, Savile was a quarter Scottish.[23]

Savile was born during the Great Depression, and later claimed, "I was forged in the crucible of want".[24] He described his father as "scrupulously
honest but scrupulously broke".[25]

Savile's mother believed he owed his life to the intercession of the Venerable Margaret Sinclair, a Scottish nun, after he recovered quickly from illness,
possibly pneumonia,[2] at the age of two when his mother prayed at Leeds Cathedral after picking up a pamphlet about Sinclair.[26][24] At the age of 18
during the Second World War he was conscripted to work as a Bevin Boy and worked in coal mines, where he reportedly suffered spinal injuries from
a shot-firer's explosion, and he spent a long period recuperating.[27][24] Following his colliery work, Savile became a scrap metal dealer.[28][23] Savile started
playing records in dance halls in the early 1940s, and claimed to be the first DJ. According to his autobiography, he was the first to use two turntables
and a microphone at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947, [29][30][31] although his claim to have been the first is disputed; twin
turntables were illustrated in the BBC Handbook in 1929 and advertised for sale in Gramophonemagazine in 1931.[32]

He became a semi-professional sportsman, competing in the 1951 Tour of Britain cycle race[33] and working as a professional wrestler.[2] He said:
If you look at the athletics of it, I've done over 300 professional bike races, 212 marathonsand 107 pro fights. [He proudly announces that he lost all of
his first 35 fights.] No wrestler wanted to go back home and say a long-haired disc jockey had put him down. So from start to finish I got a good hiding.
I've broken every bone in my body. I loved it.[34]

Savile lived in Salford from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the later period with Ray Teret, who became his support DJ, assistant and
chauffeur.[35] Savile managed the Plaza Ballroom on Oxford Road, Manchester, in the mid-1950s. When he lived in Great Clowes Street in Higher
Broughton, Salford, he was often seen sitting on his front door steps. He managed the Mecca Locarno ballroom in Leeds in the late 1950s and early
1960s[36] as well as the Mecca-owned Palais dance hall in Ilford, Essex, between 1955 and 1956. His Monday evening records-only dance sessions
(admission one shilling) were popular with local teens.[37]

It was while at Ilford that Savile was discovered by a music executive from Decca Records.[28]