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Jimmy Savile raped 10-year-old boy after dressing as a Womble to film Top of the Pops

Dame Janet Smith report: 'The girl was confused by what she saw and later asked a friend whether it was possible for a man to have sex with a man'

Hardeep Matharu
Friday 26 February 2016 14:24 GMT
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Jimmy Savile carried out sex attacks on 72 victims in nearly every one of the BBC premises in which he worked, according to Dame Janet Smith's report
Jimmy Savile carried out sex attacks on 72 victims in nearly every one of the BBC premises in which he worked, according to Dame Janet Smith's report

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The horrific story of 10-year-old boy who was raped by Jimmy Savile after he presented Top of the Pops dressed as a womble is one of many laid bare in a report cataloguing the paedophile’s abuse published yesterday.

The incident was one of several mentioned in Dame Janet Smith's independent review examining the depraved entertainer and television personality’s misconduct at the BBC.

The eccentric figure, who presented children’s shows Top of the Pops and Jim’ll Fix It, was exposed as a prolific sexual predator a year after his death in 2011.

BBC director-general Tony Hall said the stories of the survivors of Savile’s abuse were the most powerful part of the report.

“The parts that, once read, cannot be forgotten,” he said.

For everyone who truly wants to understand, this is the place to start. It is all there.

“The way Savile used his celebrity to promise access to excitement and fun, and then grotesquely exploited it.

“The oppressive power of his fame and his physical presence.

“The sense that no one would believe a complaint. Even in their own families, survivors felt alone.

“The idea that he was known was King Jimmy – there was no escape from him – and, I quote, ‘no one will believe you’.”

“It’s OK. It’s our special secret”

Among the harrowing testimony in Dame Janet’s report is that of a man and woman, who met outside the BBC’s Television Centre in December 1973.

They were then a boy, aged 10, and a 12-year-old girl who had been taken to the studios, by their grandfather and aunt respectively, to see if they could attend a recording of Top of the Pops.

The male told Dame Janet that, as the children were waiting outside on the pavement, Savile passed by and said the pair could join filming.

They were handed over to a man – believed to be one of Savile’s personal entourage rather than a BBC employee – who took them to the studio.

Savile conducted the recording of the popular music show dressed as a womble.

Once it had finished, the same man took them to Savile's dressing room, where they were offered fizzy drinks and biscuits.

The man left as Savile entered, “still wearing his womble suit, but without the head”, according to the female.

The trio chatted for 10 to 15 minutes before according to the accounts of both the male and female Savile raped the boy and sexually assaulted the girl.

The woman said she remembered the boy “leaning over the side of the sofa”, with Savile behind him, and the boy saying something like “Don’t, don’t.”

According to the report, the 12-year-old girl had been confused by what she saw and later asked a friend whether it was possible for a man to have sex with a man”.

The male told the report that Savile had told him to remove his trousers for the act, and that he found blood in his underpants afterwards.

Savile put his arms around them both once he had finished and said something like “It’s OK. It’s our special secret,” said the female.

She said he then put his hand inside her jeans and sexually assaulted her, before sitting back and pleasuring himself.

The girl “did not tell anyone what had happened. She thought it was her fault and that she might go to hell for what she had done,” the report said.

The male told Dame Janet that “he never told anyone about this incident, not even his wife, he had bottled up his memories of this event and it had given rise to a number of problems in his life”.

“In particular, he attributed to this his failure to pass the Eleven Plus examination.”

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