TV presenter Kelly arrested over child abuse allegations

The televison presenter Matthew Kelly and former pop group manager Tam Paton were arrested last night on suspicion of sexually abusing under-age boys.

Mr Kelly, aged 52, who presents Stars in their Eyes on ITV and initially found fame as a host on Game for a Laugh, was arrested at the same time as Mr Paton, former manager of the Bay City Rollers, in an operation co-ordinated by Surrey Police.

The presenter was arrested in Birmingham, where he is appearing as Captain Hook in a Peter Pan pantomime at the city's Rep Theatre, and was being held at Guildford police station in Surrey last night. Mr Paton was arrested at his home in Edinburgh and was being held at a nearby police station. They will both be questioned today.

It is understood that the arrests arise from an inquiry which has been running for several years, and led to the arrest and jailing of songwriter and presenter Jonathan King.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said the allegations related to specific offences that were said to have taken place during the 1970s. "Two men have been arrested this evening by Surrey Police in a co-ordinated operation in connection with historic allegations of sexual abuse against boys under the age of 16 years old," he said.

"A 52-year-old man from Chiswick, London, was arrested in Birmingham. A man in his late 50s was arrested at his home address in Edinburgh.

"A number of addresses are being searched in connection with the arrests.

"They are not current offences and the allegation is not that they have been going on since then, but they relate to some specific incidents in the 1970s."

He said the two arrests were the first made in connection with the inquiry and they were not related to Operation Ore, the investigation into internet child pornography that led to the arrest of the Who guitarist Pete Townshend earlier this week,

Mr Kelly broke into television as one of four hosts on the Game for a Laugh series on ITV in the 1980s, and after that finished its run he took over from Bruce Forsyth as presenter on You Bet, before he moved to ITV1's Stars in their Eyes, which became the progamme he is best known for.

In an interview last month he described how he has lived apart from his wife Sarah for most of the 33 years they have been married, but said their relationship remained close.

Mr Paton guided the Bay City Rollers, a Scottish band, through their heyday in the 1970s as they sold 70 million records, attracting an enormous worldwide following, mostly of young teenage girls.

Critics dubbed the phenomenon "Roller-mania" as screaming fans copied the group's trademark tartan-fringed shirts and trousers and clumpy shoes.

At the height of their popularity in 1975, a policeman died as he tried to control hysterical fans and there were regular reports of girls being crushed in concert crowds.