Warning: this feature might be difficult or triggering for survivors of sexual assault. 

Jimmy Savile’s career spanned decades in the entertainment industry in the U.K. A beloved figure during his career, Savile had raised millions for charity, been knighted by the Queen and achieved national treasure status by the time he died in October 2011; his funeral was broadcast live on the BBC. Since his death, however, independent investigations and those made by police uncovered that Savile had been a prolific and predatory sex offender, abusing hundreds of people, some as young as 5. To date, more than 450 allegations of sexual assault and abuse have been made against him.

Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story examines Savile’s relationship with the British people, the establishment, and the media, to understand how he managed to fool an entire nation for so long.

Mary Lucia joins Jill Riley this week to talk about Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. Listen to their conversation in the audio player above, and read a transcript below.

Transcript

Edited for clarity.

Jill Riley: It's Friday morning. You are listening to The Current's Morning Show. I'm Jill Riley, and I am joined by my good friend, Mary Lucia.

Mary Lucia: Hello, Jill.

Jill Riley: So, the other day, I got a text from you. Like, you have to watch this documentary on Netflix. You just got to watch it. And I happened to have some time.

Mary Lucia: You did.

Jill Riley: And I plowed through the entire thing. And Mary, I had never heard of this character before. But I was shocked, disturbed. There's so much to this story. Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story.

Mary Lucia: It's so aptly named. Who was Jimmy?

Jill Riley: Please.

Mary Lucia: Jimmy started off, he was a DJ; he was a BBC Radio DJ. And he was flamboyant and had the weirdest hair in the entire world all throughout his life. But he was also very philanthropic and kind of carved up this image that he was this giving, charitable, for the people. He eventually went on to host a television show called…

Jill Riley: Jimmy'll Fix It.

Mary Lucia: What? Yeah, what? And the things Jimmy fixed, I mean, some of them were, like we were saying, were kind of charming; you know, there was like a young schoolboy who wanted to take his teacher out to a proper lunch. And, you know, Jimmy arranged it. And then there was another, you know, "I want my duck to fly on an airplane." And it was it was, it wasn't like, "I'm dying of cancer, and I need Babe Ruth to come into my room." It was maybe a little more lighthearted. But he was certainly regarded as this sort of entrepreneur, giver. He was good, good, good friends with Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles and Princess Diana. And in fact, Margaret Thatcher really was pressing for him to be knighted. There were always rumblings about him. And if you look in the documentary, when he's interviewed, he kind of doesn't do much to hide what's shady, he's clearly got a secret.

Jill Riley: So Jimmy Savile, he was considered a national treasure. I mean, he was adored, and there was a dark side. Big time dark side.

Mary Lucia: He had a mansion. And some people claim to know what was going on within that mansion. And I mean, the fact that he could have kept any of that under wraps and that people didn't come forward with, you know, young women that maybe had been abused by him when they were young girls. It's just, it's, it takes such an awful, twisting turn that my jaw was on the floor.

Jill Riley: Yeah. He did, like you mentioned, you know, all this philanthropic work: he raised money for hospitals, he was volunteering at a hospital.

Mary Lucia: He worked at a hospital.

Jill Riley: It was like he was an orderly or, you know, he was somebody that would, the ambulance would arrive, and he would be the person that grabbed the stretcher and brought them in. I mean, the disturbing thing about that piece of it, he was hanging around hospitals, he was hanging around. I remember this, you know, it was like a home for you know, troubled youth. It's where the most vulnerable people.

Mary Lucia: Exactly.

Jill Riley: You know, so Jimmy Savile, I will tell you this: I think the documentary, it's one big trigger warning.

Mary Lucia: Yes, it is.

Jill Riley: I will tell you that ahead of time. But there were rumors, there were rumblings.

Mary Lucia: People asked him point blank. There was one writer who was trying to follow that story. And the way he had just around direct questions. I mean, it's through hindsight. Now, it seems like he was just guilty as sin and overcompensating by being Mr. Charity. But, you know, in plenty of interviews, he would make these jokes about young women, and "I'm not in jail yet." And it was just like, "Oh, hahaha." Yeah, really dark.

Jill Riley: Listen, I thought, for the subject matter, I thought the documentary was really well done, though.

Mary Lucia: But then there's something truly alarming about seeing him hosting Top of the Pops and the earliest of days standing there with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. And, you know, I mean, I don't know if his creepy proclivities were rampant then or if it happened later in his life, but just the idea of him working in a hospital with disadvantaged people compromised physically, and to look up from your gurney and see that insane hairdo and love beads, I would be afraid, but it is done so well. And they talked to a lot of the people that interviewed him at the time, and they show them like, "You got to watch what you did during this interview" and all the women are just mortified. 

Jill Riley: Yeah, he had a nation fooled. He presented himself in one way; there was certainly a darker side. There were rumors and rumblings, but it wasn't until he died that you know, the really, the allegations really started coming out. And as I watched it, for anything we know about victims and how much fear there is to go public, and how much fear there is to go public when somebody is that well connected.

Mary Lucia: Yes.

Jill Riley: And they are that powerful. And they are that manipulative. And basically — now, I am not medically trained here — but the traits of a sociopath.

Mary Lucia: Absolutely. And yeah, I don't know about the statute of limitations in England either, but yes, of course. Those creepers always seem to die before being brought to justice.

Jill Riley: All right. Well, it is called Jimmy Savile: a British Horror Story. And it is streaming on Netflix. And just again, like a little warning before you go into it, the subject matter does get pretty disturbing.

Mary Lucia: Creepy.

Jill Riley: All right. Well, thank you, Mary. 

Mary Lucia: Thank you, Jill.

Jill Riley: Love you, girl. 

Mary Lucia: Bye.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support: head to RAINN.org or call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. 

External Link

Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story - Netflix