Series Review: "Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story" (2022).

"A nation watched, but no one saw." This is Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. This documentary series directed by Rowan Deacon. Jimmy Savile was one of the United Kingdom’s most beloved TV personalities. Shortly after his death in 2011, an investigation prompted more than four hundred and fifty horrific allegations of sexual assault and abuse, with victims as young as five. The documentary examines, through extensive archive footage, the evil within Jimmy and delves into how he managed to fool an entire nation for four decades.

On 31 October 1926, English DJ, television and radio personality, Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile was born. 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. In his twenties, he was a professional wrestler, and he continued running marathons until his late seventies. 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 1 from 1968. From 1975 until 1994, he presented Jim'll Fix It. He raised an estimated £40 million for fund-raising and supporting charities and hospitals, in particular Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire; during his lifetime, Savile was widely praised for his personal qualities and as a fund-raiser. In 2009, he was described by The Guardian as a "prodigious philanthropist" and was honoured for his charity work. He was awarded the OBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1990. However, there had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or disbelieved. Savile took legal action against some accusers. On 29 October 2011, Savile died and his body was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Scarborough. Ultimately, in October 2012, almost a year after his death, an ITV documentary examined claims of sexual abuse by Savile. This 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 abuse by Savile spanning six decades, describing him as a "predatory sex offender", and later stated that they were pursuing more than four hundred lines of inquiry based on the testimony of three hundred potential victims via fourteen police forces across the UK. In June 2014, investigations into Savile's activities at twenty eight NHS hospitals, including Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, concluded that he had sexually assaulted staff and patients aged between five and seventy five over several decades.

Not only is the documentary series an eye-opening look into the continued brilliance and hard work of investigative journalists, but it’s also a grim reminder of the evil that often hides in plain sight.

Simon says Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story receives: