Jimmy Savile - BBC drama

Across 60 chapters, and over 600 pages, Dan Davies attempts to reveal the real Jimmy Savile. Savile was ubiquitous to those who grew up in the UK during the 60s, 70s and 80s, through his successful TV shows, charity fund raising, TV adverts, and relationships with senior establishment figures. Since his death in 2011 he was also been revealed as Britain’s most notorious and prolific sex offender of all time. This book gets to the heart of how he was able to operate with impunity and avoid prosecution.

Born into poverty in Leeds in 1926, Jimmy Savile rose to become a knight of the realm, and a confidant of Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and the Prince of Wales. Along the way, he invented the concept of the club DJ, gave the BBC two of its most iconic shows (Top of the Pops and Jim’ll Fix It) and pioneered the celebrity as charity worker and fund raiser. These achievements alone make for a fascinating read, however it is Savile’s prolific and serial abuse of young and frequently vulnerable people that beggars belief. Clearly what helped Savile to operate “In Plain Sight” was his celebrity status. It is easy to forget just how popular he was during the 1970s - and to a lesser extent in the decades before and after. Unlike many reviewers, I never remember thinking Savile was dodgy or creepy. A bit weird perhaps, but not in a dangerous way. I grew up with him on “Top of the Pops” - which he pretty much invented, and of course “Jim’ll Fix It”, a Saturday night staple on BBC1 along with The Generation Game. I can well imagine being 12, 13 or 14 and being in awe of him and also trusting him - as did so many young people who encountered him. He was well practiced in grooming kids, and when necessary their parents too.

In addition to being a huge celebrity he also cultivated relationships at all levels of British society which included members of the Royal family, and Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister. He was also given the run of three hospitals and was able to lure children to his car, flats, caravans etc. No wonder he considered himself untouchable and, despite many a close call, and even dropping heavy hints in interviews, he got away with abuse on a horrendous scale.

One of the most harrowing parts is the testimony, quoted verbatim, of a 12 year girl he raped whilst she was in hospital. This account powerfully brings home the monstrous nature of this type of abuse. The girl tried to get the nurses and a doctor to believe her account. The inference is that staff at Stoke Mandeville were well aware of what Savile was up to, even advising children to pretend to be asleep if he came round at night.

Savile was too canny to ever give much away over numerous interviews despite, in hindsight, some obvious clues. Sadly it was only after he had died that his victims were taken seriously and the substance of the old, dark rumours were finally heard. Savile always insisted that his great secret was that he had no secrets. Nothing could have been further from the truth - there were numerous people and establishments (BBC, the Police, doctors, nurses, friends etc.) whose complacency, corruption and complicity allowed him to systematically ruin hundreds of lives. This makes 'In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile' a compulsive and deeply disturbing read, and one that avoids any sensationalism. Depressing, distressing and essential.

5/5