Jimmy Savile - the latest

Perhaps I am over interested in this subject, I think I felt a vague connection with him as a result of seeing him liveon the Beatles Christmas Show: I hadn't seen many famous people in the flesh as a child.  Thank God I didn't get too close! (actually, I would have been too young then even for his depraved tastes),

So, the latest is last night's Panorama programme.  It gave an interesting picture of life at the BBC in the 70s.  JS was clearly incredibly cocky, often suggested to people that he was "having" various young girls - made jokes about young "birds" etc. and a number of people recognised that something was very wrong.  One DJ explained how he was certain that JS was up to all sorts of nefarious things, but as a very junior person, felt he couldn't make trouble for a "star".  This DJ is also gay, far less acceptable at that time - so perhaps kept quiet for fear of it all rebounding on him in some way.  I don't imagine JS was very forgiving - despite his much-vaunted devout Catholicism.   There was the usual list of damaged young people who were now upset middle-aged people and the sins he committed were all very predictable - ranging from mild sex pestering to a good deal of oral sex, and full intercourse.  There was the horrible story of the police asking him to help find a runaway teenager "but if I find her I get to keep her for the night as a reward" he said, and he did.  Most of the sexual stuff is banal, also the fact that he consorted with other paedophiles such as Gary Glitter.  What is so sickening is the number of incidents, the abuse of his celebrity and the way he actually boasted about what he was up to.  He winked, he hinted, he insinuated, he was pleased with himself - either he didn't think it was wrong, or he did but was exulting in his own power to do what he wanted.  Either of these suggests he might have been something of a psychopath. People around him felt he should be treated differently because he was "a star". Different standards applied to stars, especially those who devote their lives to "charidee".

It was in part his charity work that made him untouchable in his lifetime - now the damnatio memoriae is almost complete: a building named after him is changing its name, and both the charities bearing his name are winding themselves up.  They will presumably donate the funds to charities with similar objects.  He had sought to leave a legacy "more enduring than bronze" - but within a year it has been destroyed.  Maybe bringing him to trial would have obtained a public sympathy for a frail old git - and that would have been the lasting memory of him.  Instead, since he is dead, we can recall him at his cocky peak - and enjoy the poetic justice of his rapid fall.