Jimmy Savile: A Redaction

Whilst I have been well aware of the growing news stories revolving around Jimmy Savile in recent weeks, I suppose I hadn't really taken it in until I watched tonight's Panorama on BBC1.

I missed ITVs Exposure so didn't see the evidence in its initial context. Seeing it tonight in the full gaze of weeks's worth of light being shone onto the case was truly horrific.

The revulsion that I felt as the pieces of a barely believable jigsaw puzzle came together was indescribable.

Less than a year ago upon his death, I wrote this blog post about this apparently beloved star of millions of viewers who grew up watching him on TV in iconic shows such as 'Top of the Pops' and 'Jim'll Fix It'.

Indeed, in that very blog post I wrote...

"He was an eccentric character with a dress sense, a vocabulary and a taste in jewellery and cigars that marked him out from the crowd. He was a one-off. At 84, he certainly lived life to the full".

I look back at it now with absolute horror that I could've wrote what I did. In fact, I'm surprised on reading it back that it wasn't more gushing towards him as I had considered myself to be one of his many fans. Yet somewhere, something must've told me deep down to keep the superlatives at bay. I used the word 'eccentric' 3 times in that one piece. Did I use it because I knew that it could cover a multitude of sins?

Perhaps I did deep down because looking back, that Louis Theroux documentary with Savile back in 2000 always sat unesaily with me. I've got no problem with people being different and standing out from the crowd. I am after all, a non-conformist. But there was something in that programme I remember, even watching it as a 17/18 year old, that didn't feel right.

So it comes to pass. Of course we will never know the full truth and Savile himself will never answer the allegations made against him. But the sheer volume of accusations that have been made in recent weeks and the admittence by so many well known celebrities of the time that they knew of his tendencies but did nothing about it, is astonishing. I particularly found it difficult this evening to watch a favourite of mine, music mogul Paul Gambaccini admit that he too was aware of the rumours surrounding Savile in the early 1970s when he began to work at the Beeb.

So, to mark my total loss of faith in a man who was supposed to be the one who made children's dreams came true but who actually, prayed on the vulnerable and made their lives hell, I have redacted (for want of a better phrase) the original blog post as can be seen via the link above.

As I've mentioned in the postscript, I will not remove it because what I wrote then was based on what I knew at the time but now we know differently and my update has had to reflect that whilst leaving the original, marked-through post alive, on this site.

As I mention there, I have never in my blogging time had to go back and totally distort an original written piece, but in this case here was no alternative. I sincerely hope that I never have to do the like of such a thing again.

In the meantime, I hope the police use any new evidence that has come to light against those still living who like Savile, grotesquely took advantage of a vulnerable minority for their own evil satisfaction.