Jimmy Savile investigator says BBC figures should be held accountable
Investigator who revealed Jimmy Savile’s sickening crimes says senior figures in the BBC and other organisations ‘who could have done something’ should be held accountable
- Mark Williams-Thomas said there were figures ‘who could have done something’
- He was an investigator on ITV documentary, The Other Side of Jimmy Savile
- Mr Williams-Thomas also criticised the 2016 report by Dame Janet Smith
An investigator who revealed the despicable crimes of Jimmy Savile says senior figures in the BBC and other organisations should be held accountable for their failure to expose the former DJ.
Private investigator and presenter Mark Williams-Thomas, 53, said there were figureheads at some corporations ‘who could have done something’.
Mr Williams-Thomas was the leading investigator on the ITV Exposure documentary, The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, which revealed how one of Britain’s most loved entertainers systematically and disturbingly preyed upon young and vulnerable girls.
Savile’s sickening crimes have been thrust into the spotlight this week after the first episode of BBC drama The Reckoning aired with Steve Coogan cast as the paedophile DJ.
Williams-Thomas said: ‘Well, though, Dame Janet Smith came out, she did a review for the BBC. And her review was pretty flawed.’
‘There were senior managers within the BBC, particularly the radio setup, who, who had the information.
An undated photo of Jimmy Savile, who, following his death in 2011, was found to have carried out numerous sex crimes
Savile’s former BBC Producer, Ted Beston. Dame Janet Smith’s report found he was a ‘provider’ of young women for Savile, whom he ‘admired’, and that he knew the presenter had casual sex with teenage girls.
Pictured: The former Controller of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, Douglas Muggeridge, in December 1968
READ MORE: How did Jimmy Savile get found out? A timeline of the paedophile BBC DJ’s horrific sex crimes that took years to expose due to TV star’s unequivocal influence
‘But then they did nothing with it. It’s ridiculous. So let’s be very clear. There were people out there, see the managers within the BBC, who…could have stopped the process. But they didn’t do anything. They ignored that process,’ he added, when speaking to LADBible TV’s Extraordinary Lives Podcast in 2022.
Mr Williams-Thomas’ work on the ITV documentary, which aired back in October 2012 – a year after Savile’s death – prompted hundreds of other unheard victims to come forward with their experiences.
The film led to the Met Police’s Operation Yewtree investigation, which ultimately resulted in sexual abuse convictions for multiple celebrity personalities.
In the documentary, five women stated that they had been sexually abused by Savile as teenagers. This exposure of Savile as a paedophile led to extensive media coverage, including 41 days on the front pages.
The findings of the report by Dame Janet Smith were published in February 2016 and show that BBC staff missed numerous opportunities to stop Savile from committing sex offences.
Dame Smith identified 72 people who were the victims of sexual crimes while Savile worked at the BBC, the youngest of whom was 10 years old.
The earliest reported incident was the rape of a 13-year-old girl at Lime Grove studios in 1959, with other offences by Savile being committed as late as 2006, at the last recording of Top of the Pops.
The review found misconduct to have been committed at ‘virtually every one of the BBC premises at which he worked’.
Dame Smith added that some BBC staff were aware of complaints, but did not pass the information to senior management due to the ‘culture of not complaining’ at the corporation.
She said this included BBC producer Ted Beston, who was a ‘provider’ of young women for Savile, whom he ‘admired’, and that he knew the presenter had casual sex with teenage girls.
The Reckoning made its highly anticipated debut on Monday, October 9, with its portrayal of Jimmy Saville’s heinous crimes reenacted in the controversial drama
Steve Coogan films in his role of Jimmy Savile in a scene set in 1970. In the BBC drama The Reckoning he is pictured eating fish and chips with his mother Agnes on the beach alongside a camper van
Robert Emms, known for his roles in Chernobyl and Atlantis, plays the part of Ray Teret, who was Savile’s chauffeur
READ MORE: Meet The Reckoning cast in BBC’s Jimmy Savile drama and their real life characters
She highlighted a case in late 1978 or early 1979 when Mr Beston invited a 19-year-old waitress he knew to meet Savile at a drinks party.
Once there, the presenter took her off to a curtained area where he forcibly kissed and groped her.
Mr Beston denied knowing that Savile had sex with under-age girls, and, while Dame Janet said there is ‘some evidence’ Mr Beston did know about this, she could not be sure he did.
Douglas Muggeridge, controller of Radio 1 and 2 in 1973, launched two investigations into Savile in 1973 after hearing rumours about his sexual impropriety, but neither of these were pursued thoroughly and they failed to identify Savile’s abuse or stop it.
Indeed, new BBC drama The Reckoning is filled with characters who appear to have aided and abetted Savile.
Others including his own mother, played expertly by Gemma Jones, knew he was a liar – and suspected him of much worse – but failed to speak out as they were seduced by his wealth and fame.
The four-part series starring Steve Coogan shows how the broadcaster became a sex monster who hid in plain sight.
Episode one begins with Savile and his wingman, fellow abuser Ray Teret, grooming young girls after picking them up at club nights in Leeds, where staff helped grab victims off the dance floor so the DJs could attack them.
BBC executives are shown ignoring warnings about Savile’s character because they were desperate for him to host Top of the Pops, a show Savile used as a cover to abuse countless people including children.
And even his mother, who he worshipped and called The Duchess, tells a priest of his ‘sins’ and the ‘terrible darkness in him’.
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