DJ NEIL FOX ON HIS
raDIO star Neil Fox today tells how he turned to sir Cliff richard for support as they both battled wrongful allegations of historic sex abuse.
The pair exchanged emails and wished each other well as careerwrecking claims hung over them.
Neil, known to a generation of fans as Dr Fox, remains grateful for Cliff ’s support as they both went through “a sh***y time”.
He also thanks his fellow former Pop Idol judges Nicki Chapman and Pete Waterman for their backing.
But he says he never received a word of support from talent show guru Simon Cowell – also a judge on Pop Idol, forerunner to The X Factor.
Neil, speaking at his home in Fulham, West London, says of Sir Cliff: “We would email each other. I messaged him to wish him the best of luck.
“He wished me luck and said he hoped it was all going well.
“He said he was glad it all worked out. I knew all the s**t he was going through.
“He was incredibly worried and finding it really hard to work. He suffered really badly.”
Cliff last week agreed a settlement with the BBC, which will pay £2million of his legal fees. He won a privacy case over Beeb coverage of a police raid on his home in Sunningdale, Berks, in 2014.
The star faced allegations that he sexually abused four young boys – but he was never arrested, nor charged.
You want to find other people who understand what you are going through NEIL FOX on support given by pop superstar sir cliff
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Neil, 58, says: “Even though he was cleared and got compensation, what he really wants is those years back.”
Of their friendship, he goes on: “People going through, sadly, a sh***y time clearly try to share intelligence for just a bit of support.
“You want to find other people who understand what you’re going through so you don’t have to explain everything.”
Former Capital FM host Neil was cleared in 2015 of all allegations of sexually and indecently abusing young fans and colleagues.
At his trial the DJ had admitted “over-the-top” chat and “horseplay”, but insisted there was nothing more sinister or sexual.
Now he is backing a petition launched by Cliff, 78, to change the law so those accused of sex offences are anonymous until charged.
Neil says: “I’m with Cliff. It was a dreadful time in our society. There was a celebrity witch-hunt and I thought ‘It’s my turn’.
“It’s only right you should be given anonymity until you are charged. Immediately you become guilty by association. The police wanted to believe any alleged victim. And people’s lives were ruined because of it. How is that fair?”
Neil was dramatically arrested after his breakfast show at Magic FM’s London offices in 2014. He says: “I was shocked. You go to work one morning, then you’re suddenly locked in a cell and lose your job, in the space of 24 hours.
“I thought, ‘ My life has just changed today’. I’ve always been in control of my life and the most frustrating thing was that I lost control.”
Neil’s wife of 20 years, Vicky, 46, only found out about his arrest when seven policeman turned up to search their house. But Neil insists Vicky never doubted his innocence.
“She’s been my rock,” he says. “She kept me going when I thought I wouldn’t be able to. I never worried she would leave me as there was
nothing weird for her to find out.” And he praises his children, Scarlet, 18, Jack, 17, and Martha, 13, for giving him the strength he needed to cope.
He says: “You have to go on as the kids had to go to school the next day. Real life helps you not get lost in your thoughts.
Crash
“And if I was going through a bad day I would think of my best man Nicko, who died in a boat crash in Cornwall with his daughter. And how his wife lost half a leg. So, you have to put it into perspective.”
Neil was worried the case may have a lasting effect on his kids, adding: “My youngest was only eight at the time and Scarlet was 13, which is a difficult age. It’s tough.