Bosses who knew ... and did nothing
TALES of Savile’s predilection for young girls reached some of the BBC’s most senior managers long before he was asked to present Jim’ll Fix It, yet his career continued to flourish.
A few made inquiries into his behaviour – but largely this was only to check whether his behaviour posed a risk to the BBC’s reputation. Other senior figures, including two who ran BBC1 while he was a presenter, said they did not hear anything about his behaviour until 2012, when the scandal erupted.
Douglas Muggeridge, then controller of Radio 1 and 2, was warned about Savile around 19 3 and spoke to BBC press officer Rodney Collins.
He explained that he had heard allegations about Savile having sex with underage girls in his caravan and wanted to check whether the newspapers were planning to print any stories about the ‘inappropriate liaisons’. Mr Collins told Mr Muggeridge that the press were unwilling to print the tales, even if true, because Savile did so much for charity and was ‘perceived as a very popular
‘A creature of his time’
Management culture was too deferential ... the BBC was far too reactive about the risks to its reputation
Dame Janet Smith
man’. Mr Muggeridge died in 1985. Roger Ordish, producer of Jim’ll Fix It for two decades, once saw two teenage girls coming out of the star’s dressing room, and talked to a colleague about whether Savile had had sex with them. He was warned by another colleague that ‘Savile should not be left alone with children’.
But in a 2012 interview he insisted that news of the star’s campaign of abuse had come as a ‘terrible shock’.
Dame Janet said Mr Ordish was a ‘creature of his time’, adding: ‘Nobody at the BBC would want the Jim’ll Fix It ship to capsize. And the Jim’ll Fix It ship depended on Savile.’ Mr Ordish could not be reached for comment.
Nick Vaughan-Barratt worked with Savile throughout the 19 0s. On one occasion, Savile even asked him to pick up a teenage girl from his flat in Leeds.
When Savile fell ill in 2010, Mr VaughanBarratt told the BBC he would feel ‘queasy’ about preparing an obituary as he had seen ‘the real truth’. But he told the review he had not known anything about Savile’s sexual impropriety.
Dame Janet says he ‘must have seen something that had caused him some concern... he is plainly not going to tell me.’ Mr Vaughan-Barratt, who left the BBC in 2012, declined to comment. Derek Chinnery, then head of programmes for Radio 1, also heard rumours about Savile and challenged him. However, Savile replied that they were ‘nonsense and that there was no truth in them’ and he let the matter drop. Mr Chinnery died last year.
Alan Yentob, controller of BBC1 from 1993 to 1996, worked at the corporation for almost all of Savile’s career, but says he did not hear any rumours about the DJ’s behaviour until 2012.
He admitted that ‘the top end’ of the BBC had not ‘paid sufficient attention’ to what was going on. He suggested that managers were probably more forgiving in those days because Savile was ‘so loved and liked’. Mr Yentob could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Michael Grade, controller of BBC1 from 1984 to 1986, admitted there was a ‘groupie culture’ around certain BBC stars, and that Savile’s boasts about his sex life would not have been taken very seriously. Even if they had been, bosses would have reacted only if they thought Savile’s actions were going to harm the BBC by causing a scandal, Lord Grade said. He declined to comment last night.