Page 5 | Jimmy Saville documentary on Netflix

mumpants · 07/04/2022 17:44

I always found him repulsive and everyone know he was a pervert. It was no surprise to most people. I think the media probably loved him more than normal people.

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 07/04/2022 18:01

I used to think he was an absolute legend. I loved how totally outrageous amd unique he was. My friend and I once dressed as him at a fancy dress party.
However, I was struck watching the Netflix series by how utterly vile he is - in his mannerisms, looks and demeanour - without even considering the abuse he was responsible for.

speakout · 07/04/2022 18:09

I agree about the prevailing attitudes of the time.
Women and children were there to be pawed, and if complained, would be told to "cheer up".
Tv shows like On the Buses, Benny Hill show are appaling by todays' standards.
It was acceptable for men to slap a woman on the backside for instance, grope and make lewd comments.
We had to put up with it.
I remember being groped by a drunken neighbour when I was 12 at a New Year's party. My mother told me to smile, surely I didn't want to ruin the party by "making a scene".

Shimmyshimmycocobop · 07/04/2022 18:17

I always used to think he was creepy and odd, I remember being told in the playground at Primary school that he had sex with dead people so a lot of it must have been common knowledge.

Rolf Harris however was a complete shock.

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AlternativePerspective · 07/04/2022 18:28

Ive mentioned this before but knowing all the drug we know now I wonder if Jill Dando was murdered because she discovered something or researching stuff and was about to blow the whistle or she had information and took it to the wrong person tbh I’ve never understood this theory. Where did it even come from?

Jill Dando wasn’t an investigative journalist.

If you watch the documentary there were plenty of journalists who had been looking for information for years.

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AlternativePerspective · 07/04/2022 18:30

Rolf Harris however was a complete shock. My ILs lived in the same town as he did and they, and many other people they knew said he was a nasty bloke. Although I don’t think any of them suspected him of the things he did, but he had a reputation for being a pretty unpleasant individual off camera.

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PomegranateRose · 07/04/2022 18:36

@Lovebroccoli

I'm watching the documentary. The trouble is, he wasn't seen as repulsive (a bit odd, of course) or particularly 'creepy' at the time. I'm not too sure of how you define 'creepy' to be honest. The word is bandied about a lot but I've never heard anyone properly explain what they mean by it. Phrases such as 'makes my skin crawl' are obviously exaggerations.

It's only with hindsight that people think of him as repellent. He certainly did a lot of good and raised millions for charity during his life, even though his horrendous secret life was going on at the same time.

At one time he was a national treasure and the nation loved him so much because of his enormous publicity. He aligned himself with popular figures such as the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, as well as Margaret Thatcher and royalty, with the result that he partook of some of their aura. He was a very complex character.

If you read his autobiography you will see that a lot of his traits stemmed from his childhood which was what we now define as disfunctional.

It's very easy to say in hindsight, 'I always thought he was creepy and repulsive,' but I'm not sure how true that is.

"It's only with hindsight that people think of him as repellent." not true at all - I always found him very creepy, long before I was old enough to be allowed to hear any rumours etc, and long before anything came to light. He always struck me as utterly crass and somehow "not right".

WingingItSince1973 · 07/04/2022 18:39

I always felt he was an abuser. I couldn't understand the fuss about him. He was sleazy, dirty old man vibes even in his younger days! I won't spoil the documentary for anyone else but to say those that look back on all their time with him are looking back in horror at the things he got away with saying let alone doing! Such a dirty wicked man

ToTheCrystalDome · 07/04/2022 18:39

@AlternativePerspective

Rolf Harris however was a complete shock. My ILs lived in the same town as he did and they, and many other people they knew said he was a nasty bloke. Although I don’t think any of them suspected him of the things he did, but he had a reputation for being a pretty unpleasant individual off camera.

My ex always hated Rolf Harris. When I asked him why, he said it was because Rolf had pinched his cousin's bottom at an art exhibition she was presenting. I couldn't believe it at the time - Rolf doesn't do things like that! 😳

19lottie82 · 07/04/2022 18:44

My Mum went to an all girls school in Leeds in the late 60s. She said that he always used to wait at the gates to “take girls for a drive”. Apparently everyone knew that he was a peado.

Uncurtailed · 07/04/2022 18:46

Hindsight is a wonderful thing - and many people will project how 'creepy they found him' know we now the facts. It's easy to do and is a defence mechanism for many.

However in the 70/80/90's he was a celebrity and much loved by the nation. I thought the documentary was excellent and clearly demonstrates how much power and esteem he commanded. Young, old, men, women, working class, royalty, working class etc all loved him.

It was chilling to see how many times, live on air, he would joke about kidnapping women and how school girls should be scared of him? All we can hope is that the powers that be learnt some valuable lessons?

I have little doubt it is happened here and now, and in years to come thee will be other shocking revelations.

YouOKHun · 07/04/2022 18:51

I met JS three or four times when I was about 12-13 years old as he was fundraising for a large charity my father ran. I distinctly remember that Meeting him was a disappointment because I recall that the way he spoke to me gave me the strong impression he didn’t genuinely like children; there was a kind of sarky dismissive element to him, something uncomfortable, and he smelled funny! Mind you he had just run miles in a charity race at the time. I didn’t like him and even at that young age didn’t want to come across him again. My father never said much but my DM said at the time “Dad’s not too keen”. Last year my DF died and I was helping my DM go through some books. We found a copy of his autobiography which he’d signed and which my mother chucked on the bonfire. She told me that my DF had loathed him and thought he was a really suspect man but had no real evidence to go on, just a sense that this man everyone was so excited to meet was not OK. It wasn’t the first time he’d come across JS (not in person but in local notoriety) because my DF had worked in Leeds in the mid-1960s where it was common knowledge that it was best not to be alone with JS if you were female.

Times were different. Lots of people thought he was a creep but what do you do with that opinion or even full knowledge that he was a predator in an era when casual sexual assault on women was seen as a bit of fun and the onus was on women to preserve their reputation? What was clear from that documentary was what a clever manipulative man he was and pretty devoid of emotion - a dangerous combination with celebrity untouchability added in. I thought Lyn Barber’s contribution was interesting (I’m only half way through the first episode), the scepticism on her face in the footage of an interview with him showed she had real doubts about him, but she would never have been taken seriously at the time had she really challenged what appeared to be an open secret in Fleet Street. Horrible man, I wish he hadn’t had decades of untouchability during which he caused misery.

Clymene · 07/04/2022 18:52

@AlternativePerspective

Have just watched this, obviously we all know what he did and the absolutely reprehensible individual he was.

But watching the documentary and all the clips they played, even if he hadn’t committed all those hideous acts, he was a really creepy repulsive bloke. So why did the nation love him so much?

I’m not talking royals and other celebs etc, but ordinary people. The people who filed past his coffin after his death, and mourned his passing, sent in hundreds of tributes etc. Why? He was just so repulsive. Or is it just me?

I didn't move to the U.K. until I was an adult but I've lived here a long time now. The first time I saw him I thought he was creepy as fuck. I couldn't believe it when I found out he did children's programmes and everyone thought he was a really sound bloke. It was screaming out of the screen that there was something deeply wrong with the bloke but no one else could see it.

It was like collective grooming or something.

PomegranateRose · 07/04/2022 18:54

Hindsight is 20/20 - but sometimes instincts/impressions are right. He was always slimy to me and I remember feeling utterly vindicated as well as horrified and utterly furious when what he did came out, especially as he wasn't around to be punished. I hadn't suspected a couple of others, but Savile absolutely always seemed sleazy and suspect to me.

WingingItSince1973 · 07/04/2022 19:00

@PomegranateRose

Hindsight is 20/20 - but sometimes instincts/impressions are right. He was always slimy to me and I remember feeling utterly vindicated as well as horrified and utterly furious when what he did came out, especially as he wasn't around to be punished. I hadn't suspected a couple of others, but Savile absolutely always seemed sleazy and suspect to me.

I trust my instincts. They haven't let me down yet where sleezy disgusting men are concerned. My childhood was abusive so I'm very sensitive to men like this, it's not just his look its his body language and his eyes. Probably daft to most people but at 49 now I've thought he was wrong since I was a little girl. It's just a huge shame he didn't have his glory ripped away from him when he was alive.

maddiemookins16mum · 07/04/2022 19:12

I was born in 1964 so grew up with him, my mother refused to allow me to write in to Jim’ll Fix It (to meet David Cassidy or The Bay City Rollers) as she couldn’t stand the man and didn’t want me anywhere near him.

maddy68 · 07/04/2022 19:15

I haven't watched it yet. But I always thought he was creepy when I was a kid I never understand his "charm"

AprilMae · 07/04/2022 19:18

@Valencebalance was the Netflix show ‘Is it Cake’? I stopped watching because of the creepy host lol

ENoeuf · 07/04/2022 19:18

I’m watching it now. Does it start to build up to a reveal of what he did? So far it’s just him being on shows and a couple of ‘I knew he was bad but didn’t say anything’.

Nameandgamechange123 · 07/04/2022 19:22

My parents used to turn the TV off every time he came on. I could never understand it as a child. But as an adult 🤢.......
I'm also really shocked that nobody noticed his grotesqueness

NewName9273 · 07/04/2022 19:26

I was completely fooled by Rolf Harris though

Same. I actually worked with him quite regularly. I still can't fathom what he did. Not saying I don't believe it, just can't get my head round a man who was so kind to me and never did anything untoward could be such a monster behind the mask. It really shook my confidence in my judge of character.

Whitecushion · 07/04/2022 19:36

I'm over 60. I disliked Jimmy Saville as a small child . He felt creepy and he spoke to people in an unsettling way.I liked the content of Jim'll fix it though I remember that as clear as day. Its nothing to do with the benefit of hindsight.However I loved Rolf Harris . No bad feelings there!

ENoeuf · 07/04/2022 19:42

I feel Selena Scott is trying too hard to distance herself. It’s all innuendo though , why don’t they just say outright what he did. It’s a bit of a weird documentary.

StoneofDestiny · 07/04/2022 19:51

I always thought he was creepy - he came across as sinister. I said this often and was laughed at - but when the revelations came out my family and friends said 'how did you know'?
I've no idea at all - I just did. He never had a genuinely affectionate facial expression in any of his TV appearances etc.

JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil · 07/04/2022 19:55

‘It's only with hindsight that people think of him as repellent.’

100% not true in my case. I was always a bit scared of him when I was a kid. Obvs I didn’t know he was a peado but he genuinely made me feel very uncomfortable when I was kid.