To wonder what people really thought of Jimmy Savile when he was alive?

[BarmyBrunhilde]

I'm a millennial, and was only really vaguely aware of who he was really, so watching the recent Netflix documentary I was fairly bemused to see how popular he seemed to be. Obviously he was beloved by the establishment, including the royals, Thatcher etc but he seemed to have massive following among the public.

Everyone now seems to say 'oh yes I always knew he was creepy' but I have to wonder - for those who grow up in the 60s-80s how was he really seen? In the documentary it seems like he had always had crowds of screaming and adoring fans, and they generally seemed none the wiser? It seemed like industry people and his poor victims were the only ones who really had any idea.

Role Harris fooled me though.

Born in the 60’s. I always thought he was a creepy sod.

Born early 80s, came to the UK in mid 80s and we watched a lot of TV but JS never made an impression, we just never watched him, not TOTP, not JWFI, nothing. It’s been weird watching the documentaries since 2011, like learning about someone the rest of the country seems to know.

We watched Rolf Harris a lot as kids so that was more of a shock.

I look back on the times I was touched inappropriately as a child/teen and think how sad that it is that when we’re young we are usually at our least able to advocate for ourselves and now when I’m late 30s, I feel robust enough to challenge these men but of course they’re targeting much younger victims.

@XDownwiththissortofthingX Exactly That’s what I’m afraid of as well. What if there were others like him but they just weren’t well-known enough or weren’t a public figure and the victims didn’t know who to report to.

I still shudder to think of the over 100 child abuse files just went “missing” when Cameron was PM. How does one lose important files and documents of that magnitude?

I’m also curious how almost 400 government docs from the National Archives also have gone missing.

It’s concerning how documents are so easily lost. The incompetence.

The thing is, Savile was a creepy weirdo, but this was diluted by the fact that lots of men in positions of power were creepy and exploitative, and probably still are. Who would have pointed the finger at Kevin Spacey when American Beauty came out? He was wildly popular.

I should say that someone in a position of power did something unsavoury to me when I was a young teenager. Ultimately, however creepy someone is or isn’t, young girls are extremely vulnerable.

RH was on DH’s radar from about the mid-90s, when he did an in-store PA at the shop DH worked in. He was very over-familiar —handsy— with a beautiful young colleague of DH.

I was born early 80's and am from Leeds. I always thought he was gross with the manky teeth and cigar constantly in his mouth and that disgusting hair. We used to see a lot of him on things like local news.

He gave me the creeps and I wasn't at all surprised when it all came out.

Born 1978 and lived Jimm’ll fix it. He was just a character on TV, very benign .
I met him
Working at Stoke Mandeville aged 24 2003. He came to cheer up the staff and patients one Christmas. Was really Percy, put his hand on my knee and kept saying to my patient who has a swollen knee. “Must have been the viagra” . Can’t believe they let him in!

He was weird. I never liked him. He used to talk about 'young ladies' going to his home. I thought he was lying because he was so ugly and creepy no one would ever entertain him.

@BelleTheBananas I think some people must have been aware of Kevin Spacey. Not sure if I should say this because it was very specific. And a uni friend of mine has a friend who had an encounter with Spacey. Needless to say, the Old Vic staff were definitely aware. And I’ve definitely heard firsthand some of the comments and this was more than 10 years ago, about 2006 or 2007 I think.

@TheRealBoswell Undoubtedly that’s true, and I’m sure the people who worked on films with him in the 90s saw it too. I’m just pointing out that generally people/critics thought he was great, until the mid-noughties, when these things started to emerge.

I watched this with DP. Its hard to remember what we thought back then everyone likes to think they saw it coming.
As a child I longed to be on Jim'll fix it but it was about getting your wish come true and not about meeting him. I think we thought he was odd - he was never cool - but all his sex jokes I just don't recall - I think if anything I'd have thought (when i was old enough to think about it) that he was gay and just overcompensating with risque stories.
I also think a lot of the sexual innuendo/groping wasn't abnormal then-it would be interesting to see if someone could pull together a similar sleaze montage/clip collection for a (non-criminal) celeb at the time - i suspect it wouldn't be much different

@BelleTheBananas True, but isn’t that the same with any famous person that the mass public might presumably fawn over or critics would laud? Until the skeletons are out of the closet, we’d be none the wiser. That’s why I’m so uncomfortable with placing these figures on a pedestal.

If it wasn’t for many high profile figures and celebs being exposed, not sure if some of the victims would have spoken up for fear of not being believed. Especially if said celeb seems to have connections everywhere. Even if something is true, unless there is some kind of proof, the culprit may sue for slander, especially in the States. This can also make some victims think twice before even making accusations.

I’m glad things have improved, but just like Weinstein et al, I’m sure there were always people who knew, aside from the victims of course, and chose to look the other way for whatever reason

(doesn't millennial mean somebody born between the 80s and mid 90s? The children at school tell me I'm a millennial all the time)

As an apparent millennial, I grew up watching him on TV and didn't think anything of him as a person really beyond finding him extremely odd and being baffled at his success.

@Wishihadanalgorithm

I was repelled by JS. I loved the programme, seeing children achieve their dreams but I couldn’t have ever gone on the programme as he made my flesh crawl. Couldn’t say why, but he was creepy.

I never got this vibe from Rolf Harris though and was really saddened that he is another vile POS.

Ken Dodd was also very big in the 1970s and he was another one who made my flesh crawl.

Exactly this. I got a creepy vibe from Jim but put up with that to see kids getting their wishes. Loved Rolf and had his records though.

I'm in my late 50s and grew up not far from Leeds. A lot of people did consider him strange, my parents didn't like him, I remember my dad saying he was odd. But that oddness was a cultivated facade. Jim'll Fix It was huge when I was a child - I was 12 when it started, and I remember being desperate to write in, but my mum wasn't keen for me to do so.
The rumours of his necrophilia at Leeds General were rife when I was a teenager. I've no idea where they sprang from, but obviously we know now that they were true. Looking back, the evidence screams at you, but creepy men were rife in the 70s. Young girls were called jailbait and teases. The concept of grooming, even the concept of child sexual abuse, wasn't really on people's radar.

As a child in the 80s I watched JFI and never thought anything if it or him. I just took it for granted that TV people were odd, but not bad. However, later on as an adult I found him creepy - not 'evil monster' creepy, more 'has a too close relationship with his dead mum' creepy so my judgment wasn't all that.

That said, my mum was a young teenager in the early seventies and went to see TOTP filming and was asked by security if she wanted to go backstage and meet JS after the show. She did - with a friend - and he was in his dressing room in just his pants. She was creeped out then and said she had to get the bus home so left quickly.

Even with that story in the family, the extent of his crimes came as a shock. But back in the 80s, 90s, 00s even, there just had not yet been anyone who had done such crimes and been found out like that. So it was hard to imagine anyone famous could be capable or allowed to get away with such vast evil. I just couldn't imagine it to such an extent. Plus, the dodgy answers in interviews etc were never shown again after the original showing. If you never saw them at first broadcast, then you'd never see them at all.

Now we've had a number of criminals exposed, it's easier to think someone else might be so guilty - iyswim.

@DidymusAmbrosius What JS was so creepy. Goodness knows how many other teens he did that to? Are there really no other copies apart from the original broadcast? I always assumed everything would be archived.

did*

I was born in 1964. I couldn't articulate it, but I didn't like him at all, he made me feel uncomfortable.

FIL had a charity and met him briefly and had bad vibes and never wanted to work with him 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry, I didn't mean there were no other copies. (Though that is also true, very little was kept, the film was just taped over and reused).

Just that the level of protection he was given meant no broadcaster saw merit in repeating the stuff that made him look bad. So they didn't.

I grew up in the 80s in Leeds. Often used to see him out and about jogging. I remember once he got on our school bus as he ran past and we were getting in. We were thrilled! I also wrote to Jim'll fix it but dodged a bullet as they never picked my letter. I didn't think he was particularly creepy.

I work with a guy who grew up around Leeds.
He never met him ,but says Saville would park his Rolls Royce up and lean against it.
As the kids went by they would shout 'paedo' at him.
' Your'll be next ' Saville would reply.

In my 50s

I always found him odd. I watcher JFI for the fixes, he was the worst bit of it.

Was always disappointed when he fronted TOTP. He seeme3d too old.

I never understood the strange noise and 'now then, now then'.