E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSFor 20 years, Jimmy Savile's children's show was a highlight of Saturday night family TV on the BBC. But now, British police say 300 people have come forward with claims that Savile abused them during his 60-year broadcasting career. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.
LONDON -- Fresh allegations of sexual misconduct by late BBC celebrity Jimmy Savile emerged Wednesday.
Terry Pratt, a former hospital porter at Leeds General Infirmary, told the BBC that Savile, a former BBC radio DJ and television host, would arrive in the 1980s with teenage girls, often two at a time, during early-morning hours and be given the key to nurses’ rooms. They would leave before dawn, Pratt said.
The girls seemed "star-struck" and "not very streetwise," he told the BBC, which has come under a judge’s scrutiny for a culture and practices that allegedly enabled sexual misconduct to go undetected for years. Savile hosted the “Top of the Pops” music show and his family-oriented “Jim'll Fix It” prime-time show.
When asked why he did not report Savile's alleged hospital visits at the time, Pratt said: "We daren't. ... We were in awe of him, to be honest."
Police are probing claims that Savile, who died in October 2011 at age 84, abused about 300 young people. He was accused of using his fame to coerce teens into having sex with him in his car, his camper and even his BBC dressing rooms.
Police arrested 1970s pop star Gary Glitter earlier this week as part of their investigation. He was held for 10 hours and released on bail for a mid-December court hearing.
R. Poplowski / Getty Images
Jimmy Savile in 1973.
Related stories:
- Jimmy Savile abuse scandal stuns Britain: a who's who primer
- Report: UK police arrest pop star Gary Glitter
- 'A steep fall' for BBC as child sex abuse scandal rocks the UK
Authorities are questioning how suspicions about Savile were handled at BBC by Director General George Entwistle and his predecessor, Mark Thompson, the new CEO of the New York Times Co.
Savile is accused of possible sexual abuse of patients at three hospitals for which he raised funds: Leeds, Broadmoor and Stoke Mandeville, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Leeds, in a statement reported by Reuters on Wednesday, said, “We continue to be shocked by each new allegation. It is important that they are investigated properly."
Some of Savile's alleged 300 victims had appeared on his TV shows. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.
The porter’s allegations came a day after a former royal aide said Savile's behavior on visits to Prince Charles' residence, St. James' Palace, had aroused "concern and suspicion."
Dickie Arbiter told the Guardian that Savile would greet young women working at the palace by "rubbing his lips all the way up their arms."
A ex-patient at Broadmoor told the tabloid the Sun she was put in solitary confinement for six months after telling a nurse that Savile had sexually assaulted her.
The nurse reportedly accused her of "bizarre made-up thoughts."
Reuters contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Analysis: Israel, Iran name checks illustrate America's twin obsessions
- Meet Afghan female rapper, colonel who defy the odds
- Analysis: Should next president treat Russia as friend or foe?
- China considers ending unpopular one-child policy
- Expert: Tourists threaten Sistine Chapel's famous paintings
- Oasis of tolerance or 'Republic of Shame'? Two faces of gay life in Beirut
- The secret to a perfect smile? Chopsticks, Chinese officials are told
- After decades of oppression, Kurds get taste of freedom in Syria
- Outrage after video shows Chinese teacher abusing kindergarteners
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook