Footage has resurfaced that shows Jimmy Savile seemingly showing ‘how much he [could] get away with’ during a documentary with Louis Theroux.
Theroux made two documentaries about Savile, creating one when he was alive and another after his death when his abhorrent crimes were revealed.
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Throughout that second documentary, Theroux reassessed a lot of the footage that was captured of Savile, and with fresh eyes re-examined how the predatory TV presenter and entertainer seemed to be pushing the boundaries of decency at times.
In this clip, Savile can be seen turning up at Theroux’s BBC offices wearing only a tiny pair of shorts and a string vest, before making a number of comments about the women working in the building and then attempting to change in front of everyone, seemingly ‘challenging’ them to say something about his behaviour.
In a voiceover, Theroux admits to believing this to be part of Savile's 'comic persona'.
Then, he talked to the presenter about his experiences with the tabloids, and dealing with negative press interest into his life.
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Given what we now know, it’s a particularly sinister topic.
Savile asked Theroux: “Does it perturb you at all that you were actually in that category where somebody can have a go at you?
“They don’t care whether it’s right, wrong, true, false – I’ve got names, baby.
“They’ll have a feast, say for instance you were interviewing me on an allegation of something that was not nice, right?
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“[If] you said to me, ‘You are alleged to have…[done something improper]’
“My answer would be, ‘It would be a lot worse if it were true’.”
Theroux responded: “They do say no smoke without a fire, don’t they?”
Then, looking back at the footage after Savile's death, Theroux continued: “After he died, there were numerous reports detailing the scale of Jimmy Savile’s offending, they identified 326 victims describing a range of incidents, from the relatively less serious to rape and child abuse.
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“72 of the victims involved the BBC, 177 were at hospitals.”
Cutting back to Savile’s conversations with Theroux, Louis stated: “We know that your client has agreed not to pursue a claim against this newspaper…”
Jimmy hit back: “That’s right, they said I was derogatory to patients, right?
“Which I wasn’t.
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“So, they agreed that I wasn’t and they said we have made a mistake, kindly take this nice few quid.”
Theroux responded: “That seems a bit rich given how much – I mean – for them to accuse you of being derogatory to patients, given how much money you’ve raised [in his charity work].”
“That’s why they all pay up,” responded Savile.
This footage has resurfaced as Steve Coogan takes on the role of Savile in a BBC docuseries about his life and crimes.
The Reckoning is available to watch in four parts on BBC iPlayer now, and episodes three and four are being broadcast at 9pm on BBC One next Monday and Tuesday.
Featured Image Credit: BBCTopics: UK News, TV and Film, Celebrity, Louis Theroux, Jimmy Savile, Crime