Amanda Holden says Jimmy Savile tried to seduce her as a teenager when she was in a hospital
Amanda Holden says Jimmy Savile tried to seduce her as a teenager when she was in a hospital
Amanda Holden has spoken about her harrowing experience with late disgraced broadcaster Jimmy Savile, who she claims to have met when she was just 19 years old.
The Britain's Got Talent star revealed that she had been in hospital after accidentally cutting her finger open when the Jim'll Fix It star walked into her ward.
Savile's heinous child sex offences were only exposed after his death in October 2011, and the DJ was never brought to justice.
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Speaking about her awkward meeting with the presenter in her younger years, Amanda told Alan Carr: "When I was 19 I was cutting a cake and I cut my finger - I've still got a scar.
"So I went with my then boyfriend to the hospital and they stitched it up and they put a bandage around it... and then this man drew back the curtains and made this flippant remark that I'd tried to take my own life by slicing my finger.
"Then I was like, 'Oh, that's Jim'll Fix It! Oh my God!'
"And then he said to me, 'do you have any gynaecological problems?'
"And luckily my boyfriend was there so he was my witness. I went, 'No!' and he went, 'I can give you one!'"
Amanda went on to explain that she doesn't see herself as one of the victims of Jimmy Saville's horrendous crimes, especially compared to what other people have heartbreakingly been put through at the hands of the late broadcaster.
"Do you know what?" Amanda said. "I'm saying the story flippantly because, at the time I was a student and for me it was just like, 'what a bizarre story', and I went back to drama school and told everyone and there was no serious weight to it or anything.
"I am not like those poor people that he has..." she trailed off, hinting at some of Savile's horrific sex offences over the years.
Earlier this month, chilling footage of Jimmy Saville and convicted sex offender Rolf Harris resurfaced online.
In the footage, exposed in a new two-part ITV documentary Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, Rolf Harris, 93, jokes about leaving a young girl 'safely' in Savile's 'capable hands'.
The new documentary, which reportedly sees some of Harris’ victims waive their right to anonymity to give their side of the story, includes ‘exclusive new testimony’ and claims to ‘reveal the unseen evidence that led to his downfall.’
The Australian musician went to prison for five years and nine months back in 2014 after being found guilty on 12 charges of indecent assault by four victims, one of whom was a girl under 10 at the time.
One of those convictions was later overturned after being declared unsafe, and Harris was released from prison in May 2017, having served around three years of his sentence.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111
Topics: Amanda Holden, Celebrity, Crime, Jimmy Savile
Ali Condon