Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Amanda Holden spoke out about her chilling experience with Jimmy Savile, who she claims tried to seduce her when she was a teenager.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge said she’d ended up in hospital at 19 after accidentally cutting open her finger. She previously told Alan Carr: “When I was 19 I was cutting a cake and I cut my finger - I've still got a scar.
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“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.”
And the man was apparently none other than the disgraced broadcaster, who used his position of power in children’s TV to carry out horrific and extensive abuse.
Holden remembers reacting to seeing Savile and exclaiming: “Oh that’s Jim’ll Fix It! Oh my God!”
She claims he then said: “Do you have any gynaecological problems?”
The star continued: “And luckily my boyfriend was there so he was my witness. I went, 'No!' and he went, 'I can give you one!’”
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Holden went on to say that she doesn’t see herself as one of the victims of Savile’s horrendous rimes, particularly compared to what others heartbreakingly suffered 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 sex offences over the years.
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Towards the end of last year, the BBC released a new drama tracing the TV presenter’s life; The Reckoning. Steve Coogan stars as Savile, ‘one of the most reviled figures of modern history following revelations of extensive and horrific abuse’.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Topics: Amanda Holden, Jimmy Savile, Celebrity
Jess Battison