Jimmy Savile had a penthouse flat in Leeds that he lived in during most of the years of his gruesome sexual crimes.
As the docuseries The Reckoning airs on BBC One over the next few days, we’re all getting a reminder of just how depraved and evil Savile actually was, as Steve Coogan takes on the role of one of the world’s most prolific and horrendous criminals to evade capture during his lifetime.
Savile was born in Leeds and lived there for all of his life, also taking on another property in Scarborough, which he described as a second home.
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Until the day of his death at the age of 84 in 2011, the former Top of the Pops presenter lived at Lake View Court, near to Roundhay Park, in the Yorkshire city.
After he died, the flat was bought by a couple who had been living next door, who said that it was left in a ‘terrible condition’ when they found it.
So, they applied for planning permission and had it granted, meaning that they could demolish the top floor flat and build a completely new one up there.
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The flat was completely demolished and replaced with another apartment after his death.
Nowadays, the flat is unrecognisable to how it would have been during Savile's time.
It was bought by Malcolm and Angela Statman, who said at the time: "We are going to demolish it in the next six months to two years because of the terrible, terrible condition it is in... and completely rebuild it before selling it or possibly using it as a rental property."
The MP for the constituency, Labour’s Fabian Hamilton, also said at the time: "Malcolm and Angela Statman, who I know actually, are very brave to do this, because you can imagine that it's going to be quite hard actually even once it's rebuilt to sell it off because of the history.
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"I'm glad that (they) have taken this on as I can't think of better people to do a good job frankly.
“They will do a decent job, but it will always have been Jimmy Savile's flat."
Inside the flat, Savile is known to have hosted meetings with his small inner group of friends, which he called the ‘Friday Morning Club’.
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He is also believed to have abused at least one of his victims at the property, although an inquiry did not prove the allegation.
Over his career, Savile – who was one of the UK’s most famous presenters and raised millions for charity – led a double life, abusing hundreds of children and adults around the UK.
He often used his celebrity status to commit this abuse, and used his influence to avoid detection.
After the revelations came out about Savile, the Metropolitan Police set up Operation Yewtree, which led to the arrest and investigation of a number of historical cases, including other TV presenters and well-known figures.
Savile is thought to have started abusing in his late teens or early 20s back in the late 1940s, and is thought to have continued up until his 80s in 2009.
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The Reckoning tells a dramatised version of Savile’s life, interspersed with testimony from several of his victims.
The whole four-part series is currently available to watch in BBC iPlayer, or can be watched in individual parts each night this week at 9:00pm on BBC One.
Featured Image Credit: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images/BBCTopics: Jimmy Savile, UK News, BBC, TV and Film, Celebrity