Savile abuse: Jim'll Fix It producer 'warned staff over children'
- Published
Jimmy Savile hosted Jim'll Fix It for 19 years
The former producer of Jim'll Fix It has said he told staff on the show that Jimmy Savile should not be left alone with children.
But Roger Ordish said the warning would have applied to any presenter and was not based on a concern that young people would be harmed.
It follows the Dame Janet Smith review which found that the BBC missed chances to stop "monstrous" abuse by Savile.
The review identified 72 victims of Savile including eight rape victims.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Ordish - who produced Jim'll Fix It for its whole 19-year run - said he remembered telling staff Savile should not be left alone with youngsters.
'Frightening'
But he said the advice was not based on a fear that "something awful" might happen but a rule that children should always be chaperoned.
He also said that Savile's presence could be "unnerving" and "frightening" for some young people.
In her review Dame Janet described Mr Ordish as honest and decent, saying she was satisfied he had not been aware of any criminal conduct by Savile.
Dame Janet said Savile - who died in 2011 aged 84 without ever facing prosecution - and broadcaster Stuart Hall were "serial sexual predators" and the BBC had missed five clear opportunities to stop their misconduct.
The report found Savile would commit sexual assaults "whenever the opportunity arose" and incidents took place "in virtually every one of the BBC premises at which he worked".
His usual tactic with young girls - and in some cases boys - was to groom them by inviting them to watch him perform on set and then make a sexual approach in his dressing room, the report said.
The review found that senior managers were not told of complaints about Savile because of an "atmosphere of fear" which still exists in the BBC.
The report's key findings
Dame Janet Smith says the BBC was 'concerned about its reputation' rather than risk to girls
The impartial investigation was set up by the BBC in 2012 to look at the corporation's culture and practices during the years it employed Savile - thought to be from 1964 to 2007. It found:
The victims of Savile in connection with his work at the BBC include eight people who were raped and one instance of an attempted rape. Others faced sexual assaults
The majority of the cases took place in the 1970s
The largest number of victims was in connection with Savile's work on Top of the Pops
The youngest victim of a sexual assault by Savile was eight years old
Eight informal complaints were made
Hall assaulted 21 females, the youngest aged 10, between 1967 and 1991
Certain junior and middle-ranking individuals had been aware of Savile's inappropriate sexual conduct, but there was no evidence the BBC as a corporate body had been aware
Two senior managers had been "aware" or "probably aware" of Hall's sexual assaults on BBC premises
- Published25 February 2016
- Published25 February 2016
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