Not only did he raise money, but he also put in hours of time actually helping attendants and orderlies. “He did have skill as a broadcaster but I’d sort of forgotten about that because of the later depravity.” Throughout his career, Savile regularly worked with charities for Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, the Duncroft School and the Stoke Mandeville Hospital. “He understood that there was a connection you could have with people through a TV screen,” says British TV critic Mark Lawson.

Eventually, Savile was able to parlay his broadcast skills into lucrative TV-hosting gigs, and he became regarded as a top-tier celebrity interviewer, admired for his unique combination of frivolity and physical comedy. In 1958, he became a full-time DJ at Radio Luxembourg, and in 1968, Savile joined BBC Radio 1, where he worked for some 20 years. His humorous style and affability helped him skyrocket in popularity. Savile began building his career in the mid-1950s, freelancing as a radio host at events around the UK. Now the new documentary, executive produced by David Glover and Mark Raphael, explores the former DJ’s rise to fame, his fall from grace and the powers surrounding him. Investigators were able to corroborate dozens of stories from Savile’s past, and the nation was shocked, left to grapple with the consequences of a man who was never held accountable in his lifetime for generations of trauma. Allegations against Savile indicate that he sexually violated upwards of 400 people over a 54-year span (1955 to 2009), with his victims ranging in age from 5 to 75. In the aftermath of his passing, hordes of people came forward claiming that Savile had molested, raped or otherwise abused them. Savile, who was known for hosting the long-running music show Top of the Pops and BBC’s Jim’ll Fix It, died in 2011 at age 84 before his horrific history of sexual abuse came to light. In the new two-part documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, debuting April 6, Britain’s most celebrated - and reviled - DJ and TV host is reexamined more than a decade after his death.

Violated heroine converted