A measure of Savile’s psychopathy is that the Discovery film can be considered relatively restrained for ignoring the widespread rumours, reflected by Dame Janet Smith, of Savile also being a necrophiliac (his charitable service included working as a hospital morgue porter). The voiceover suggests there was a “huge multi-institution cover-up”, implicating Duncroft House, the Thatcher government, hospitals, prisons and the BBC. Jones argues that numerous managers at the Corporation “must have known”. (My own view, based on the prevalence of Savile rumours during 30 years working at the BBC, is that senior managers of the relevant periods, if they really never heard anything, should urgently book consultations with an audiologist.) Simon described the interview as an 'unsettling' encounter and among his 'oddest professional experiences' (Image: M.E.N./Chris Gleave)

At the peak of his fame and influence, Savile hosts Jim'll Fix It on BBC One. The series makes him a regular feature in households across Britain. Confessing to a priest about sexual abuse, he is told that as a Roman Catholic, he should turn himself in. He further cements his position of power by spearheading a fundraising campaign for Stoke Mandeville Hospital, giving him unprecedented political access. His status allows him to hide in plain sight and silence the victims of his crimes. Savile is knighted in 1990. And you, Dan? When you found out about his crimes, did you ever feel that he'd also made you complicit? The boxes containing the many tapes, interview transcripts, newspaper cuttings and research articles that went into my book are taped shut and piled high in a shed. I don’t want them in the house in which my three children live. There'd been 'lots of women'. "It wasn't that you were a dirty bugger or anything like that - it was part of life," he said. At the time, this man – whose first TV appearances on Juke Box Jury are probably watched by my parents – means nothing to me. But writing this piece, I have the feeling that my whole life is somehow heading from those Sunday mornings to a horrific encounter with Jimmy Savile 40 years later. Hertfordshire , 1973-75Savile describes being caught naked in his caravan with another gaggle of young groupies. He wrote: “The heat of the albeit innocent night had caused the girls to shed the majority of their day clothes. In some cases all. One of the most harrowing parts is the testimony, quoted verbatim, of a 12 year girl he raped whilst she was in hospital. This account powerfully brings home the monstrous nature of this type of abuse. The girl tried to get the nurses and a doctor to believe her account. The inference is that staff at Stoke Mandeville were well aware of what Savile was up to, even advising children to pretend to be asleep if he came round at night. It wasn’t just a radio programme, it became an actual therapy session. The interview was meant to take around an hour, but we actually spoke for over two hours . . . Anthony could feel the pain that I was suffering and was extremely kind to me. After Georgie died, he wrote me a lovely letter saying that he felt he knew her, even though he had never met her, and how tragic her death at the age of 12 was. It was March 2004, our very first meeting. Jimmy Savile had thrown me off balance. The rules of engagement had been established: he was on home turf and he was in charge.

In a Radio Times interview on the eve of the first episode of In the Psychiatrist’s Chair in 1982, Clare spoke about the curious position occupied by the profession of psychiatry in the United Kingdom compared with the United States, and he hoped that his series would make the science behind psychiatry more accessible.Somehow, Clare created a space where even the introverted were willing to speak about their personal lives to an audience of millions on national radio. She said: “It was at the height of his Jim’ll Fix It fame and he was the biggest name I had ever interviewed, if you could call it an interview. It’s my mother and father,’ she hissed. There was a silent movie pandemonium. Escape was uppermost in my mind but that was impossible.”

The taxi turned into West Avenue in Leeds and continued a few hundred yards up a gentle incline before dropping me off outside Lake View Court. I got out and pressed the intercom button marked "Penthouse" and after a short pause, a voice: "Morning." The sound of the Yorkshire Dalek was unmistakable. The door buzzed, I pushed against it and took a seat in a small lobby that smelled of potpourri.

As a survivor of sexual abuse at the age of 12 by a family friend, a much older man, I found the programme helpful in understanding the grooming process when it includes people around the survivor, and fascinating to note how many people fell for Savile’s so-called charm while oblivious to the darkness within. It wasn’t exclusively women who spotted that something was very wrong, at least in the programme, but it was noticeable that older women felt this the most strongly. I struggle to write the next paragraph but Smith, in her section 5: 262, records what happened with the pellucid neutrality of legal prose: Although it's impossible to know whether or not she was suspicious of his criminal behaviour, it's been said that she was untrusting of his success. Born into poverty in Leeds in 1926, Jimmy Savile rose to become a knight of the realm, and a confidant of Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and the Prince of Wales. Along the way, he invented the concept of the club DJ, gave the BBC two of its most iconic shows (Top of the Pops and Jim’ll Fix It) and pioneered the celebrity as charity worker and fund raiser. These achievements alone make for a fascinating read, however it is Savile’s prolific and serial abuse of young and frequently vulnerable people that beggars belief. Clearly what helped Savile to operate “In Plain Sight” was his celebrity status. It is easy to forget just how popular he was during the 1970s - and to a lesser extent in the decades before and after. Unlike many reviewers, I never remember thinking Savile was dodgy or creepy. A bit weird perhaps, but not in a dangerous way. I grew up with him on “Top of the Pops” - which he pretty much invented, and of course “Jim’ll Fix It”, a Saturday night staple on BBC1 along with The Generation Game. I can well imagine being 12, 13 or 14 and being in awe of him and also trusting him - as did so many young people who encountered him. He was well practiced in grooming kids, and when necessary their parents too.