Scotland Home of Jimmy Savile, Disgraced Royal Confidante and Former BBC Host, Engulfed in Flames

Mar. 15, 2025

Jimmy Savile in 1973.Photo:George Wilkes/Getty

George Wilkes/Getty

A home that once belonged to the lateJimmy Savile, the disgraced former BBC host and royal confidante, has been damaged in a fire.

According to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), firefighters were called to Savile’s former home in the Scottish Highlands town of Glen Coe at around 5:40 p.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 8, after a building outside of the main house on the property caught fire, perBBC,The Times,andSky News.

“Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances,” police said.

The SFRS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information.

Jimmy Savile’s home prior to the fire.Peter Jolly/Shutterstock

Peter Jolly/Shutterstock

After his death, more than 500 people accused Savile of being a serial sex abuser and pedophile, and police began investigating. More than two years later, authorities released an official report titledGiving Victims a Voice, which concluded: “It is now clear that Savile was hiding in plain sight and using his celebrity status and fundraising activity to gain uncontrolled access to vulnerable people across six decades.”

Savile was, the report said, “a mainly opportunistic individual who used his celebrity status as a powerful tool to coerce or control [victims], preying on the vulnerable or star-struck for his sexual gratification,“BBC reported at the time. Savile’s alleged sex abuse lasted until two years before his death, per the report.

Savile was close toKing Charles,Princess Dianaand former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the then-prince often sought his public relations advice. However, there is no indication that the King — or any other royals and politicians at the time — knew anything about Savile’s crimes.

King Charles and Jimmy Savile in 1999.Tim Ockenden/PA Images via Getty

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Savile’s crimes came to light again after Netflix released the documentaryJimmy Savile: A British Horror Storyin 2022. The series analyzed how “people are deceived and how people beyond the victims are groomed,” producer Rowan Deacon toldThe Timesat the time.

Deacon said Savile’s popularity among the royals and other prominent figures helped mask his true nature. Charles “was duped, like we all were,” he toldThe Times. The King’s letters revealed in the documentary “show the trust [he] put into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernize and he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that,” Deacon said.

He added: “We’re not suggesting for one moment that Thatcher orPrince Charlesknew what he was really up to. Nonetheless, that seal of approval meant that the weight of his respect and trust was a planet compared to the tiny voices of these women.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com