Interviewing this iconic legend of entertainment is rather like trying to catch the stardust which seems to shimmer from his manic shock of white hair. He can be monosyllabic to the point of frustration but you know that underneath it all he has loved every minute of his extraordinary life.

Whoever fixed it for Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE, KCSG, and favourite of millions, to become indelibly stamped on British entertainment as Jimmy Savile DJ, personality and consumer of copious quantities of the finest cigars, broke the mould afterwards.

You never know when his manic catchphrase is coming along in the conversation. I can’t spell it, but imagine Tarzan on speed and you’ll be somewhere near.

I was fascinated to know what he would loved to have fixed for himself.

“A telephone in heaven,” said Sir Jimmy, a wish which he could not have fulfilled for any of his guests, but one which you can tell he has thought about deeply.

He may be 80 but there are few tell-tale signs of that in the man whose appearance is as instantly recognisable, if not more so, than any of today’s new breed of celebrities.

Who else could get away with the nattiest collection of track suits in anything from tartan to bejewelled, fabulous jewellery, orange tinted spectacles, the ever present cigar and enough different designs in trainers to make Imelda Marcos green with envy?

But don’t let the appearance fool you. He is a member of Mensa with a remarkable IQ and while immensely proud of the Sir before his name, a lot more comes afterwards. The OBE from 1971, the honorary doctorate of law from Leeds University, his honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Radiology, the Knight of Malta and an Esteemed Friend of Israel. How’s about that then guys and gals?

Sir Jimmy was born in Leeds and lives there to this day. He was one of seven children. A Bevin boy, he was drafted to work as a coal miner during the Second World War.

I should have known better than to ask about his memories of those dark days for he replies: “Banging my head on the roof.” Follow that!

When you’ve had a career as long and varied as Jimmy legend sometimes colours actuality but the highlights of the early days include working as a ballroom manager in various spots where he was one of the innovators of rock-n-roll. I believe he was one of the first to play rock-n-roll during dance band intervals for the younger dancers, and he does claim to have been the first person to use two turntables and a microphone as a DJ.

In 1964 Jimmy presented the first Top of the Pops and his inimitable style of presentation was a trademark of the show. I assume he provided his own wardrobe because no third party could have dreamed up some of the creations which he wore. In July 2006 it was a sad day when he returned to present the very last Top of the Pops and was seen turning out the studio lights at the end of the show.

I asked him who were his favourite stars from the early days. He replies simply: “ All the greats were all my friends.”

VYou know he means it for inside that 80 years of memories must be some great moments and meetings, and you can bet most of the greats he met treasure him as one of their best memories too.

His uniqueness has fitted like a glove into every decade of popular music and fashion. It still does for he strolled into the Celebrity Big Brother house last year as though he owned the place and fixed wishes for the contestants.

To what does he attribute this longevity of popularity.

“Because I love the game and the people,” he says. You know they certainly love him.

Influential in the awarding of his knighthood was surely the untiring charity work which he has undertaken for many years. It was in 1990 that he became Sir Jimmy and in the same years he was awarded a papal knighthood from the Vatican which made him a Knight Commander of St Gregory the Great (KCSG).

Among his charity work perhaps the best known is for Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he worked as a volunteer porter, he did the same in Broadmoor Hospital. It is estimated that in his career he has helped to raise £40,000,000, and he hasn’t finished yet. For many years he was the honorary president of PHAB, the charity for Physically Handicapped Able Bodied.

His happiest memory of that charity work? No surprise here.

“All of it,” he says.

He’s run marathons, cycled and even had a spell as a wrestler, losing all his bouts because none of the macho men wanted to be seen to be beaten by a man who wore a pink track suit!

I try to tackle the eccentricity and catchphrases. “Now, then, now then”, the Tarzan on speed call, “As it happens” and “Guys and Gals”, coupled with a rather unusual dress code suggest that he deserved the accolade he won from the Radio Times as one of the “Top 40 Most Eccentric TV Presenters of All Time”.

“I don’t think I’m eccentric,” he replies.

VMoving swiftly on, for I sense that he is more than capable of verbally duffing anyone who challenges him too much.

He was recently far more verbose about modern television at Edinburgh International TV Festival where he reprised Jim’ll Fix It for TV executives. They would do well to revive it in my opinion for I share his tirade of opinion which followed the opening pleasantry of asking how he was.

“Indestructible,” said Jimmy, and proceeded to prove it by lambasting some of the ills of modern day television.

He refused to go on a programme about the life and times of a certain famous Yorkshire cricketer saying: “I can’t come on your programme because I have never been to a cricket match and ball games are not my scene. I am a marathon runner.”

The producer offered to give him things to say. Wrong answer.

“I said it might not matter to you but it matters to me. What on earth can I talk about if I don’t know the game? It would appear in my Yorkshire simplicity that I am now in a business that lies, cheats and steals. I am not sure whether I want to be in that sort of business,” he said.

He has always maintained honesty with his audience and went on to lambast the shortcomings in several programmes which have made all the wrong sort of headlines recently. Now then, now then Jimmy, I’m right with you.

He topped it off with a fabulous recollection of his Clunk Click programme from the early 1970s.

“We used to have a well known personality on every week and one time I frightened the BBC half to death by turning up without one,” he recalls.

“They said, what are you going to do? I said, I’ll get one from the audience, because I have phenomenal luck, it’s called JS luck. I go offstage into the audience and the producer is going, 10, 9, 8, and I say to a girl ‘Come with me’.

“The producer goes 3-2-1, and I say to camera, Hello and welcome to the show. I say to the girl, ‘What do you do for a living?’ and she says, ‘I’m a female welder and work with 700 men’. What a cracking start, terrific.

“If I had got nobody I would have said so and they would have to do with me. I have enough personality to get away with honesty.”

He argues that television is determined to appear polished these days and doesn’t think it will change.

“When they get caught they will pay a fine and that’s it. Then they will lie, cheat and steal again. When something slips up the people that run television can’t say it’s broken down. People would prefer that for Pete’s sake,” he says.

Serious stuff from Sir Jim but he has the experience and track record to say it.

He has a bench in memory of himself in Scarborough and on it are engraved the words: “Jimmy Savile-but not just yet.”


Graham Smith
Mediaworld

Useful links:

More about Jimmy Savile on Wikipedia