After Jimmy Savile’s death in 2011 inquires into a history of sexual abuse began, some dating back to the 1950s - and it wasn’t long before a life-sized carving of the TV personality was removed from Scotstoun Leisure Centre.
Netflix documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story was recently released, shocking viewers with revelations about Britain’s most infamous predator.
However, while Savile's crimes are now well known, there was a time when the nation celebrated him as something of a hero, and Glasgow was no different.
For more than a decade, the city displayed a life-sized statue of the disgraced media personality that was swiftly removed and destroyed after the scores of allegations of abuse that followed Savile's death.
The year following Savile’s death saw many allegations of abuse made against him, many of which happened at the height of his fame. By the autumn of 2012, the number of victims coming forward was in the hundreds.
A report outlined the extent of Savile’s abuse which stated abuse ‘took place in virtually everyone one of the BBC premises at which he worked’. This included BBC offices in Leeds, Manchester, and Glasgow.
In the Scotstoun Leisure Centre stood a life-sized carving of Savile, which had sat beside the children’s swimming pool since the mid 1990s. On October 2, 2012, it was removed.
A spokesman for Glasgow Life, who operate the centre, said in 2012: “Given the current controversy and the seriousness of the allegations, we thought it appropriate to move the statue at this time.”
The carving had originally been placed in the centre to honour Savile’s charity participation in marathons and charity dinners in Glasgow. After the large cigar was stolen in the '00s, many locals were unaware of who the statue represented.
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Before the revelations surrounding Savile came to light, a campaign was in action to move the carving to a more prominent spot such as the Kelvingrove Museum or People’s Palace. Glasgow City Council decided at the time: “It’s fitting that Jimmy should stay at Scotstoun to inspire athletes.”
A Freedom of Information request made by The National in 2018 showed that the likeness had been destroyed after its removal. Glasgow Life declined to release other documents surrounding the figure.
At the same time the statue was removed from Scotstoun, a memorial plaque outside Savile’s former home was defaced with the words ‘paedophile’ and ‘rapist’. A BBC spokesman said: “We are horrified by allegations that anything of this sort could have happened at the BBC - or have been carried out by anyone working for the BBC.”
The recent two-part Netflix documentary has examined how Savile managed to hide his abuse in ‘plain sight’. Moving through his lengthy career, the show takes viewers from his early days as DJ through to the Top of the Pops years and Savile’s famed show - Jim’ll Fix It.
In one scene, the man who ‘groomed a nation’ tells an interviewer: “The only time you need to punish yourself is when you’re with young ladies, because you’re such a villain and you’re not kind to them and you squeeze them and make them go ‘ouch’ and things like that.”
