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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Ellie Kemp

What happened to Rolf Harris and did he go to prison?

Rolf Harris used to be a household name for all the right reasons - namely his work across TV, music and art.

He'd appeared on some of the biggest shows on TV, fronting BBC programmes including Animal Hospital and Rolf’s Cartoon Club. As a result the entertainer, who was born to Welsh parents in Australia, soon became a national treasure, loved and trusted by millions.

But all that came to an abrupt end in 2014, when his vile crimes were brought to light. The former star, now 93, was arrested on historical sexual abuse allegations.

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Following an eight-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, he was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison in June 2014. He was convicted of 12 indecent assaults on four teenage girls between 1968 and 1986, although one of those was later overturned.

The former star - who was born in Perth, Australia - served nearly three years at HMP Stafford before being released on licence in May 2017. While still in prison in 2016, he was charged in relation to seven unconnected historic allegations of indecent assault but was cleared on three counts and the jury was discharged before reaching a verdict on the remaining four.

Rolf Harris and his daughter Bindi (PA)

Rolf was later retried for three offences and one new charge but was acquitted after the jury could not reach a verdict. At the time, he said in a statement: "I feel no sense of victory, only relief."

Rolf, who lives in a £5 million mansion in Berkshire, shares his home with wife Alwen Hughes, 91, to whom he has been married for 65 years. The sculptor, who met Rolf at art school.

The couple share a daughter Bindi, now 58. A new two-part series, Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, explores his 2014 trial and hears from accusers who have waived their right to anonymity.

Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight is available to stream on ITVX from May 18.

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