'I was abused by Jimmy Savile - there was a second man in room'
A Jimmy Savile victim who appears in the new BBC drama The Reckoning in which Steve Coogan plays the fallen star says he’s now determined to see the man who abused him alongside the sex predator face justice.
Savile and an unidentified man sexually assaulted Kevin Cook, 56, after he and his cub scout group finished filming an episode of Jim’ll Fix It at BBC studios, which was broadcast in January 1977. Kevin was just nine when the disgraced TV presenter lured him to a dressing room, promising to give him a Jim’ll Fix It badge.
The second man then joined Savile in the room and physically and sexually abused him in an even more brutal assault, according to Kevin, a dad-of-two. “It scares the life out of me to think he’s still out there,” says Kevin, of Harwich, Essex. “His abuse was even more horrifying than Savile’s.
“If he could be caught and brought to justice off the back of this series that would bring me closure. Savile can’t hurt me anymore as he’s dead. But this person could still be alive. I’m not scared of anyone normally, but this person terrifies me. He is an animal and needs to be put down for the things he did to me. It scares the s**t out of me knowing he could still be alive and doing the same thing to his grandchildren now.
Steve Coogan as Jimmy Savile (BBC/ITV Studios/Matt Squire)“I gave the police a description of him. He was dressed in what looked like an army or navy shirt. He had long hair on the sides and was bald on top, even though he wasn’t old at the time - he looked about 30ish.” The part-time customer service assistant is certain someone knows the identity of the second man, as he looked so distinctive.
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Kevin continues: “I still have a grudge against a lot of the people who were at the BBC decades ago. Savile should’ve been stopped in the 1960s. It was going on for more than a decade before I was abused.”
Kevin, who kept the attack secret for decades, finally spoke out in 2012 after hearing about a boy who had been abused, and reported his experience to the police. He also gave evidence to the later Dame Janet Smith independent review into the culture and practices of the BBC, which published its report in 2016.
Recalling how he told his wife, Sharon, 53, what had happened, he says: "After I heard about a boy in Jersey who had been abused by Savile, I was up all night thinking about it. The next morning I tried to tell my wife he had abused me, but I couldn't get it out because I was so scared. Then I just blurted it out later that day.
"We had a cuddle, she went away and came back with the phone and said ‘the police want to talk to you.’” Kevin will be one of four victims seen sharing their testimonies at the start and end of each episode of The Reckoning.
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Opposed to the drama until he realised it was focussing on the victims, he continues: “When I watched the show, it was horrifying. It’s so realistic, I was shaking and sweating. It was like watching Savile himself - it was almost like he had come back from the dead.
“I know lots of people will watch this drama and I hope it means more people will be encouraged to come forward, to share their stories and get help. I want people to know that just telling someone can make a difference. It doesn’t have to be the police or authorities, it can be a friend.
“Just tell someone and get it off your chest and you’ll feel better for it. Even after all these years it still helps me to speak out about it. I’m so glad I took part in the series.”
Kevin has good reason to think the show will help sex abuse victims as, last year, an interview he gave in a German newspaper encouraged a victim of sexual abuse within their family to come forward. He says: “I was blown away.”
Kevin, who accepted an apology from then BBC Director General Tony Hall in 2016 for what happened and was thrilled when he arranged a visit to the Match Of The Day studio for him, where he met Gary Linekar, Ian Wright and others, says watching a preview of The Reckoning with his wife was “very difficult.”
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Describing Steve Coogan’s portrayal of Savile, who died in 2011, as “terrifyingly realistic,” he says: “Now it would bring me closure if the man who abused me with Savile was caught and finally brought to justice.”
The Reckoning, BBC One, Monday, October 9, 9pm, and on iPlayer
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