Inside Jimmy Savile's warped bond with suspicious mum whose corpse he kept
Jimmy Savile's sickening crimes are retold tonight in the new chilling BBC drama The Reckoning - which uncovers how the disgraced DJ got away with abusing victims from as young as five years old for more than 50 years.
Behind the friendly front, Savile used his showbiz status for evil, and later became known as one of the most prolific paedophiles in history. He sexually abused hundreds of victims, but the full scandal only came to light after his death in 2011, when more than 200 witnesses came forward and police opened up 400 investigations.
When he was alive, the entertainer, who died aged 84, faced multiple allegations of sexual offences, however they were all dismissed. He even made disturbing jokes about the rumours in live interviews.
But his own mother, Agnes, had doubts about Savile, and as depicted in The Reckoning, she was troubled by him and confided to a priest about the 'darkness' she saw within her son. Executive producer of the drama, Jeff Pope, said: "[Writer] Neil [McKay] discovered and worked into the script how complicated Savile's relationship with his mother was, and how she had grave doubts about him.
Gemma Jones stars as Jimmy Savile's mum Agnes in The Reckoning (BBC/ITV Studios/Matt Squire)"Over time, as Savile became so wealthy and successful, he swept her doubts away. Gemma [Jones] had to play that and I was actually nervous when I was watching it because had we not have had someone like Gemma, who had so much depth and nuance in her performance, that wouldn't have been pulled off and it would have damaged the piece."
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As the youngest of seven children, Savile claimed to not have had much of a childhood, and in his adult years, yearned the affection and approval of his mother, Agnes, whom he affectionately called The Duchess. Raised as part of a Roman Catholic family, he had four older sisters and two brothers, and described himself as his parents' 'not again child'.
With Agnes having Savile just before she turned 40, it is said that he was neither planned nor wanted. Speaking to journalist Dan Davies while interviewing for his book, Savile commented: "I grew up with adults, which meant I didn't have anything to say. I finished up with big ears, listening to everything, and big eyes, watching everything, and a brain that wondered why grown-ups did what they did."
Savile with English actress Anita Harris and his mother Agnes on 5th November 1968 (Getty Images)When his father, Vincent Joseph Marie Savile, a bookmaker's clerk, died, he made attempts to form a bond with his mum. Wanting to keep a close eye on her, he bought Agnes a flat on Scarborough's Esplanade. They attended church on Sundays and frequently holidayed together, including a trip to Rome. And she was by his side when he collected his OBE in 1971 at Buckingham Palace.
Savile routinely stayed with her at the flat until she died, and it is where he continued to live following her passing. Savile admitted to spending five days with her corpse in an open coffin. His possessive hold over her was exposed after her death, when he said she was the "only true love of his life, the only woman I ever loved" and described his unusual vigil as "the best five days of my life".
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He added: "Once upon a time I had to share her with other people. We had marvellous times. But when she was dead she was all mine, for me." Savile left her bedroom as it was, and kept it as a shrine to his late mother, which was showcased in a 2000 documentary with Louise Theroux, where he was given a tour around the flat.
The documentary maker was shown the wardrobe which still had all of her clothes in it. "My cleaner takes them out and gets them freshened up about once a year," Savile told him. "These make better souvenirs than photographs," he added.
Although deceased, he continued to greet her when he entered the flat. "When I come in, I always go...When I'm coming through the door, I go, 'All right, darling?'... as I walk past the door," he said. "It's a friendly thing, it's not morbid." Savile also claimed that the pair "never argued."
Despite the pair growing closer in later life, it was evident she kept her distance, as in a chilling interview with the Sunday People three months before his death, the monster revealed that Agnes was wary of him. "My mother never got round to being proud," he said. "If anyone said, 'What is Jimmy like?' she would say, 'I don't know what he's up to, but he's up to something'. She never trusted me as she thought I was going to get nicked and end up in the pokey."
* The Reckoning returns to BBC One on Tuesday at 9pm
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