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Biography

Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG (/ˈsævɪl/; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English media personality and DJ. He hosted the BBC shows Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. During his lifetime, Savile was well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and charitable work. After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse made against him were investigated, leading the police to conclude that he had been a predatory sex offender and possibly one of Britain's most prolific. There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers were ignored or disbelieved. As a teenager during the Second World War, Savile worked in coal mines as a Bevin Boy. He began a career playing records in, and later managing, dance halls. His media career started as a disc jockey at Radio Luxembourg in 1958 and at Tyne Tees Television in 1960. From 1964 to 1988, Savile was a regular presenter on the BBC music show Top of the Pops, also co-presenting the last edition in 2006. In 1968, he began hosting his own radio shows for Radio 1, broadcasting until 1987. From 1975 to 1994, he presented Jim'll Fix It, an early Saturday evening television programme which arranged for the wishes of viewers, mainly children, to come true. During his lifetime, Savile was known for fundraising and supporting various charities and hospitals, in particular Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. In 2009, he was described by The Guardian as a "prodigious philanthropist" and was honoured for his charity work. He was awarded the OBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1990. Following his death in 2011 at the age of 84, Savile was praised in obituaries for his personal qualities and his work raising an estimated £40 million for charities. In October 2012, an ITV documentary examined claims of sexual abuse by Savile. This led to extensive media coverage and a substantial and rapidly growing body of witness statements and sexual abuse claims, including accusations against public bodies for covering up or failure of duty. Scotland Yard launched Operation Yewtree, a criminal investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by Savile spanning six decades, describing him as a "predatory sex offender", and later stated that they were pursuing more than 400 lines of inquiry based on the testimony of 300 potential victims via 14 police forces. The scandal had resulted in inquiries or reviews at the BBC, within the NHS, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Department of Health. In June 2014, investigations into Savile's activities at 28 NHS hospitals, including Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, concluded that he had sexually assaulted staff and patients aged between 5 and 75 over several decades. As a result of the scandal, some of the honours that Savile was awarded during his career were posthumously revoked and his television appearances, such as episodes of Top of the Pops that he presented, are no longer repeated.