Jimmy Savile

With his catchphrases include "How's about that, then?", "Now then, now then, now then", "Goodness gracious", and "Guys and gals" Jimmy Savile has been a popular radio and television personality for more than forty years.

Born in Leeds in 1926, Jimmy Savile was the youngest of 7 children. His first job at 14 was as a coalface worker, then scrap metal seller. He used to all-in wrestle two nights a week.  His first taste of the 'pop' industry was as an assistant manager for Leeds Locarno (Mecca Club).  He later shot to fame on Radio Luxembourg in the 1960's with shows Teen and Twenty Disc Club, and Guys Gals and Groups. He was voted  top British disc jockey for several years in that decade, by various magazines.

In January 1964, he presented the first edition of BBC Top of the Pops music programme on television, and was a regular presenter alongside other BBC DJs such as Pete Murray and Tony Blackburn for twenty years.

Surprisingly, Jimmy was not one of the original team of D.J.'s on the new BBC Pop station, starting instead nine months later.  Here, he originally hosted Savile's Travels, a weekly Sunday show where he travelled up and down the country with a tape recorder chatting to interesting people and playing records. In one episode, he climbed Ben Nevis in the middle of winter. From 1969 to 1973 he also fronted Speakeasy,  an hour long young peoples' uninhibited discussion programme interspersed with music. The show dealt with serious issues such as war, education, health and religion and politics.

From October 1973 Jimmy presented the radio show he became famous for, the Sunday Afternoon Double Top Ten show, where as the name suggests, Jimmy would play two top ten charts from years previous with a nice bit of chat in between. He awarded 'points' to listeners should they be able to guess correct artistes and titles of the records played. Renamed  The Old Record Club in 1978, with a theme tune The In Crowd by the Ramsey Lewis Trio it ran until 1987.

By 1975 he was fronting the popular Saturday Jim'll Fix It show on BBC1 which was to run for nineteen years.  Besides his TV and radio work Jimmy has carried out a considerable amount of charity work, including raising money for the Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he also worked as a volunteer porter.

aside from his TV and radio work Jimmy has carried out a considerable amount of charity work, including raising money for the Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he also worked as a volunteer porter. For years, he was the honorary president of Phab and has "helped raise" over £40,000,000. Savile is also well known for running marathons (many of them again for Phab, including their annual half marathon around Hyde Park).