For 20 years, Jimmy Savile's children's show was a highlight of Saturday night family TV on the BBC. But now, British police say 300 people have come forward with claims that Savile abused them during his 60-year broadcasting career. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.
By Reuters
LONDON -- British police arrested comedian Freddie Starr on Thursday as part of an investigation triggered by allegations that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of children, according to media reports.
Photoshot via Getty Images, file
Police said in a statement they had arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of sex offenses. The man was identified by Sky News and ITV News as Starr, who earlier had offered to talk to police.
The allegations have shaken Britain's state-funded broadcaster, with hundreds of people now coming forward to report abuse dating back over several decades by Savile, a household name in Britain.
Lawyers representing some of the victims have said their clients indicated an organized pedophile ring involving celebrities existed at the BBC during the height of Savile's fame in the 1970s and 1980s.
Scandal
On Sunday, police arrested glam rock singer and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter, born Paul Gadd, as part of the Savile investigation. He was released on bail.
Latest allegation: BBC star took teen girls to hospital staff rooms
BBC Director General George Entwistle and his predecessor, Mark Thompson, incoming chief executive officer of the New York Times Co., have come under heavy criticism for their handling of suspicions about Savile.
At a recent parliamentary hearing, Entwistle rejected claims that BBC bosses tried to hide allegations against Savile or suppressed an inquiry by one of their own news programs.
Thompson, who was still director general in late 2011 when BBC's Newsnight shelved a report investigating the allegations against Savile, has said he did not know about the program's investigation and had no involvement in the decision to ax the report.
The scandal has attracted attention in the United States, where Thompson's appointment at The New York Times has been questioned by senior journalists at the newspaper, who have accused him of involvement in a cover-up to protect his former employer's reputation.
Police believe former TV star Jimmy Savile, a national icon, may have been one of Britain's worst pedophile offenders. Some of Savile's alleged 300 victims had appeared on his TV shows. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.
Thompson has said he had approached his new employers to explain his role at the BBC and why he had not dealt with such an issue, despite being the director general and editor-in-chief of the world-renowned organization.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the sex abuse allegations leave the BBC and other institutions with serious questions to answer.
The revelations have shocked fans of the once highly popular Savile, who died last year at the age of 84.
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Estate frozen
In a sign of preparation for claims, his 4.3 million pound ($6.93 million) estate has been frozen in response to the allegations.
Starr, 69, has publicly denied one allegation linked to a show Savile presented in the 1970s.
"I'm being persecuted by the press saying that I have been with underage girls and I haven't - never will I go with underage girls," Starr told the BBC last month.
"I'm totally innocent. Totally innocent. I would never go with a girl like that ... I hope they question me, I want to clear my name. I've got nothing to hide."
The comedian, singer and impressionist was the subject of one of Britain's best-known tabloid newspaper headlines: "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster."
The fictitious story in the top-selling Sun newspaper involved Starr eating a woman's pet hamster after she refused to make him a sandwich.
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