Jimmy Savile: ‘I Fixed It For The Russians!’
After Sunday’s revelation that Gordon Ramsay is a serving member of the Territorial SAS, the world of London celebrity has been left reeling from a second shock this morning. Only days since he walked from the stage on the very last Top of the Pops, Sir Jimmy Savile (57) revealed that he has been working for the KGB for nearly forty years.
From a luxury jacuzzi in BBC Centre, a clearly relaxed Savile was able to tell his story in full for the very first time. ‘Now then, now then, now then,’ he told waiting reporters, ‘Sir Jim was indeed a deep cover op-er-a-tive, and, as it happens, if anybody had bothered to look, they would have seen the clues… Ho, ho, ho… Did nobody wonder what “Jim Fixed it For Me†really meant?’
Savile went on to explain the meaning of the cryptic phrase. ‘If you Doctors of the Alphabet rearrange those letters, you would get “Red Jimmie†and “Fit Foxâ€, you see… The “Red Jimmie†is me, Sir James – cough spit polish gold medal from the Queen – and the “Fit Fox†was the codename my handler chose for me after he saw me run my very first marathon for the good people at Stoke Newington Hospital.’
A devoted marathon runner in his younger days, it has been calculated that Sir Jimmy has run twice around world, though he confesses that only during one of those circuits did he visit Russia. He also denies passing any state secrets to his handlers. ‘My job, as it happens, was to fix it for the good people in the Soviet Union to contact any boys and girls who might be corrupted by a cheap badge on a piece of ribbon. Now then, these boys and girls would grow up and become people of some re-spon-si-bil-ity and it was Uncle James’ job to make sure that they would remember who got them where they were.’ Sucking on a his trademark cigar, he confessed: ‘It was the classic KGB honeytrap.’
Savile took care to explain every detail of his recruitment. ‘It was the glorious days of the Cold War, and you could still be a spy and wear a gold tracksuit. I was hosting an early episode of Top of the Pops when Kim Philby turned up. He was the chief music correspondent for The Times and had come to see a set by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mitch and Tich. I didn’t know it then, but they were all working for the KGB, except for Mitch who was an MI6 man. What else can I say? Kim promised me cigars! We kept in contact even after his defected to Russia. A lovely chap. I always sent him the latest ELO album every Christmas.’
Asked if he ever really believed in the communist ethos, Sir Jimmy laughed. ‘Ho, ho, ho… Sir Jim only believes in the power of disco, you see… I did everything else for the cigars and the ladies. You know they cost nearly ten shillings each? That’s each cigar, not each lady. Goodness gracious me!’
As reporters left him to soak, he promised to name more names in the coming week. ‘I know all the secrets,’ he said as the bubbles started to rise about his cigar. ‘Dave Lee Travis is a trained Columbian hitman and The Dave Clark Five used to topple governments for the CIA.’
