As the BBC teen sex scandal continues to make headlines with the arrests of comedian Freddie Starr and musician Gary Glitter, "creepy" TV clips once regarded as harmless are being watched online by hundreds of thousands of disgusted viewers.
The YouTube videos — such as one which shows popular presenter Jimmy Savile and pop star Gary Glitter cuddling up to young girls on television — have been cast in a less savoury light by an ongoing police investigation into allegations Savile sexually abused as many as 300 young people over 40 years.
Savile, who died last year aged 84, was regarded as a national treasure in England. He presented Top of the Pops in the 1960s and family show Jim’ll Fix It from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Starr has denied molesting any teenage girls, but has been accused of groping a woman named Karin Ward that he tried to grope her in 1974 when she was 14 years old.
He initially denied ever meeting or appearing on Savile's 1974 BBC show Clunk Click with Ms Ward, but footage later emerged of the pair in the same shot.
Glitter was arrested in London last week on suspicion of sexual offences as part of a police investigation dubbed "Savile and others", which is expected to net more celebrities and BBC staffers in coming weeks.
The rocker's arrest came after claims he raped a 13-year-old girl in Savile's dressing room at BBC Television Centre.
Since the allegations against Savile and Glitter arose, YouTube users have vented their horror over videos featuring the pair, describing the once-loved Savile a "monster" and Glitter's dancing as "creepy".
"I wish he was alive now … And suffer the consequences of his actions, may he rot in the deepest depths of Hell," a YouTube user wrote on a video featuring Savile with his arms draped around teenage girls.
Video surfaced yesterday of Savile groping a teenager as she tried to squirm away from him on live television.
"This is sick, that poor girl," another YouTube user wrote.
"Scary how all this was kept secret until after he was dead, how he was able to do it on live tv but nobody realised what had happened, and those who did didn't care."
