This is why I mention Bill Wyman.

Without doubt if these allegations are true then the women, who were by definition children at the time, are victims of a crime, and should be allowed to give their version of events, perhaps even compensated to some degree, although how, I wouldn't know.

However the accused is dead, so criminal charges obviously can't be brought and the accused cannot defend himself.

But the wider issue is how this case will be treated in the media given the context of the alleged events.

How many pop stars/TV celebs from that era can safely say that every girl who was seduced by their fame and willingly offered something more than polite conversation, for no other reason than the excitement of it, was over the age of consent, even if they appeared, and maybe claimed, to be so?

The difference with the Wyman story, which was bad enough, and any other groupie tales is that many of the Savile abuses were alleged to happened at a childrens' home.

and apparently he was investigated by the police under caution but no charges were made and the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence at the time.

Anybody working with children is vunerable to accusations and investigion.

Rightly so but not 40 years later and after their deaths.

JS wasn't a cliquey BBC type and preferred the company of people he'd known a long time .. I suspect that to many at the BBC he wasn't regarded as "one of us".

As for Rantzen ... she has built the latter part of her flagging career on the back of child abuse stories and this sounds like blatent bandwaggoning on her part.
I'm sure I shan't be alone in thinking that I shall disregard Rantzen's "opinion" and wait to see the documentary.

I think it's appalling that all these women didn't bother to press charges when Jimmy Saville was alive - what has made them come forward now then, now then, now then?

Aparently the blue plaque at his flat in Scarborough has been defaced by the mob.I wonder how far this will go especially after the tv trial?I wonder if the ex cop and Rantzen are donating their fee to charity?

Whether Jimmy Saville has been guilty of anything or not I find any accusations aimed at him to carry far less weight now he is dead. Had the accusations been made while he was still alive I think they would have been a lot more credible. For every POSSIBLE victim of Jimmy Saville I would think there are 20 times that trying to jump aboard the media witchunt for purely financial reasons. I will watch the programme which may change my opinion of Jimmy Saville, what it may never do is convince me he committed the horrendous crimes some people are claiming.

There were rumors on this very board about some of his dodgy goings on way before he died. Its certainly not only happened since he died.

There Is also plenty of examples where people are afraid of coming forward about abuse because they live in fear of their abuser or that they won't be believed. I imagine that the magnitude of those fears would be greater still if the abuser was a high profile personality loved by millions.

If he has abused people when they were kids they will have been living with it for 30 years and it may only be now that they feel comfortable enough to talk about it.

What will be interesting is how much money will be left in his estate given that its all being donated to his various charities.

What will be interesting is how the police can investigate alleged crimes that happened thirty or more years ago when it will be impossible to collate a balanced viewpoint.

What will be interesting is whether or not any of his alleged victims are brazen enough to sue a charity for compensation from his estate.

i read in one of the papers that his influence at the time was so strong that no one dared to say anything but jonathan king was also huge during that period but was sucesfully prosecuited
surely if there was that much evidence against him then he could and should have stood trial but these ' victims' decide to wait till offered a chance to air their unsupported views via the media to say something