From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Page semi-protected Savile in July 2006, attending the Highland games in Lochaber In September and October 2012, almost a year after his death, allegations that the English DJ and BBC television presenter Sir Jimmy Savile (1926–2011) had sexually abused under-age adolescent and prepubescent girls and boys, and adults, became widely publicised. By 11 October 2012 allegations had been made to 13 British police forces,[1] and led to the setting up of inquiries into practices at the BBC, and within the National Health Service. On 19 October the Metropolitan Police Service launched a formal criminal investigation, Operation Yewtree, into historic allegations of child sexual abuse by Savile and other people, some of whom were still living, over four decades. They stated that they were pursuing over 400 separate lines of inquiry, based on evidence of 200 witnesses, via 14 police forces across the UK. They described the alleged abuse as being "on an unprecedented scale", and the number of potential victims as "staggering".[2][3] By 19 December, eight people had been questioned as part of the investigation. The Metropolitan Police stated that the total number of alleged victims was 589, of whom 450 alleged abuse by Savile, and that the report of their investigations would be published early in 2013.[4][5] Much of Savile's career involved working with children and young people, including visiting schools and hospital wards. He spent 20 years presenting Top of the Pops before a teenage audience, and another 20 years presenting Jim'll Fix It—in which he helped the wishes of viewers, mainly children, come true. During his lifetime, two police investigations had looked into reports about Savile with the earliest known being in 1958, but none had led to charges; the reports had each concluded that there was insufficient evidence for any charges to be brought related to sexual offences.[6][7][8] In October 2012 it was announced that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, would investigate why proceedings against Savile in 2009 were dropped.