Home
Politics
A day earlier, actor William Roache, who has played Ken Barlow in the world's longest-running soap opera "Coronation Street" for more than half a century, was charged with two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl dating back to 1967.
Roache, 81, said Thursday he was "astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours" and said he "strenuously" denied the allegations.
The charges against the two men are not related to Savile, a household name for three decades in Britain as a DJ and TV presenter, who has been the focus of hundreds of allegations of rape and indecent assault, many of them concerning under-age girls, since his death in October 2011.
Yet they do involve allegations dating back decades involving stars now in the twilight of their careers.
The assaults Hall has admitted to concern 13 victims and took place between 1967 and 1985, when he regularly appeared on television in Britain.
Hall's victims did not know each other but "almost all of the victims, including one who was only nine at the time of the assault, provided strikingly similar accounts", said Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for northwest England.
"Whether in public or private, Hall would first approach under friendly pretences and then bide his time until the victim was isolated. He can only be described as an opportunistic predator," he added.
Hall had previously denied the assaults and described them as "pernicious, callous, cruel and above all spurious."
But he admitted the 14 offences in a court hearing in April although the details could not be reported until Thursday. He will be sentenced on June 17.
Hall did not comment as he left Preston Crown Court in northwest England after a hearing on Thursday, but his lawyer said he wanted to apologise to his victims.
Crispin Aylett said: "He is not a man easily moved to self pity but he is all too aware that his disgrace is complete."
Known for his florid descriptive style, scattered with allusions to literary classics, Hall was in recent years a familiar voice on BBC radio commentating on English Premier League football but has not worked for the corporation since the allegations first emerged.
The Savile scandal led to the resignation of the corporation's director-general and fevered soul-searching at the world's biggest broadcaster.
A report into staff behaviour at the BBC commissioned after the scandal concluded on Thursday that sexual harassment was rare, but bullying was a "very real concern".
It said bullying was not "pervasive or endemic" but was nonetheless "visible, frequent and consistent".
The review was ordered after revelations that Savile had abused children throughout his career, including on BBC premises. It was later widened to include behaviour in the workplace.
The current director-general Tony Hall said parts of the report made for "uncomfortable reading".
"We need to be honest about our shortcomings and single-minded in addressing them," he said.
"I want zero tolerance of bullying and a culture where people feel able to raise concerns and have the confidence that they will be dealt with appropriately."
Hall said the BBC would no longer include so-called "gagging clauses" in new contracts to make it easier for staff to speak out about abuses.
The police investigation set up in the wake of the Savile allegations has led to charges of indecent assault being laid against top British publicist Max Clifford, a man more accustomed to keeping his clients names out of the media than becoming the story himself.
However the charges, which Clifford denies, are unrelated to Savile's alleged offences.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roache, 81, said Thursday he was "astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours" and said he "strenuously" denied the allegations.
The charges against the two men are not related to Savile, a household name for three decades in Britain as a DJ and TV presenter, who has been the focus of hundreds of allegations of rape and indecent assault, many of them concerning under-age girls, since his death in October 2011.
Yet they do involve allegations dating back decades involving stars now in the twilight of their careers.
The assaults Hall has admitted to concern 13 victims and took place between 1967 and 1985, when he regularly appeared on television in Britain.
Hall's victims did not know each other but "almost all of the victims, including one who was only nine at the time of the assault, provided strikingly similar accounts", said Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for northwest England.
"Whether in public or private, Hall would first approach under friendly pretences and then bide his time until the victim was isolated. He can only be described as an opportunistic predator," he added.
Hall had previously denied the assaults and described them as "pernicious, callous, cruel and above all spurious."
But he admitted the 14 offences in a court hearing in April although the details could not be reported until Thursday. He will be sentenced on June 17.
Hall did not comment as he left Preston Crown Court in northwest England after a hearing on Thursday, but his lawyer said he wanted to apologise to his victims.
Crispin Aylett said: "He is not a man easily moved to self pity but he is all too aware that his disgrace is complete."
Known for his florid descriptive style, scattered with allusions to literary classics, Hall was in recent years a familiar voice on BBC radio commentating on English Premier League football but has not worked for the corporation since the allegations first emerged.
The Savile scandal led to the resignation of the corporation's director-general and fevered soul-searching at the world's biggest broadcaster.
A report into staff behaviour at the BBC commissioned after the scandal concluded on Thursday that sexual harassment was rare, but bullying was a "very real concern".
It said bullying was not "pervasive or endemic" but was nonetheless "visible, frequent and consistent".
The review was ordered after revelations that Savile had abused children throughout his career, including on BBC premises. It was later widened to include behaviour in the workplace.
The current director-general Tony Hall said parts of the report made for "uncomfortable reading".
"We need to be honest about our shortcomings and single-minded in addressing them," he said.
"I want zero tolerance of bullying and a culture where people feel able to raise concerns and have the confidence that they will be dealt with appropriately."
Hall said the BBC would no longer include so-called "gagging clauses" in new contracts to make it easier for staff to speak out about abuses.
The police investigation set up in the wake of the Savile allegations has led to charges of indecent assault being laid against top British publicist Max Clifford, a man more accustomed to keeping his clients names out of the media than becoming the story himself.
However the charges, which Clifford denies, are unrelated to Savile's alleged offences.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
