Melanie C, the 52-year-old Spice Girls star, has revealed a disturbing encounter with disgraced presenter Jimmy Savile during an appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast. She described the interaction as 'very uncomfortable' and recalled that Savile was 'almost a little bit inappropriate on the air.'
Encounter on a Breakfast Show
While discussing the Spice World film from 1997, Melanie C mentioned that she had met Savile during a breakfast show appearance. She told Theroux: 'I met Jimmy [Savile] as well. Yeah, I did one of the breakfast shows, whether it was GMT or whatever it was called at the time. And I was on the sofa next to him, and I was in the lift with him, and he made me feel very uncomfortable. I think he was even a little bit, he was quite old at the time, I think he was almost a little bit inappropriate on the air. He was just, he was him, let's not give him any airtime.'
Savile's Crimes Exposed After Death
Savile, whose crimes only came to light after his death in 2011, was the subject of one of Louis Theroux's early documentaries. In 2000, Theroux interviewed Savile across the UK, questioning him about his life and career. During the documentary, Theroux asked Savile about growing speculation that he was a paedophile. Savile replied: '[We] live in a very funny world. And it's easier for me, as a single man, to say, "I don't like children" because that puts a lot of salacious tabloid people off the hunt... How do they know whether I am [a paedophile] or not? How does anybody know whether I am? Nobody knows whether I am or not.' He then bluntly stated: 'I know I'm not.'
Theroux's Reflections on the Documentary
Since Savile's crimes were exposed, Theroux has discussed his feelings about the documentary. Speaking to the Mirror in 2020, he admitted he did not regret making the TV special but wished he had uncovered the truth. He said: 'If you're asking, "Do I wish I'd made that programme and been able to expose him?" I mean, it's a bit like saying, "Do I wish I could turn cheese into chocolate? Do I wish I could fly? Do I wish I could go back in time and predict the outcome of the World Cup and make millions of pounds?" Do I wish I could go back and expose Jimmy Savile as a sex offender? Yeah, of course. If I did that story with a time machine and I went back again, I would be armed with so much more information. But I really think that, given what we knew then, it's a piece of work that holds up.'
