Episode details

Available for over a year
Sylvia Nicol worked for 40 years at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust, she was a trustee and worked for many years as a medical secretary in the spinal unit. Mrs Nicol said knew Jimmy Savile from the early 1970s, liked him and 'can't change her mind' about him: "I'm not denying anything took place, it's not my business to know, I can only know, what I know, can’t I. I can only know that I saw a man that put hours and hours and hours of work into rebuilding a spinal centre, into helping spinal people and other people throughout this country, and I can't change my mind on that." "I can only say that I saw him do good. I can't be a judge or jury on anything else, can I, and I don’t want to be," Mrs Nicol added. A new independent report found Jimmy Savile abused 63 people connected to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, but one formal complaint was ignored. It found Savile's reputation as a "sex pest" was an "open secret" among some staff - but allegations probably did not reach managers. The formal complaint - made in 1977 by a victim's father - should have been reported to police, it added. A separate report said "elements of the Savile story" could happen again.
Programme Website