Alex Constantine - November 16, 2012
Photo: Jimmy Savile and Dave Lee Travis
Nov. 16, 2012
British Radio and TV host Dave Lee Travis was reportedly arrested on Thursday in connection with a police investigation into allegations against the BBC’s once-celebrated children’s presenter Jimmy Savile, several media outlets reported.
Police said that they were holding a man in his 60s on suspicion of sexual offenses, but did not release his name, AFP reports. Several media outlets, including the BBC, have confirmed that the man in custody was Travis — who went by the nicknames the Hairy Cornflake and DLT — most famous for his show on BBC Radio 1 during the 1970s and 1980s.
It has not been specified whether Travis will face any accusations of pedophilia, but AFP adds that in recent weeks two women have alleged that Travis groped them in the 1970s. Travis has denied such allegations. (In an odd twist, AFP also reported that Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi had recently praised the radio host, noting that his shows, distributed through the BBC World Service, helped her get through more than two decades under house arrest. Suu Kyi met with Travis in June.)
The arrests come as part of an ongoing investigation into Savile, who died in October of 2011, and allegations that he’d used his fame to prey on hundreds of young girls. The broadcaster itself has come under fire, with many questioning how much BBC executives knew about Savile’s alleged activities, and when. This week police also revealed that the number of victims relating to the Savile probe has risen to 450 from the initial 300 they had estimated last month.
Convicted pedophile and pop star Gary Glitter, comedian Freddie Star and BBC producer Wilfred De’Ath have also been arrested in connection with the investigation.
