Behind the Bastards Episode: Part One: Jimmy Savile: Britain's Unending Nightmare Date: April 14, 2026 Host: Robert Evans | Guests: Courtney Kosak, James Stout

Episode Overview

This episode launches a two-part exploration into the early life and rise of Jimmy Savile, the infamous British DJ and television personality whose monstrous crimes only fully emerged after his death. Robert Evans and co-hosts Courtney Kosak and James Stout trace Savile’s formative years, family background, and unique trajectory into British pop culture—and examine how his disturbing behaviors and attitudes were evident long before his crimes came to light. The episode adopts a critical, irreverent tone, focusing on the societal and personal factors that shaped Savile into one of history's most notorious predators.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Jimmy Savile: Ubiquity and Oblivion

• Savile’s Fame: “He was everything in UK pop culture for quite a while. He started out as a DJ...he was the face of the BBC. Do you know anything about this guy?” (Robert Evans, 02:27)
• Comparison to Epstein: “He’s kind of like the British Jeffrey Epstein...” (Robert Evans, 04:04)
• The ‘Nobody Knew’ Myth: The hosts clarify the misconception that Savile’s predation was hidden: “It was entirely obvious the whole time...there actually was never any excuse for people to be surprised that Jimmy Savile was a massive sex pest.” (Robert Evans, 04:48)

2. The Era’s Enabling Culture

• Sexual Norms: The music and TV industries were rife with underage sexual exploitation, often normalized by varying ages of consent and social attitudes. “...He is a guy who comes of age in an era where it’s really easy for men of fame to have access to a lot of teenage girls consequence-free.” (Robert Evans, 06:25)
• Cultural Camouflage: Savile’s offenses were partially enabled by these flexible norms—he shifted from “gross guy in an industry of gross guys” to a unique predator as societal attitudes evolved.

3. Early Life and Family Background [11:51–23:07]

• Childhood Illness/Mythmaking: Savile crafted a dramatic story of his sickly infancy, culminating in the infamous “mirror and pee” anecdote, though his mother’s account was much less sensational. “That’s weird.” (Courtney Kosak, 14:45)
• Family Dynamics: Presented himself as the “Not Again” accident child, though sibling testimony contradicts this—he was doted on as a “miracle baby.”
• Religious Upbringing: Raised extremely Catholic, never missing Mass, with hints of unexplored “guilt” in family lore.

4. Early Exposure to Crime & Oddness

• Father’s Influence: Savile’s father worked for a small-time bookie, exposing Jimmy to the underworld’s structure and culture.
• First Jobs & Personality:
  • Wears hand-me-down clothes; receives free milk/malt at school for health.
  • Early introduction to criminal and deviant circles through ballroom work: “I was the confidant of murderers, whores, black marketeers…” (Jimmy Savile, via autobiography, 35:05)

5. The War Years: Self-Invention and Moral Detachment [28:24–44:43]

• Early Hustling: As WWII depletes the male population, Savile takes up minor black marketeering at age 14.
• Ballroom Work: Begins as a drummer—illegally underage, but finds validation and a sense of specialness from breaking rules and skirting legalities.
• Disturbing Fascinations:
  • Claims about early “dates” with much older women—possibly a sign of early sexualization or fabrication.
  • Unsettlingly describes encountering a dismembered murder victim without emotion: “This was a whole new scene for me. I could never work out why it was necessary to cut her into bits.” (Jimmy Savile, via autobiography, 40:54)
  • “I was much more inquiring than I was affected [by death during the war].” (Jimmy Savile, via autobiography, 43:42)

6. Becoming a ‘Bevan Boy’: Fact and Fiction

• Myth of the Coal Mines: Savile extensively mythologized his years as a coal miner, but details frequently don’t add up. “He gives different dates for when this mining accident happened. Every time he talks about it, he claims to be a different age when this happens.” (Robert Evans, 51:00)
• Oddness as Power: An infamous coal mining anecdote—spending shifts naked to save his suit and freak out co-workers—becomes a symbolic path to “specialness”:
  • “I realized that being a bit odd meant there could be a payday.” (Jimmy Savile to Dan Davies, 50:09)
  • “He wants to scare them...they won't pay attention to him.” (Robert Evans, 51:32)

7. Early Signs of Sexual Predation & Manipulation [55:32–56:17]

• Hypnotism Episode: Savile claims to have used hypnotism to undress a woman in front of others—“the first story Jimmy gives us of him doing something really sexually questionable.” (Robert Evans, 55:00)
• Normalization of Harmful Behavior: Describes this behavior as a sign of “the unpermissive times”—in reality, “No, Jimmy, that's just weird.” (Robert Evans, 55:11)

8. The DJ and the Psychology of Control [59:39–62:25]

• First DJ Set: The act of making people dance at his mother’s Catholic social club event fuels his obsession with control—not music.
  • "I felt this amazing...Effect could be nearer. What I was doing was causing 12 people to do something...That one person, me, was doing something to all these people. And that's really the thing that triggered me off and sustained me for the rest of my days." (Jimmy Savile, early autobiography quote, 60:20–61:16)
  • “His ego is entirely too inflated for being a DJ. Are you kidding me?” (Courtney Kosak, 61:16)
  • “Jimmy is always very clear. He doesn't care about the art. He’s not at all interested in this as a creative endeavor. He likes being a DJ because you get to make people do stuff.” (Robert Evans, 61:57)

9. Professional Athlete and Public Persona [64:26–68:43]

• Cycling Career: Attempts pro-cycling in the post-war period—not especially talented, but becomes known for odd, attention-seeking antics (e.g., cycling in a tuxedo, with a cigar).
• Early Signs of Manipulative Prowess: "I was forever with the gimmicks before gimmicks had ever been invented." (Jimmy Savile, quoted by Robert Evans, 67:38)
• Image: Always visibly odd—dyed white hair, strange demeanor. “You wouldn’t trust that guy with your kids, right? There’s something dangerous about that.” (Robert Evans, 67:57)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the Unspoken Norms of the Age:
  “[He] kind of comes of age as a famous person during that era where it’s really easy for men at a certain level of fame to have access to a lot of teenage girls... And then he has to figure out a way once that era ends...to continue having access to people of that age. And that’s when he goes from a really gross guy...to a unique kind of predator.” — Robert Evans (07:00)

• Savile’s Morbid Fascination:
  “This was a whole new scene for me. I could never work out why it was necessary to cut her into bits.” — Jimmy Savile, from his autobiography (40:54)
  “That’s one of the most wild, that’s one of the most fucked up things I’ve ever heard.” — James Stout (41:08)

• On His First DJ Experience:
  "I felt this amazing...effect could be nearer. What I was doing was causing 12 people to do something...That one person, me, was doing something to all these people. And that's really the thing that triggered me off and sustained me for the rest of my days.” — Jimmy Savile (61:09)

• On the Power of Oddness:
  “I realized that being a bit odd meant there could be a payday.” — Jimmy Savile, to biographer Dan Davies (50:38)

Important Timestamps

• [02:23] — Savile’s connections to every major band and his public persona
• [04:48] — The myth that ‘no one knew’ about Savile’s abuses
• [14:45] — Savile’s bizarre early stories (peeing at family gatherings, focus on genitalia)
• [35:05] — Savile’s immersion in criminal, deviant nightlife as a youth
• [40:54–41:21] — Savile’s macabre fascination with death and corpses
• [50:09–50:38] — The “naked in the coal mine” story and revelations about outlandish behavior
• [55:00–56:17] — The hypnotism story—early signs of sexual boundary violations
• [61:09–61:57] — Savile’s transparency about DJing for control, not for love of music
• [67:38–67:57] — Savile’s penchant for “gimmicks,” oddity as a public persona

Conclusion/End of Part One

• Episode closes as Savile transitions from odd, manipulative young man to the brink of major broadcast fame. His patterns of exhibitionism, thrill in crossing boundaries, and hunger for control—psychological and social—are laid bare, setting up the next episode to detail how these traits enable his later horrifying crimes.

Overall Tone & Reflections

Darkly humorous, scathing, and incredulous—often pausing to express disbelief or revulsion at Savile’s behaviors and exaggerations. The hosts repeatedly stress how obvious Savile’s predilections were in hindsight, criticizing the institutions and cultures that enabled, ignored, or excused him.

This episode is a primer on how monstrous individuals like Savile are made—not merely through their own abnormal psychology, but by the complicity, indifference, and exploitative attitudes of the world around them.