Inside Jimmy Savile's friendship with Yorkshire Ripper as Portrait of a Predator documentary airs tonight

A new hour-long documentary about prolific sex offender Jimmy Savile – who was friends with Peter Sutcliffe – will air on ITV tonight (October 7).
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‘Savile: Portrait of a Predator’ will feature key witnesses and detectives involved in the case, and will dig deep into the world of the depraved abuser, who used his fame and influence to gain access to vulnerable women and girls.

The highly anticipated documentary will air at 9pm tonight.

Described on the programme as ‘an abuser first and a celebrity second’ by a former detective to worked on Operation Yewtree, the former ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ star died ten years ago this year.

Jimmy Savile (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)Jimmy Savile (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Jimmy Savile (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
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Operation Yewtree was the investigation into sexual abuse allegations against children that eventually led to the imprisonment of Jimmy savile and 18 other men.

However, the truth about Savile was only made public after the former entertainer’s death.

An ITV spokesperson said: “This new documentary for ITV explores how Jimmy Savile - now recognised as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders - engineered his career and lifestyle to abuse and escape detection.

“Savile's decades-long career of abuse seriously affected the reputation of those who failed to stop him - most notably the BBC, hospital trusts and the police - once the truth emerged widely after his death ten years ago.

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“Seen through the eyes of those who worked alongside him and investigated him after his death ten years ago, this programme features new testimony from those who were victims and who bore witness to his crimes, while providing a vivid insight into how he courted the Establishment as a way of protecting himself.”

Following the death of Peter Sutcliffe last month, rumours emerged that Savile and ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’ had been friends.

Serial killer Sutcliffe – who was finally arrested in Sheffield after being pulled over for driving with false number plates – is believed to have struck up a friendship with Savile when the latter was visiting Broadmoor hospital, where the killer was incarcerated.

Professor David Wilson a former prison officer and head of criminology at Birmingham University, told The Mirror: “Sutcliffe’s death leaves a number of issues unresolved, including murders that he could be linked to that were never proven, both in this country and abroad, and in relation to his relationship with Jimmy Savile.”