Savile: Celebs 'Frightened By Police Probe'

Major stars from the 60s and 70s are terrified of being named in connection with the Jimmy Savile child abuse scandal, according to PR guru Max Clifford.

Mr Clifford told Sky News that up to 15 celebrities in Britain and beyond had been in touch with him in recent days to express their fears.

The stars are concerned because of their hedonistic lifestyles when they were at the peak of their fame, when young girls would throw themselves at them, he said.

His comments came as the Savile family released a lengthy statement expressing their horror at the revelations.

Mr Clifford told Sky: "In the last few days, I have had an awful lot of calls and expect to get a lot more - some from very famous people who in the 60s and 70s were in the middle of this music explosion in this country.

"I'm very close friends with a lot of these people and have been for 40 to 50 years. I am in the middle of the media world so I'm the first person they turn to.

"Their lives often depend on popularity and public perception. There are a lot of things that get put out there that have nothing to do with reality but can be very damaging.

"They are all saying that they were totally unaware and they themselves have never done anything remotely like Jimmy Savile. Naturally they are concerned because names are being mentioned - 95% of it is total nonsense but it is happening."

He added: "If you're 19 or 20 and suddenly you become a pop star and a dozen girls burst into your dressing room... you don't actually sit there and ask for birth certificates."

Mr Clifford said Freddie Starr was one of those who had been in touch and had called him several times.

"Freddie said to me 'look Max, I've done nothing. There's nothing I ever did but I'm worried to death, I've got a bad heart. I'm in a real state'."

He added: "There's a lot of people that are very very worried about what is going on."

Mr Clifford's comments came after The Sun newspaper reported that Savile allegedly molested a teenage girl live on TV in 1976.

The woman, then aged 19, was allegedly attacked by Savile during an episode of Top Of The Pops.

The woman, named by the newspaper as Sylvia Edwards, approached a BBC producer immediately after the alleged incident, but was reportedly told to "get lost".

"I felt so embarrassed and ashamed because it was live on TV and all my friends and family were watching," she told the newspaper.

"The worst thing was that he was so casual when he did it. He was committing a sexual assault live on the BBC and no one gave a damn."

Scotland Yard has said their investigation into accusations of abuse by Savile, who died in 2011, now involves around 300 potential victims.

Police have described him as a sexual predator who could have been one of the most prolific paedophiles Britain has ever seen.

The scandal erupted after an ITV documentary at the start of this month broadcast allegations by a string of women who said the Jim'll Fix It star had assaulted them.

It has since emerged that seven alleged victims contacted four separate police forces - Surrey, London, Sussex and Jersey - while he was alive but no further action was taken.

A retired police officer has also told Scotland Yard that he investigated Savile in the 1980s while based in west London but did not have enough evidence to proceed.

Commander Peter Spindler said he believed the allegation was of an indecent assault, possibly in a caravan on BBC premises in west London, but officers have still not found the original file.

Another allegation, of inappropriate touching dating back to the 1970s, was made by a woman in 2003, but this was treated as "intelligence" by police because the victim did not want to take action.

Surrey Police submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service containing references to four potential offences, including an allegation of indecent assault on a young girl at a children's home.

The allegations related to three potential victims in Surrey and another in Sussex, and Savile was interviewed under caution in 2009, but prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

The seventh allegation emerged in 2008 when Jersey police received a claim that an indecent assault occurred at children's home Haut de la Garenne in the 1970s.

Again it was decided that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

Mr Spindler said Savile was "undoubtedly" one of the most prolific sex offenders he had come across and that Operation Yewtree, looking into his alleged crimes, would be a "watershed moment" for child abuse investigations.

Claims have also been made that former DJ Savile, who died last year aged 84, targeted children while they were in hospital.

He had a bedroom at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, an office and living quarters at Broadmoor and widespread access to Leeds General Infirmary.