A Dream Best Not Realised.
Not Sending the Letter.
Most people of a certain age will remember either thinking about, or actually putting pen to paper, and writing to a man who could make our dreams come true. That man was Jimmy Saville, and the show ‘Jim’ll Fix It.’ From meeting Doctor Who in his Tardis, to taking a teacher out for dinner. My own wish was far more simple, I wanted to work on the checkouts at Tesco on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield. I was obsessed with tills, and I still am. Not the dull modern day scanners, but clicky buttons and LED numbers. I longed to slide cans of beans, and loaves of bread along the conveyor belt.
I didn’t write in, maybe I was scarred from sending in an answer on a postcard to Tiswas. A vivid memory of sitting crossed legged in front of the TV convinced they’d pick mine out of the bin bag. Alas it was not to be, and I was left deflated and a little bit cross. This disappointment was later confounded by my failing to get my ‘work of art’ onto Tony Hart’s gallery…..hmmph! I digress…
That I didn’t write that letter, that the imaginary letter didn’t get picked and that a film crew didn’t hoik it up to Sheffield just to watch a seven year old use a till, was probably for the best given what we know now.
The Reckoning.
Currently available on BBC1 is the disturbing dramatisation of the crimes of Jimmy Saville. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to watch ‘The Reckoning,’ I had already endured the documentary (which I recommend you don’t watch before bedtime, I did and nightmares ensued). But, I love Steve Coogan and I was interested to see how he portrayed the man who was almost a walking caricature of himself. He is incredible, somehow he manages to step into those monstrous shoes and never make you feel he’s ‘doing an impression,’ he is him, to the point where at times I had to remind myself what the real Jimmy Saville looked like.
Aside from Steve Coogan, it was really good to hear and see the victims have their say. Saville had died by the time the full horrors of his crimes were taken seriously, so they never got their day in court. One of the take aways from the documentary and the dramatisation is that despite decades of suspicion and whispers in the entertainment industry, and at least one victim reporting his crimes, nothing was ever done to hold him accountable.
In a recent Dispatches episodes, allegations of sexual abuse and rape were investigated against another television presenter, Russell Brand. More whispers in TV studios and green rooms, more potential victims having to hide in the shadows unable to show their faces. Why, people ask, did they not report these things to the police at the time? Watch The Reckoning and it will answer that question. Mere mortals more often than not, are not believed. When you have no power and not enough money to fight in courts, and worse still, the likelihood that you will be portrayed as an attention seeker, liar or out for money. Why would you add all that pain to the horror you have already endured? Powerful figures have all the weapons, the victims are armed with finger guns and paper planes.
Eventually I did have some success in my childhood TV endeavours. Dialling 01 811 8055 until my fingers hurt got me on both Saturday Superstore and Going Live, asking Sarah Green and Mike Read ‘Who chooses your clothes you wear on television’ (clearly a career in investigative journalism beckoned for me…) and a little more cheekily, to Michael Grade, ‘When you ban records like ‘Relax’ don’t you think even more children will want to listen to it?’ I still remember his wry smile as he politely defended the decision.
I came away from The Reckoning and the Dispatches documentary thinking this. There will always be predators among us, nothing will change that. What can change is the environment in which they operate, and the power they are given to thrive. Just like bullies in the playground, it’s not the victim’s responsibility to stop them, it’s those that stand around watching that need to speak up.
Sally-Anne x
‘The Home’ now available to pre-order.
My second novel, ‘The Home’ is now available to pre-order in paperback HERE. Or Kindle HERE. Published on the 31st of October 2023.
After another disastrous relationship, single-mum Samantha just wants a fresh start — for her and her teenage daughter and best friend, Lily.
Samantha accepts a post as matron in an exclusive residential home on the outskirts of a quiet village in the Peak District. But nothing is as it seems at the Hallow Croft residential home. Forty years ago, a girl was killed in the grounds. One of the residents is kept locked away from the others — ‘for their own safety’.
The previous matron disappeared. The only trace of her now is a scuffed diary. People even say a local coven of witches cursed the home and the Shuttleworth family who owns it. And now Samantha’s daughter might be the curse’s next victim.
If you enjoy Freida McFadden, B.A. Paris, Valerie Keogh and Patricia MacDonald, you will love The Home. Gripping and totally addictive, you’ll be hooked from the first page.
