Jimmy Savile was one of the most private celebrities because, as we later found out, he had a lot to hide.
The Leeds-born TV presenter and one of Britain's most prolific sexual abusers is the subject of Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, released on Netflix today. The two-part documentary examines how Savile got away with abusing as many as 1,000 boys, girls and vulnerable adults, often in plain sight.
There is a lot we will never know about it him; he was as unfathomable and he was callous. Some of the most popular questions we can answer, however, are how wealthy he was and who inherited his small fortune.
We can also answer, as we do below, two more questions you've been asking: did Savile have a state funeral and what was inscribed on his headstone before it was vandalised and removed shortly after the extent of his abuse was revealed.
Was Jimmy Savile rich?
Yes. His estate was worth approximately £4.3m when he died in 2011. It included his penthouse overlooking Roundhay Park, a flat on Scarborough's famous Esplanade, a cottage at Glencoe, Scotland and a Rolls Royce with the personalised plate JS 247.
Who inherited Jimmy Savile's estate?
After expenses, his estate was worth £3.3m. A few friends and relatives named in Savile's will received small amounts of money.
Savile left the remainder, and the bulk of his estate, to the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust which he had established in 1985. The trust raised money for various charities, particularly those aimed at relieving poverty and illness. The trust had a balance of £3.6m when Savile's crimes were revealed in an ITV documentary broadcast 11 months after his death.
The balance was awarded to various charities before it closed in 2017. £1.15m of Savile's personal fortune was used to compensate some of his victims.
It had been alleged law firms representing claimants and involved with the Savile compensation scheme had received the majority of Savile's estate. This was estimated to total £2.5m.
Did Jimmy Savile have a state funeral?
No, but his body was laid in state in the main bar of Leeds' famous Queens Hotel before it was transferred in a golden coffin via Leeds General Infirmary to St Anne's Cathedral. Mourners lined the streets of Leeds city centre while his funeral service was attended by celebrities including ex-boxer Frank Bruno and DJ Mike Read. He was buried at Woodlands Cemetery, Scarborough, encased in concrete with his coffin angled at 45 degrees so he could 'view' the sea.
The memorial was vandalised after his crimes were revealed and, at his family's request, the headstones were removed and later smashed and thrown into landfill. Today his grave is unmarked.
What did Jimmy Savile's gravestone say?
The headstones contained two poems, both composed rather clunkily. The one on the front described his achievements while the one on the back explained why he had chosen the location and the unusual angle for his coffin.
Lines include: "A legend and a one-off there's no mystery to unravel/This miner, DJ, friend to all was simply Jimmy Savile."
One headstone lists some of the charities he raised money for. Inscribed below the three headstones was the quote: "It was good while it lasted."
