A Jimmy Savile impersonator has sparked fury after posting a video in the paedophile TV presenter’s abandoned former Glencoe home.
The clip shows the man exploring the “creepy” home and was shared on Instagram by a hillwalking influencer known as arcticscrambler. “Just going to see Savile’s abandoned house today, what it’s all about” the man behind the camera says.
“It’s creepy here, mate,” he says to the camera, before songfully calling out: “Jimmy!” At that moment, a man dressed as Jimmy Savile with a cigar in his mouth comes round the corner and shouts “Get out me house!” while the man recording feigns fear.
The man pretending to be Savile is wearing a shiny tracksuit, a blonde wig and tinted sunglasses - a look synonymous with one of the world’s most notorious paedophiles. The video has over 63,000 likes and nearly 1,400 comments on Instagram since it was posted on June 26.
Savile, presenter of Top of the Pops and Jim’ll Fix It, was exposed as one of Britain’s most prolific and high-profile sex offenders after his death in 2011. From 1998 until the day he died, he lived in Allt-na-Reigh cottage, a home situated right on the A82 and opposite the Three Sisters of Glencoe.
Up to 20 of his victims were abused in this home, it is believed. The house will soon be demolished after failed redevelopment plans and years of vandalism - with councillors approving the demolition last week after it was dubbed "a stain on Scotland's most outstanding landscape".
The video sparked outrage with local representatives slamming those behind it. Highland councillor Angus MacDonald described it as “disgusting”.
He said: “The whole Jimmy Savile episode and its links to Glencoe was terrible. And this is a tragic reminder of that tme and is completely inappropriate. This is disgusting, a poor taste stunt from one of Glencoe's darkest periods. I hope the video is taken off the internet. And the sooner the building is demolished the happier people in the area will be."
The home was bought by Harris Aslam in 2021, the director of Green’s grocery chain. His aim was to build a brand new home in honour of mountaineer Hamish MacInnes who had previously lived in the home, and is known for creating the 'Pterodactyl' ice-axe and the eponymous MacInnes stretcher. MacInnes died in 2020 and is named one of Scotland ’s “greatest ever climbers”, who caused major advancements in mountain rescue efforts thanks to his inventions.
After Savile’s death in 2011, the small two-bedroom bungalow was put up for auction and purchased for £212,000 by someone who intended to move in. It was later purchased by Mr Aslam’s family, and over the years has seen slogans and graffiti - including “paedo” and “Jimmy the beast” - daubed on the sides.