'Jimmy Savile Groped Me' Claims Julie Fernandez, Disabled Actress From 'The Office'

Actress From 'The Office' Makes Savile Abuse Allegation

A disabled actress best known for her role in 'The Office' claimed Jimmy Savile groped her when she appeared as a teenager on 'Jim'll Fix It'.

Julie Fernandez told Radio 5 Live she remembered feeling the "huge rings on his fingers" and that his hands were "everywhere... lingering too long in places they shouldn't."

She claimed she was 14-years-old when the abuse happened in 1988, much later than previous allegations made against the TV presenter.

Fernandez says she feels lucky she was only groped

"I was in my wheelchair, but I just remember his hands being everywhere and just lingering those two, three, four seconds slightly too long in places they shouldn't. It wasn't particularly obvious either.

"It was in a busy room full of people in a studio so it was quite discreetly done and you don't kind of realise what's happening at the time, especially when you're 14 and it's the first time you've ever been in a studio and you're very excited.

"But I do remember feeling uncomfortable and he had these huge rings on his fingers."

Ms Fernandez played Brenda in 'The Office' and has also appeared in BBC1's 'Eldorado'

Fernandez, who appeared in BBC1's 'Eldorado' and is a prominent campaigner for disabled rights, said she made a joke out of the incident with her friends.

"My classmates, we all made a joke of it afterwards for years, but we didn't really bring it up to any adult and I don't know why, actually."

"He was a great fundraiser and all of these things, so possibly people didn't want to say negative things about him. Maybe they didn't think they would be believed," she added.

Fernandez's claims come in the midst of a raft of sexual abuse allegations against the late TV personality. His tireless fundraising, spearheading a number of charity campaigns, was well documented.

Jimmy Savile has been accused of molesting a brain-damaged girl in hospital

However his charity work and in particular his role as patron of National Spinal Injuries Centre has been sorely tainted after allegations that he volunteered at hospitals to find victims to abuse.

Caroline Moore has claimed she was assaulted by Savile at the age of 13 while being treated for spinal injuries at Stoke Mandeville Buckinghamshire hospital in 1971, the Press Association reported.

Mrs Moore, from Clarkston in East Renfrewshire, told BBC Radio Scotland: "I was outside a ward or a gym and he came out and just rammed his tongue down my throat.

"I told my family at the time. They didn't take it seriously because he was such a high profile character."

Allegations of abuse against the former DJ date back to the 1960s

Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and Tayside are the latest forces to say allegations have been made.

June Thornton, a patient at Leeds General Infirmary in 1972, said she saw Savile abuse someone she thought was a brain-damaged girl.

Ms Thornton said that when she told a nurse about the abuse, she was ignored.

"I thought he was a visitor coming to see her. He started rubbing his hands down her arms and then, I don't know of a nice way to put it, but he molested her. He helped himself. She just sat there and couldn't do anything about it," she told ITV News.

Savile raised millions for charity, especially for Stoke Mandeville Hospital

Police believe Savile could have abused as many as 25 victims over a period of 40 years, and have so far formally recorded a number of criminal allegations against him including rape and indecent assault.

The number of allegations have been branded a "cesspit" by BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten who pledged to hold an independent inquiry as swiftly as possible after the police investigation.

The BBC's reputation is increasingly under fire after an avalanche of allegations that the corporation was aware of claims about Savile's actions, but did nothing about them.

Ms Fernandez told breakfast presenter Nicky Campbell she felt she was "lucky" that she wasn't abused further. However she said: "It's a predatory behaviour and it's a bad, bad behaviour. And what's really annoying is, he's now dead and what can we do?"

Pictures of fans queuing in the rain to catch a glimpse of Savile's coffin

Auction of Sir Jimmy Savile's memorabilia

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Jimmy Saville Auction

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