Selina said she was forced to kiss Jimmy Savile on one occasion (Picture: Nigel Ramdial)
Selina Scott has branded BBC Breakfast ‘a snake pitt’ and said she was ‘forced to kiss Jimmy Savile’.
The presenter launched BBC’s Breakfast Time in 1983, becoming the lead female anchor for three years.
However, as the broadcasting organisation celebrates its 40-year anniversary, Scott has revealed she declined taking part in any celebrations, saying that her memories of being a part of the BBC Breakfast team on the red sofa made her feel like ‘a combatant in a war zone’.
The 71-year-old said she had been warned about the ‘snake-pit atmosphere’, continuing to The Daily Mail: ‘I was forever fearful of being deliberately tripped up.’
She also claimed co-presenter Frank Bough was trying to ‘undermine’ her on air and once ‘made a denigrating sexual comment about me’.
Scott said that Frank, who at the time was aged 50, would ‘butt’ into her interviews and tried to appear like the ‘dominant partner’.
Scott and Frank Bough were co-hosts on the red leather sofa (Picture: BBC PUBLICITY PICTURE)
The first BBC Breakfast presenters: Frances Wilson, Debbie Rix, David Icke, Frank Bough, Selena Scott and Nick Ross (Picture: BBC)
She described the environment as ‘dangerous territory – full of backstabbing and manipulation’.
Scott continued to the publication: ‘It wasn’t just Frank who took liberties. Jimmy Savile saw his appearance on the show as an ideal opportunity to play the eccentric, and I knew from the off that I was in for a rough ride.’
She added: ‘No matter how hard I tried to deflect his smutty innuendos, he kept coming back with more ‘wink wink, nudge nudge’ suggestions.
Scott described the environment as a ‘snake pit’ (Picture: PA)
Scott declined taking part in this year’s 40th celebrations (Picture: Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)
‘At one point, he climbed into a sleeping bag he’d brought with him. I asked him “Why?”. He said if I held his hand he’d tell me. Naturally, I demurred.
‘His response was: “I know millions of fellas who wish they could hold hands with Selina Scott in their sleeping bags.” I was deeply embarrassed.’
She elsewhere said that Savile, who she described as ‘untouchable’, refused to answer questions on air ‘unless I gave him a kiss,’ leaving Scott feeling as though she ‘had no choice’.
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Savile’s horrific crims were brought to light in 2012, a year after his death at the age of 84.
Using his fame and dedication to charity as a facade for normality, Savile abused children for decades.
He has previously been described by many as ‘untouchable’, with many since coming forward about his sickening crimes and their experiences.
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Selina was one of the first faces of BBC Breakfast.
