Jimmy Savile dies at home, aged 84

VETERAN British broadcaster Jimmy Savile, a famously eccentric culture figure, has died at his home in northern England. He was 84.

Savile, known for his garish tracksuits, chunky gold jewellery and boundless enthusiasm for pop music and charity work, was the host of two long-running British television programmes and claimed to have been a longtime confidant to Prince Charles and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Rarely seen without his trademark large cigar, Savile initially worked in a coal mine as a teenager before embracing music and built a national profile as a disc jockey — first in Britain’s dance halls and later on radio, including the renowned pirate Radio Luxembourg.