Entertainer Harris had ‘Jekyll and Hyde nature’

Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris was a "Jekyll and Hyde" character whose "untouchable" reputation allowed him to carry out a string of alleged indecent assaults on underage girls, a court has heard.

The 84-year-old star was even known at an Australian TV channel as “the octopus” because of the way he put his hands all over women, London’s Southwark Crown Court heard.

Opening the case against Harris, who denies 12 counts of indecent assault between 1968 and 1986, prosecutor Sasha Wass said his alleged victims were “overawed” at meeting him.