The disgraced and despised British entertainer’s distinctive look is trending among some film fans on TikTok. Should somebody tell them what he did?
W
hen British people think of Jimmy Savile, it isn’t typically as someone whose style to admire. But at screenings of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the latest film in the 28 Days Later franchise which was released this month, that does seem to be what some US filmgoers are thinking.
In the film, a murderous cult known as “the Jimmies” stalk the ruins of post‑apocalyptic Britain. Led by Sir Jimmy Crystal, played by Jack O’Connell, the sect are instantly recognisable for their cheap tracksuits, bleached blonde wigs and particular mannerisms.
For viewers in the UK, Crystal is unmistakably reminiscent of the entertainer Jimmy Savile, whose decades-long history of sexual abuse was only revealed after his death. Over more than 50 years, Savile exploited his fame and access to positions of trust to abuse hundreds of people, most of them children. His crimes took place backstage at television shows such as Top of the Pops but also in hospitals, children’s homes and institutions in which he had cultivated influence and free rein.
