Rick Parfitt - Rick Parfitt: 'I Was Suspicious Of Jimmy Savile'

Police in the U.K. have launched a criminal inquiry into reports the Tv star, who fronted hit British shows Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It, molested up to 300 youngsters throughout his long-running entertainment career before his death last year (11).

Status Quo guitarist Parfitt has spoken out about the scandal, admitting he suspected there was "something not right there" when he met Savile on Top of the Pops.

In an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph, he says, "No (I wasn't surprised), because a lot of us, like everybody else, we all kind of knew. We were all kind of suspicious of Jimmy Savile.

"We all felt, 'There's something not right there.' But we didn't know what, and it was kind of in the back of our minds. But you could never quite suss (work) him out. We did so many Top of the Pops, so many Jim'll Fix Its."

Parfitt also suggests the scandal gripping the Bbc could run much deeper, adding, "If you watch those early editions of Top of the Pops, all the girls there have got skirts up to their chins. There were a lot of girls knocking around downstairs and people would invite them down to the dressing room.

"I think that anybody would be forgiven around that time if you've got a girl in the corner - everybody was doing that. There were loads of girls, and they were willing. They were all coming into the dressing room - you're walking into a rock band's dressing room with a skirt up to your chin. Everybody was messing about. Of course we were. Everybody was groping everybody - that was it at Top of the Pops, everybody was at it."