THE BBC says it is willing to investigate claims by a former Notts man about the behaviour of Jimmy Savile in the early 1970s.
David Hardwick says he expressed concerns with his immediate boss after he had appeared on Savile's radio show Speakeasy in 1971 or 1972.
Savile hosted the show, a discussion programme for teenagers on Radio One, from 1969 to 1973.
Mr Hardwick, who appeared on the show after he founded a young people's group, said that, afterwards, he was given a lift back to his home town of Mansfield with Savile in the star's motor home.
He said that when they stopped at a service station, he got out for something to eat.
He returned to see two girls, who he believed were aged 13 to 15, emerge from the vehicle looking "dishevelled".
He said he challenged Savile, who replied along the lines of: "That's what I get wherever I go, they're just fans."
He added: "Savile was very flustered when he came out. I would almost say he was defensive.
Mr Hardwick said he raised the incident with the show's producer, who in turn spoke to a manager.
Mr Hardwick, 67, says they were told to drop the complaint, for fear of losing their jobs.
"I was told, 'because it's only a suspicion, and because it's Jimmy Savile, it's best that we leave it alone'.
"I'd mentioned it to a couple of people in passing over the years. But until this all came out, I'd decided it was just a suspicion."
He said he would now raise his concerns with the BBC.
A BBC spokesman said: "We are not able to comment on individual names.
"But where allegations of this nature are made to the BBC, they will be passed to the BBC Investigations Unit or directed to the police".
Mr Hardwick, who now lives in Bradshaw Avenue, Riddings, near Alfreton, is retired from his most recent job as a courier.
He has also written several books and is currently writing his autobiography, which he says will include his time spent in prison for business fraud.
There are a number of investigations ongoing into claims of child abuse made against Savile.
These include three BBC inquiries – one into the corporation's culture during Savile's career; one into the dropping of a Newsnight report about Savile; and one into the handling of past sexual harassment claims.
