Broadcasting legend Sir Jimmy Savile was described today as “a showman right till the end” as his gold-coloured coffin was displayed to the public as part of his three-day funeral.
In a style in keeping with the veteran DJ’s life, the casket was placed in the Queens Hotel, in his home city of Leeds, surrounded by items of memorabilia, for fans to visit to pay their last respects.
And as members of the public queued in the rain, details of Savile’s last wishes emerged, including his request to be buried at a 45-degree angle overlooking the sea in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
The larger-than-life broadcaster’s closed coffin, which will be displayed for most of the day in the bar of the hotel, features a crucifix and was covered with white roses.
Pictures of Savile, wearing his trademark round, pink-tinted glasses, were displayed in the room and the last cigar he ever smoked was placed in an ashtray on a table in front of the casket.
Also on the table were two This Is Your Life books, another crucifix, a candle and another photograph of the star.
Tomorrow, the funeral cortege will visit Savile’s mother’s house and the Leeds General Infirmary before arriving at the cathedral.
On Thursday, the coffin will tour Scarborough, where he had a flat, to give people there the chance to pay their respects before Savile is laid to rest at an angle in the most elevated plot in the cemetery.
He will be buried with a Royal Marines medal and green beret and a Help for Heroes wristband.