AS serial paedophile Jimmy Savile picked out teenage girls from the adoring crowds at the clubs where he DJed, he was not always acting alone.
Throughout the 1960s, he was often flanked by Ray Teret – a vile protégé who idolised the sick predator and mirrored his crimes, raping girls as young as 12.
Ray Teret with mentor Jimmy SavilleRex Features
MCPIXRobert Emms as Ray Teret and Steve Coogan as Savile in the BBC drama[/caption]
His part in Savile’s horrific abuse is brought to light in the new BBC drama The Reckoning, which shows the fawning Teret calling the older man “Father.”
In one shocking scene the evil pair are seen luring two 15-year-olds back to a flat before Teret pulls one of the girls into a bedroom, while Savile abuses her terrified pal.
In 2014, Teret – known as Ugly Ray – was convicted of seven counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault on girls aged between 12 and 15.
The court learned the Radio Caroline DJ – played by Happy Valley’s Robert Emms in the drama – would ply girls with alcohol in his tiny flat, above a record shop in Sale, Manchester, and victims had a “secret knock” when they visited after school.
Incredibly, detectives were able to link him to his victims after discovering their names scrawled on a wall – when he denied knowing them.
Here we look at the sick friendship and how Teret’s brave victims finally brought him to justice.
Used fame to prey on girls
Former waiter Teret first met Savile after winning a singing contest, run by the famed DJ, in the early ‘60s.
Savile took on the role of mentor for the wannabe DJ, nurturing his career.
Teret became Savile’s chauffeur and assistantRex
The sick ‘graffiti wall’ led to Teret’s convictionRex
In return Teret, who became known as Savile’s ‘shadow’, took on the role of support DJ, assistant and chauffeur.
The two men even shared a flat, in Salford, and Savile introduced him to the legends of the pop world, including The Beatles.
He also helped him get a job on Radio Caroline where he was dubbed Ugly Ray. His signature tunes were Jungle Fever by the Tornados and The Ugly Bug Ball by Burl Ives.
With Savile at the height of his fame, the pair used his celebrity to prey on underage girls, often taking them to the flat.
In an interview, before his crimes were unearthed, Teret claimed the Top of the Pops host, who abused over 400 victims, had girls falling at his feet.
“There were so many [girls] around,” he said.
“The Sixties were the sex years. All the girls wanted to try sex and all the boys wanted to be into sex.
“He was a pop star. When you’re in that business they’re always there in front of you.”
When asked what sort of girls Jimmy liked, Teret said: “I think Jim preferred girly girls rather than smart girls… girls who are prepared to do a cartwheel and jump and dance and have a giggle and a laugh.
I think Jim preferred girly girls rather than smart girls… girls who are prepared to do a cartwheel and jump and dance and have a giggle and a laugh
Ray Teret
“Not the ones that go to work and are dead straight and sensible. He liked fun girls, show girls.”
He also revealed that Savile referred to him as “My son” and he responded by calling him ‘Father’.
The pair are pictured at a festival with an unknown manRex
Teret was nicknamed Ugly RayRex
Secret knocks and booze
The sick duo appear to have parted company in the late ‘60s, as Savile’s hosting duties on Top of the Pops and his Radio One show, Savile’s Travels, upped his profile.
Teret’s small Manchester flat then became the base for his depraved abuse, with a stream of schoolgirls being lured in with promises of booze and cigarettes.
One victim who was raped by Teret, in 1972, told police she was taught to ring the door bell in a certain way after school to get in and that there were “secret knocks” used by the girls.
She added the flat was “full of girls” and that alcohol and cigarettes were handed out at his “parties”.
With sickening bravado, the predator had a “graffiti wall” in the flat where the girls’ names, messages and phone numbers were scratched into the plaster.
BBCTeret is portrayed as Savile’s sidekick[/caption]
It would be this detail which would eventually seal the fate of Teret – after Savile’s horrific crimes came to light in 2012, a year after his death at the age of 84.
After the launch of Operation Yewtree, the police investigation into the historic allegations, a number of Teret’s victims came forward and reported the assaults.
In November 2012, the then 71-year-old was arrested at his rundown six-bedroom house in Altrincham, Manchester, along with a lodger, who was later acquitted.
He told the court he had no interest in underage girls – a claim that was debunked when it emerged he had a previous conviction, in 1999, for having sex with a 15-year-old.
In his former flat, detectives who peeled back layers of wallpaper found dozens of girls’ names and numbers scratched into the wall.
The paedophile was arrested in 2012Rex
PA:Press AssociationThe former DJ appeared in court in 2013[/caption]
The sinister graffiti, dated to the 1960s and ’70s, tallied with the testimony of his victims and contradicted Teret’s claim he did not know the victims.
In October 2014, 73-year-old Teret was convicted of seven counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault on girls aged between 12 and 15.
He was acquitted of assisting Savile to rape one victim but was found guilty of raping the same girl himself.
Liz Dux, an abuse lawyer who represented a number of Savile’s victims, described Teret as “sex offender in the same mould” as the Jim’ll Fix It host.
A representative for 169 of Savile’s victims also stated that Teret’s conviction was “the closest the victims of Jimmy Savile will get to a conviction against their attacker.”
Teret was jailed for 25 years. He died from colon cancer in HMP Manchester, AKA Strangeways, in May 2021 at the age of 80.
The Reckoning continues tonight at 9pm
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