Video: Jimmy Savile returns to Leeds cancer unit he helped fund

A year ago Sir Jimmy, a long-time friend and supporter of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals, was at the official opening of the Leeds PET-CT centre at St James’s.

This £4m unit, the largest of its kind in Northern England includes two PET-CT scanners, one of which is a state-of-the-art machine which is largely devoted to research.

At the opening Sir Jimmy presented a personal donation of £50,000 which has been used to establish a one year PET-CT research fellowship to assist the development of the research portfolio in the centre. The research trials offer the chance of improving cancer treatment for patients in the region.

Dr Robin Prestwich was appointed to the inaugural Savile Fellowship. His work is focused on two projects assessing state-of-the-art imaging techniques using the research scanner.

Sir Jimmy is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, a title awarded in recognition of his support,.

He said: “This is a move forward in the curing and helping of people. I hope it makes a lot of people a lot happier and a lot safer.”

Without Sir Jimmy’s personal financial support the Trust says it would not have been able to start the ground-breaking research trials which offer the chance of improving cancer treatment for patients.

Dr Prestwich said his work was helping to research how radiotherapy can best be used.

Sir Jimmy has raised in the region of £40m for charity, much of it used to purchase radiology equipment.