Jimmy Tarbuck reflects on ‘terrible’ Operation Yewtree arrest

Comedian was arrested in 2013 in relation to allegations of historic sexual abuse, but was released without charge a year later

Jimmy Tarbuck, the legendary British entertainer, has opened up about the “terrible” experience of being arrested as part of Operation Yewtree.

The comedian and presenter, best known for his work on TV from the 1960s until the early 1990s, found himself in the headlines in 2013 as part of the police investigation into historic sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, particularly regarding the abuse of children.

Operation Yewtree followed in the wake of the exposure of Jimmy Savile as a paedophile, and led to many more high profile figures being investigated.

Among those were Tarbuck, who was arrested in April 2013 after allegations were made against him by six separate individuals. He was released without charge nearly a year later, and has now addressed them in a rare interview.

“Kids? I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’” he recalled to The Daily Telegraph. “Ken Dodd said, ‘If I’d seen him going away with ten chorus girls, I’d believe it. But not schoolgirls.’”

The paper writes that Tarbuck was arrested in connection with an allegation of historic child sex abuse dating back to the late 1970s. However, after he proved that he was performing in London on the night in question, he was released without charge.

Tarbuck, pictured in 2016 (Getty Images)

Reflecting on the period, Tarbuck said: “But that was very worrying, and terrible for the family, especially the younger ones. But people were being played by the police – and not just by the police, but by people reporting them to the police.

On Savile himself, Tarbuck said: “The fella from Leeds, what was his name... Jimmy Savile. I never liked him. Just a strange guy, and there was Thatcher and all the others shaking hands with him. And he got a knighthood!”

Tarbuck wasn’t the only celebrity to be wrongfully arrested as part of Operation Yewtree. Among the other names to face no further action were comedian Jim Davidson, DJ Mike Osman and presenter Paul Gambaccini.

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One of the most notable names linked to the investigation – although never arrested – was Cliff Richard. While Richard was at his second home in Portugal, police raided his Berkshire home, with the footage being shown on BBC News.

Officers were investigating an allegation by a man who claimed he was sexually assaulted by Richard in 1985. But the singer was never arrested or charged, and the case was dropped two years later.

In 2018, Richard, 85, won a High Court case against the BBC for its coverage of the raid, and eventually received £2m from the broadcaster to settle the case.

Following the case, the singer said that the allegations and subsequent media coverage were the “worst thing that has happened to me in my entire life”.