Another day, another faded TV personality kind of but not really regretting the 70s. Paul Daniels has admitted to picking up a "tiddly" "mini-skirted" young lady he found walking along a darkened lane way, and then essentially dumping her at the side of the road - because protecting his persona was far more important than getting her home safely. Then again, that's just my take on things.
Taking to his blog in the wake of all the Operation Yewtree incidents, the magician wrote: "A mini-skirted girl was thumbing a lift. I gave her a lift and drove on into the night whilst the more-than-slightly tiddly girl moaned on about her boyfriend ignoring her in the pub that night and that she would get own back on him. Oh goodie for me, I thought... I kissed her... and it got a bit more passionate. Thank God it didn’t get too passionate because something she said sent a shiver down my spine - she said she was still at school... I had her out of the car as fast as I could and I drove off with the lights off so she couldn’t see my number plate! I felt sick."
Poor Paul, sure who was he to know? "The super-short mini-skirts, the teetering high heels, the full slap (make up) made it, as I say, impossible. I think most people would agree that still applies today and maybe more so. Did I have such a life? Yes. I would be lying if I said I didn’t. Were they all over 16? OMG I hope so. Can I remember them? No... Life back then was a blur and therein lies a major problem with what is going on now. It was 35 to 40 years ago. How the hell can you say you did or didn’t? Anyone can come along and claim to have been 'abused' by anyone they care to name."
Speaking of being "plagued" by young female groupies, the 74-year-old added: "If you were in showbusiness women really did come after you, and I guess they still do. Mostly, they would go after the pop scene but it may come as a surprise when I tell you that comedians, impressionists, even magicians, were chatted up and sex was out there and laid on the line... Maybe that scare was a good thing ’cos from then on I would talk about their jobs or whatever before anything went too far."
He then questions the validity of many of the Savile abuse claims: "I don’t think that there is now any doubt that Mr Savile was a bad guy. What I do find odd about the stories now emerging however is when a ‘victim’ went on TV and stated she had gone back to his dressing room quite a few times. Nobody seemed to take much notice of the headmistress of the girls’ school who said what people were not taking into account was, her words, these were 'bad girls, who would do anything for a fag.' A bad guy? Undoubtedly, but I have been wondering if all of the accusers are for real. I can fully understand some women not wanting to talk about what happened to them, but for over 400 of them to keep quiet for 40 years seems strange."
What does Paul Daniels know about the term "abuse"? Not a lot. To recap, you, it's your responsibility as an adult - a 30-year-old at the time - not to abuse a situation, especially one involving someone incapacitated and/or someone who could be underage. Dinosaur.
According to The Sun: "The post about the girl was removed from the Life and Times of Paul Daniels site last night."