A TEIGNMOUTH chippie was a favourite haunt of the late Sir Jimmy Savile when he was in the area.

He often popped into the Jollygood Fish Cafe, Teign Street, and became a friend of then owner Richard Gwillam.

The pair first met on the P & O liner Oriana, where Richard was a steward and Jimmy a DJ and entertainer.

'I warmed to him straight away, as most people did,' said Richard.

'I ran the Jollygood from 1986 to 1999, and one night around 1991, Jimmy walked in and said he had heard we served the best fish and chips in town.

'So no pressure on me then! He claimed to be an expert on fish and chips and if they weren't good enough, would certainly be letting me know.

'I am pleased to say everything went well, and he became a regular calling around three times a year.

'He always had the same meal, haddock, chips and peas, with bread and butter, and a pot of tea, followed by one of his famous cigars,' recalled Richard, 69, now living in Milber, Newton Abbot.

'When he arrived in his Rolls-Royce, the window would wind down and a hand covered in rings and bracelets would give my wife and I the royal wave!

'It was with great sadness I heard of his passing – he had a marvellous career, and achieved more than most of us could imagine.'

Richard said: 'I felt that deep down he was a very lonely man. We had many conversations on quiet winter evenings, when I used to ask him about his life.

'He didn't always answer, but when I asked why he never married, he replied: "I love all the girls, but I never fell in love with any one of them".

'He will be greatly missed by everybody who knew and loved him. There will never be another Jimmy Savile – he was a man with a huge heart.'

The Post recently told how Jimmy kept a caravan at the Devon Valley Holiday Park, Shaldon, for many years, and often used it to give holidays to recuperating patients from hospitals where he volunteered.