Freddie Starr’s sister claims Operation Yewtree killed star as groping allegations turned him into tragic recluse
FREDDIE Starr’s sister has today claimed Operation Yewtree killed the comic – as groping allegations turned him into a tragic recluse.
The entertainer was found dead alone in his Spanish home last week aged 76, with those closest to him revealing how he had been left in debt after facing nearly £1m in legal bills.
Starr, who had risen to fame in the 80s and 90s, had been accused of groping a woman in Jimmy Savile’s dressing room when she was 15 in 1974.
He sued the woman – but was sent into a downward spiral of ill health when he lost the case.
Speaking to the Sun Online today, his sister Brenda Hughes, 79, revealed how the case left him as a recluse – selling up his UK home and moving to Spain in 2015.
She said: “Freddie telephoned me after the case ended.
“I think it had a big impact on him both mentally and physically.
“He felt devastated and I don’t think he ever properly recovered.”
Starr had been arrested four times between 2012 and 2014 under Operation Yewtree — the investigation into allegations of historic sex abuse against celebrities including Savile – but never charged.
Brenda, who last spoke to Freddie three years, ago said she was shocked to learn – via TV news – of her brother’s death.
She said: “Freddie was the kind of person who wouldn’t ring you for a year and then he’d ring you three of four times the next year.
“I didn’t even know he was in Spain.
“I knew he was if bad health because he’d had a heart operation the year before I had mine in 2011, but I didn’t know how serious it was.
“All I’ve been thinking about since getting the news is him being by himself when it happened.
“He must have been under a lot of stress.”
He felt devastated and I don’t think he ever properly recovered
Brenda Hughes
Starr was forced to sell his £700k home in Warwickshire and moved to Malaga, claiming to be “broke and disabled”.
And neighbours told how he became a virtual recluse in Spain – only spending time with his cat and carer.
Speaking most recently about his poor health, Starr said: “I can’t tour any more because I’ve got a lung condition and I’m in a wheelchair a lot.
“Freddie Starr the entertainer is dead.”
OPERATION YEWTREE: How it started and who was involved
Operation Yewtree was a Met Police investigation into sexual abuse allegations made against Brit media personalities – mainly Jimmy Savile.
The probe, which started in 2012, saw 19 people arrested and seven convictions.
Rolf Harris was among those investigated and ultimately convicted.
The investigation was credited for an increase in sex crimes being reported to police.
However, Yewtree was also criticised for being a “witch hunt” – with many left on bails for months before being told they wouldn’t face any charges.
One of his neighbours at his two-bed £170,000 home said Starr would “look the other way” on the rare occasions he saw him because of the debt feud.
Another neighbour added: “He never mixed with anybody in the all the time he lived here.
“I saw him walking up and down once or twice but he never communicated with anyone.
“There’s four communal pools on the complex but I never saw him use any of them.”
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One of Freddie Starr’s last performances was a shambling karaoke Elvis impression at a bar in Fuengirola. Videos of a bloated Freddie in a T-shirt and shorts belting out hits with locals surfaced on Facebook.
A pal said: “He was mortified when that footage got out and realised how far he’d fallen. He wasn’t his old self after that.”
The neighbour added: “It was such a sad end from someone who’d been loved by millions.”