There will be so many people who have been touched by the life of Jimmy Saville – not least the thousands who either raised funds for or benefited from the charities he supported.

Many moons ago, I was a junior PR executive helping out with the Yorkshire Television Telethon – one of the 27-hour televised charity phone-ins popular in the late 80s and early 90s.

At the end of the marathon fund-raiser, when many of the presenters, producers and organisers were receiving plaudits in the Green Room, our Press Office team was in overdrive, letting local journalists know about the total raised and making sure they all had heart-warming or quirky news stories from their patch of the Yorkshire region.

This was in the days before e-mail and Twitter, so every news release was faxed individually. Jingle jangling in his trademark shell suit and gold bling, Jimmy Saville bobbed his head round the Press Office door to say thank you.

Something he also did for the camera crews, the caterers, the receptionists, the cleaners – touring the whole YTV building. Not on camera. Not accompanied by press photographers or reporters. Just him. Just because it was the right thing to do.

I bet there are countless similar examples of his non-self-serving generosity and a chorus of approval for Leeds City Council’s pledge to create a permanent memorial for one of Yorkshire’s greats. Read more on this from the BBC in West Yorkshire here