The BBC will be plunged into fresh crisis with the publication of a damning review, expected next month, that will reveal its staff turned a blind eye to the rape and sexual assault of up to 1,000 girls and boys by Jimmy Savile in the corporation's changing rooms and studios.
Dame Janet Smith, a former court of appeal judge, who previously led the inquiry into the murders by Dr. Harold Shipman, will say in her report that the true number of victims of Savile's sexual proclivities may never be known but that his behavior had been recognized by BBC executives who took no action.
Smith's investigations, which followed the Pollard inquiry into why the BBC shelved a Newsnight program about Savile, will send shock waves through the corporation.