Scotland Home of Jimmy Savile, Disgraced Royal Confidante and Former BBC Host, Engulfed in Flames

A home that once belonged to the late Jimmy Savile, the disgraced former BBC host and royal confidante, has been damaged in a fire.

According to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), firefighters were called to Savile's former home in the Scottish Highlands town of Glen Coe at around 5:40 p.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 8, after a building outside of the main house on the property caught fire, per BBC, The Times, and Sky News.

Police Scotland also told BBC: "Emergency services attended and the fire was extinguished by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service."

A nearby bridge was closed overnight on Saturday, but has now reopened, the outlet added.

"Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances," police said.

The SFRS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for more information.

BBC also reported that Savile — who died in 2011 at the age of 84 — owned the cottage in the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area for about 13 years. Since the disgraced TV host's death, the house has been repeatedly vandalized, the outlet added, and the new owner of the property has been granted planning permission to demolish the existing house.

Related: 'Hiding in Plain Sight': All About Jimmy Savile, Disgraced Royal Confidante Featured in Netflix Doc

Savile was a presenter for BBC — in both radio and TV — for decades, from the 1970s to 2000s, helming the long-running show Jim'll Fix It (in which children would write in and have their wishes granted) and helping to host Top of the Pops.

After his death, more than 500 people accused Savile of being a serial sex abuser and pedophile, and police began investigating. More than two years later, authorities released an official report titled Giving Victims a Voice, which concluded: "It is now clear that Savile was hiding in plain sight and using his celebrity status and fundraising activity to gain uncontrolled access to vulnerable people across six decades."

Savile was, the report said, "a mainly opportunistic individual who used his celebrity status as a powerful tool to coerce or control [victims], preying on the vulnerable or star-struck for his sexual gratification," BBC reported at the time. Savile's alleged sex abuse lasted until two years before his death, per the report.

Savile was close to King Charles, Princess Diana and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the then-prince often sought his public relations advice. However, there is no indication that the King — or any other royals and politicians at the time — knew anything about Savile's crimes.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Royal representatives for the King declined to comment about Savile when reached by PEOPLE in 2022.

Savile's crimes came to light again after Netflix released the documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story in 2022. The series analyzed how "people are deceived and how people beyond the victims are groomed," producer Rowan Deacon told The Times at the time.

Deacon said Savile's popularity among the royals and other prominent figures helped mask his true nature. Charles "was duped, like we all were," he told The Times. The King's letters revealed in the documentary "show the trust [he] put into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernize and he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that," Deacon said.

He added: "We're not suggesting for one moment that Thatcher or Prince Charles knew what he was really up to. Nonetheless, that seal of approval meant that the weight of his respect and trust was a planet compared to the tiny voices of these women."

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

Read the original article on People