CLEARED comic Freddie Starr told yesterday of the terrible impact sex abuse
claims have had on him.
Frail Freddie — who spent 19 months on bail — revealed he now relies on a
wheelchair and feared he had multiple sclerosis as the police probe dragged
on.
He said he got just a couple of hours of sleep a night and considered suicide
as the pain of being under suspicion took hold.
And he explained he was even banned from being alone with his daughter.
Freddie,
71, was told on Tuesday he faced no further action — and has now vowed to
sue cops.
Speaking for the first time about his ordeal he said: “This has been like a
dark cloak that I have had to wear all the time.
“It’s been mental torture but I am like a rubber ball and I will come bouncing
back.”
Fans have been shocked by the change in the veteran entertainer’s appearance
since his arrest.
He shuffles around his house slowly, and gets tired easily. His hands are
shaky and he speaks haltingly — often pausing for breath and losing his
train of thought.
Freddie said: “I’ve deteriorated because of what’s happened to me.
“I had four heart attacks and a bypass before all this so it’s not that
surprising this has affected me so much.”
Freddie was first arrested in November 2012 — weeks after the Operation
Yewtree probe into historic sex offences began in the wake of the Jimmy
Savile scandal.
He was quizzed over allegations that he molested a teenager at the BBC during
filming of show Clunk Click in 1974 — claims he vehemently denies.
He was re-arrested in April last year over new allegations and again in
January 2014 over a fresh claim.
He was arrested for a fourth time in February after answering bail.
Shaking with emotion, Freddie said: “I have never in my life groped a girl and
I think it’s disgusting that someone has to go through this when they
haven’t done anything.
“The police looked at me and knew I wasn’t a predator or a paedophile but
still carried on.”
Freddie uses an electric wheelchair when he struggles to walk and sits on a
stool to take a shower.
He is teetotal but smokes heavily and said last year he feared he had multiple
sclerosis.
Speaking at the home he shares with wife Sophie Lea, 33, in Studley, Warwicks,
he said: “I’m in a wheelchair but I don’t like people seeing me in it so
don’t go out much.
“I went to the doctors because my legs were shaking. I thought it was MS
brought on by all of this. But they said it was stress.
“We have only been getting two-and-a-half or three hours sleep a night for the
19 months. I slept properly for the first time last night.”
Freddie also admitted: “I will now often find myself in the middle of a
sentence and drift off and forget things.
“Doctors told me that is also down to the stress, which is a silent killer,
and lack of sleep.”
He revealed he became deeply depressed and considered suicide.
He said: “I just had this feeling and was asking myself what the point was of
carrying on. I was thinking ‘just do it’.
“I was seriously considering it but it’s a coward’s way out and I wanted to
clear my name.”
Sophie said: “There was a point where I was on watch constantly to check he
didn’t do anything to himself.”
The couple said their lowest moment came when social services staff visited
after his initial arrest.
The officials made Freddie and Sophie sign a “working agreement” with them
about their children.
Freddie had to agree not to be in the house alone with his daughter Ebony,
seven, from a previous relationship or Sophie’s son Elliott, 14.
Theatre singer Sophie had to give up work to ensure the agreement was
followed.
Freddie said: “That was heart-wrenching and like a dagger going through my
heart. To be told I couldn’t be with my darling daughter, who is the love of
my life, is the worst thing. That was mental torture.”
Eight women made 13 allegations against him — dating back to 1962.
Freddie said: “When I was first arrested I had never felt so alone.”
His lawyer Dean Dunham has lodged a claim against the original accuser for
slander in the High Court.
And Freddie said: “I want to sue the police for the way I have been treated.
“But most of all I want to completely clear my name.”
He told how he lost out on £1.5million through cancelled jobs.
He said: “I am determined to work again, and would like to do TV appearances
and shows. I would consider reality stuff — it did well for Jim Davidson.”
Police ended their investigation just days after PR pervert Max Clifford, 71,
was jailed and on the same day ex-TV star Stuart Hall, 84, admitted
indecently assaulting a young girl in the 1970s.
Freddie said: “We knew it would come after an arrest or conviction otherwise
it would be bad PR for the authorities.”
He wants the law changed to stop those accused of sex crimes being named
before they are charged.
He also wants a time limit imposed in which an allegation can be made.
He said: “I am going to make it my business even if I have to travel to
Downing Street and grab David Cameron out of his office.
“It is ridiculous your career can be finished and your name dragged through
the mud.”
Freddie’s lawyer Dean Dunham said he believed it was a “policy decision” to
keep him on bail so long.
And Freddie said: “They kept coming up with what they said were fresh
allegations but we believe they had them at the start and it was a delaying
tactic.
“We were told it was delayed until after the Max Clifford trial ended — but
what on earth has that got to do with me?”
Freddie now plans to take a break. He said: “I owe Sophie a honeymoon because
we’ve never had one. I have been advised to go on holiday to get back on my
feet so that’s what we’ll do.”
Notorious… for eating a hamster
1943: Born Frederick Fowell on Jan 9 in Liverpool.
1969: Changes name to Freddie Starr and stars on TV’s Opportunity
Knocks.
1970: Performs at Royal Variety Performance.
1974: Scores a UK top ten hit with It’s You.
1986: Gains notoriety for our front page: “Freddie Starr ate my
hamster.”
1996: The Freddie Starr Show is a major hit.
2010: Suffers a massive heart attack.
2011: Pulls out of I’m a Celeb for health reasons.
2012: Obtains gagging order in October but it is later overturned.
Footage then emerges of an appearance on a Jimmy Savile BBC show in 1974 —
which he had originally denied.
2012: Arrested for allegedly molesting a teenage girl after recording
the show. He denies claims.
2013: Rearrested in April over fresh sex abuse claims.
2014: Nicked for third time in January.
2014: Arrested for fourth time in February.
2014: Visibly shaken, tells of relief after being told he will not face
charges.