Who was Ray Teret, as seen in Jimmy Savile drama The Reckoning?
The Manchester DJ was mentored by Savile.
This article contains discussion of subject matter including rape that some readers may find upsetting.
Ray Teret, who we're introduced to in the opening 10 minutes of The Reckoning, a BBC drama which explores the grisly crimes of Jimmy Savile, was a DJ from Altrincham, Manchester, and friend of the former BBC presenter – although in the series, Savile rejects that they were ever close.
Teret, who was also known as 'Ugly Ray' (via The Guardian), eerily refers to Savile as "father" in the drama.
While Savile was making a name for himself on the dance hall scene, he was a mentor of sorts to Teret, who was also his chauffeur and would carry out other jobs for him.
In The Reckoning, we also see the pair picking up two young girls together. But as Savile's fame grew, Teret disappeared from the picture.
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In 2014, 73-year-old Teret was convicted of seven counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault, which he carried out during the 1960s and 1970s. His victims were girls aged between 12 and 15.
He was found not guilty of aiding and abetting Savile in the rape of a 15-year-old girl in the early '60s, but he was found guilty of raping her himself.
Teret had told jurors that he had no interest in underage girls, but during the trial it emerged that he had previously been convicted of having unlawful sex with a girl under 16 in 1999.
"He knew I was a kid," said a 12-year-old who was raped by Teret (via BBC News). "He could see I was a kid. I've had to live with what he has done all my life."
He also tried to create distance between himself and Savile during the trial.
Liz Dux, an abuse lawyer at Slater and Gordon who represented a number of Savile's victims, described him as a "sex offender in the same mould" as the Jim'll Fix It host.
Tim Evans, prosecuting, added: "The basic set-up, the background is the same: a naive girl who has the headlights of fame shone on her, who is taken to a flat and without more-- without any understanding of what is going on, has a male many years older having sex with her."
Detective sergeant Carol Barlow from Greater Manchester Police said that Teret used dance halls as "a hunting ground to meet his victims", describing him as a "devious, manipulative sexual predator" who "abused his celebrity status in the worst way imaginable".
"The girls he preyed upon were naive and inexperienced and in awe of who he was," she added.
Teret was jailed for 25 years. In May 2021, he died in HMP Manchester, also known as Strangeways, aged 80.
The cause of his death was not initially disclosed, but it was later announced that he had "advanced terminal colon cancer" (via Manchester Evening News).
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, visit the NHS website or Victim Support for information and support.
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