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| Dave Lee Travis: Dancer felt 'safe' with veteran DJ | Dave Lee Travis: Dancer felt 'safe' with veteran DJ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Top of the Pops dancer has told a court she felt "safe" with veteran DJ Dave Lee Travis. | A Top of the Pops dancer has told a court she felt "safe" with veteran DJ Dave Lee Travis. |
| Dee Dee Wilde, from dance group Pan's People, told Southwark Crown Court that Mr Travis was a "loveable big bear of a man". She also told Mr Travis's trial that Jimmy Savile was "rather nasty". | Dee Dee Wilde, from dance group Pan's People, told Southwark Crown Court that Mr Travis was a "loveable big bear of a man". She also told Mr Travis's trial that Jimmy Savile was "rather nasty". |
| Ms Wilde said she "did not see" Mr Travis "do anything inappropriate" in the years she knew him. | |
| Mr Travis denies two counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. | Mr Travis denies two counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. |
| As a DJ on the BBC's Radio 1 until 1993, Mr Travis, from Buckinghamshire, was a regular host of Top of the Pops. | As a DJ on the BBC's Radio 1 until 1993, Mr Travis, from Buckinghamshire, was a regular host of Top of the Pops. |
| Ms Wilde told the court that the dancers sometimes put up with "very flirtatious" men who thought they could "try it on". | Ms Wilde told the court that the dancers sometimes put up with "very flirtatious" men who thought they could "try it on". |
| 'Lovely man' | 'Lovely man' |
| She said: "I felt totally uncomfortable in the presence of Jimmy Savile and so did the other girls as well. He used to come up to you too close but you had to work with him because he did a lot of the shows." | She said: "I felt totally uncomfortable in the presence of Jimmy Savile and so did the other girls as well. He used to come up to you too close but you had to work with him because he did a lot of the shows." |
| Ms Wilde recalled a trip to Madrid where relentless pinching left the women with bruised bottoms. | Ms Wilde recalled a trip to Madrid where relentless pinching left the women with bruised bottoms. |
| She said: "It was a different time to now. It was different things that seemed acceptable". | She said: "It was a different time to now. It was different things that seemed acceptable". |
| Asked if she believed Mr Travis, 69, who is being tried under his real name David Patrick Griffin, was the kind of man who thought it was acceptable to pinch women, she said: "Absolutely not, in fact you felt safe with Dave." | |
| She also told the court she had never seen Mr Travis behaving a sleazy way. | She also told the court she had never seen Mr Travis behaving a sleazy way. |
| 'Gentle giant' | 'Gentle giant' |
| She said: "I liked him tremendously. He was a lovely man and a great guy and very funny as well. I did not see him do anything inappropriate in all the years I have known Dave." | She said: "I liked him tremendously. He was a lovely man and a great guy and very funny as well. I did not see him do anything inappropriate in all the years I have known Dave." |
| She added: "If that had been the case he would not have been my friend." | She added: "If that had been the case he would not have been my friend." |
| Meanwhile, a woman who played the princess in a production of Aladdin where Mr Travis is alleged to have committed one of the assaults said she was not aware of any complaint against him. | Meanwhile, a woman who played the princess in a production of Aladdin where Mr Travis is alleged to have committed one of the assaults said she was not aware of any complaint against him. |
| Gaynor Burton said: "I do not remember anything at all, it was a nice company." | Gaynor Burton said: "I do not remember anything at all, it was a nice company." |
| She said of Mr Travis: "He was very friendly. He is a gentle giant, very fun and a true professional." | She said of Mr Travis: "He was very friendly. He is a gentle giant, very fun and a true professional." |