TV presenter Rav Wilding has said he was not aware of the sex abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al-Fayed while he worked at the store – after a documentary featuring him praising the ex-Harrods boss was repeated on Channel 5 last night.
Inside Harrods at Christmas, a 2019 documentary made before the allegations about Al-Fayed came to light, features the Morning Live presenter praising Al Fayed as ‘absolutely great to work for’.
Viewers reacted with horror to the Channel 5 repeat, with one accusing programme controllers of ‘falling asleep at the wheel’ in choosing to air the fawning documentary two days after police said the businessman may have abused more than 100 women.
After being contacted by MailOnline, Channel 5 pulled the programme from the My5 streaming service and said it would never be shown again.
Rav worked at Harrods as a security guard for a period at least six months in 1999 after he left the Army following a serious leg injury.
He said in the programme that Al Fayed ‘Mohamed Al-Fayed was known as ‘The Chairman’.
‘He was the boss, he was in charge, and he was absolutely great to work for.’
But the 47-year-old told MailOnline today he had not been informed the programme was set to be repeated – and has sought to distance himself from the programme, saying it should never air again.
Channel 5 has been criticised after airing a documentary about Harrods that praises Mohamed Al Fayed’s tenure at the department store
Former Harrods security guard turned TV presenter Rav Wilding told the programme he thought Al-Fayed was ‘great to work for’ – but has now distanced himself from his comments
The programme, which first aired in 2019, was repeated last night unedited from the original – and as of this morning was available to view on the My5 streaming service
Harrods pictured earlier this week after being given its annual Christmas makeover. The store’s owners say it is a ‘very different organisation’ than it was under Al Fayed and is supporting those who say they were victims of abuse
In a statement on Saturday, which does not identify Al-Fayed by name, Rav said: ‘I worked at Harrods on the security team for six months in 1999.
‘I never witnessed any of the abhorrent behaviour nor was I aware of any allegations of sexual abuse or offences until the recent BBC documentary and allegations came to light.
‘I am pleased that the matter is being investigated by the police and I had no idea, nor was I notified that this old documentary would be repeated last night.
‘It should not be shown or be available to view ever again.’
Biographies of Wilding say he joined Harrods for nine months. He then joined the Metropolitan Police before embarking on a career in television, appearing in a reality show before becoming a Crimewatch presenter. He quit the Met in 2008.
Channel 5 viewers have blasted the channel after it decided to air the uncritical programme in the wake of the allegations against Al-Fayed, who died in August last year.
The last third of the programme praised the alleged sex predator, describing him as the ‘Egyptian flamboyant businessman’ who overhauled the department store’s approach to the festive period to huge financial success.
Staff told the programme of their fondness for al Fayed in the apparently unedited programme – horrifying viewers who now know of the allegations that al Fayed raped and sexually abused more than 100 women and girls.
One viewer on X, formerly Twitter, quoting the programme, said: ‘Al Fayed ‘was absolutely great to work for’. Seriously Channel 5, don’t you have any thought for the women he raped and abused? An absolutely appalling decision to air this programme about Harrods.’
Another wrote: ‘Channel 5 is currently showing a bleary-eyed piece called Inside Harrods at Christmas. A male employee has just said what s wonderful employer Mohamed Al Fayed was. Someone asleep at the wheel at C5?’
The programme also features former Harrods public relations chief Michael Cole (pictured), who has said via his wife he knew nothing of the abuse allegations
Channel 5 has been lampooned by viewers for airing the fawning documentary in the wake of the allegations against Al Fayed (pictured in archive footage in the programme)
Viewers were highly critical of the decision to broadcast the programme in an unedited form
‘@channel5_tv really should not be reshowing a documentary about Harrods at Christmas, extolling Al Fayed, at a time when the horrifying extent of his abuse has been further revealed,’ said a third.
And one viewer asked: ‘Did no-one think it might need an edit for 2024 broadcast?’
The fawning documentary, which was available on the My5 streaming service until today, spends a large part of its last 15 minutes – a third of its runtime – looking back at Al Fayed’s time as boss of the store.
The ‘flamboyant Egyptian businessman’ was ‘breathing new life into the store at Christmas’ by introducing limited edition annual teddy bears to its range, the documentary said.
‘Business thrived under al Fayed’s ownership,’ the narrator says, adding that despite Harrods being sold to the Qatari royal family for £1.5billion, ‘Al Fayed’s commitment to the festive season remains.’
A Channel 5 spokesperson told MailOnline today: ‘This episode is a repeat and was played out in error. It will not be repeated further or appear on My5. We apologise for any offence caused.’
The documentary features a number of talking heads, including former head of public affairs Michael Cole. Mr Cole’s wife told MailOnline in September he knew nothing of the allegations against al Fayed.
Jane Cole, 82, said of Michael: ‘He isn’t around. He’s not giving any interviews or talking at the moment.
‘It’s all terribly distressing and very, very sad. We’re very upset about it, and shocked and appalled. It’s best at the moment that Harrods deal with it.’
Asked if her husband had been aware of any of the rape or sex assault allegations during his time working for Fayed, she added: ‘Of course not, of course not’.
Channel 5 had been quick to act on removing programmes featuring MasterChef star Gregg Wallace from its schedule after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour by at least 13 women on Thursday.
In a wry move, it had removed repeats of World’s Biggest Christmas Market and Christmas In Lapland from its schedule, replacing them with a repeat of a a documentary about bakery chain Greggs.
Rav Wilding worked for Harrods for between six and nine months before joining the Met Police – and now presents BBC’s Morning Live (pictured)
Early in his TV career he began presenting Crimewatch (seen here on the set of Crimewatch Live in 2022 alongside then-Duchess of Cornwall Camilla)
Scotland Yard has launched a probe after identifying over five people who allegedly assisted Mohamed Al Fayed (pictured) in carrying out ‘horrendous abuse’
The Channel 5 repeat aired two days after the Metropolitan Police said it had launched a criminal investigation following the identification of five suspects who allegedly assisted Al Fayed in carrying out ‘horrendous abuse’.
The Met has received an explosion of sex attack claims from a total of 111 victims, with the youngest said to be aged just 13.
By the time of his death last year police were already aware of allegations made by 21 women between 2005 and 2023, including four claims of rape, 16 sexual assaults and one related to trafficking.
Fayed was arrested in 2013 over a rape allegation, but the billionaire tycoon was not charged with any offence before his death in 2023 aged 94.
Since the BBC broadcast an investigation into the Egyptian businessman’s behaviour in September, 150 people have come forward with information about alleged abuse, including 90 new victims – taking the total to 111 complainants, officers said.
Detectives are now investigating accusations of rape, sexual assault and trafficking spanning almost four decades, from 1977 to 2014.
An internal Met review is also being carried out into how the force handled claims about Fayed while he was alive, amid allegations of corruption and reports that officers were taking bribes to allow him to continue persecuting Harrods staff.
Scotland Yard is currently re-examining all previous investigations. In an indication of the staggering scale of the inquiry, officers have already looked at 50,000 pages of evidence.
The Yard approached the Crown Prosecution Service on five occasions between 2005 and 2023 about Fayed, but in each case no charges were brought despite mounting concerns about predatory behaviour.
Yesterday a Met spokesman said: ‘We know that contact with and support for some victims at the time could have been improved.
‘Only after completing this comprehensive review will we fully understand what could have been done differently.’
Following complaints from two women about the quality of investigations conducted in 2008, the Met has also voluntarily referred these cases to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Al-Fayed was arrested in 2013 over a rape allegation, but the billionaire tycoon was not charged with any offence before his death in 2023 (Al-Fayed pictured here in 2005)
The Met says more than 100 women may have been abused by Al-Fayed, and has referred two of its own investigations to watchdogs
Earlier today, former Harrods director Jon Brilliant told the BBC Al-Fayed had sought to manipulate department store managers in order to conceal his own crimes, sacking those he could not control.
Mr Brilliant claimed the businessman presided over a culture of secrecy that saw managers kept apart and handed money when they went on business trips – with the implication that Al-Fayed could then exert power over them if they ever turned on him.
‘He was trying to get you to come back and say ‘oh, I spent money on drugs or I spent money frolicking, doing something that I shouldn’t have been doing,’ and that he would then use that information against you if you should ever turn on him,’ he said.
He added: ‘I am certainly aware of people who… succumbed to the temptation.’
Harrods said it was ‘utterly appalled’ by the allegations of abuse, describing the late businessman as ‘an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated’.
‘We also acknowledge that during this time his victims were failed and for this we sincerely apologise,’ the statement added.
‘The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.
‘This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees.
‘While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future.’
