The childhood friend of Rolf Harris’ daughter Bindi recently spoke for the first time about the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of the TV star.
Victims of the convicted paedophile gave exclusive testimony to documentary makers in the two-parter documentary, Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, which airs at 9pm on ITV1 tonight (Tuesday, October 31).
While the ITVX programme interviewed several of his alleged victims, it is the abuse of his daughter’s childhood friend over the years that is perhaps the most shocking.
However, Rolf’s daughter Bindi chose to stand by her dad, and even attempted to defend his behaviour.
Death of Rolf Harris announced
Back in May, the disgraced star’s death was announced. He died on May 10 following a neck cancer diagnosis and due to the “frailties of age”, according to the death certificate.
His family released a statement about his final moments, that also confirmed he had already been cremated and “laid to rest” in a private funeral.
It read: “This is to confirm that Rolf Harris recently died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest. They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made.”
He was aged 93 at the time of his death.
Did Rolf Harris’ daughter Bindi stand by her dad?
Rolf Harris was convicted of abusing his daughter Bindi’s childhood best friend. However, Bindi stood by her father throughout the allegations and subsequent court case.
Although she did not appear in the ITVX documentary, she has previously defended her father very publicly. During his trial, Rolf’s wife Alwen Hughes and only daughter Bindi – named after a town in Western Australia – accompanied him every day to court. They put on an united front for cameras, and held hands every day.
Did Rolf Harris’ daughter Bindi testify in court?
During his trial in June 2014, Rolf Harris’ daughter Bindi told court she contemplated suicide after discovering her father’s secret 11-year ‘affair’ with her best friend.
Bindi said her “whole world changed in an instant”. She said she was beside herself in shock, liable to stab herself with forks and bang her head repeatedly against the wall.
Standing in the witness box, she told Southwark crown court she had struggled to deal with the “utter shock” of the illicit relationship. She also feared for her parents, saying: “They are 80-something. This is appalling for them. I’m frightened they’re going to die in the middle of this court case.”
Bindi went on to say she battled depression and was left “really suicidal” after she discovered her best friend had had a relationship with the TV star for more than a decade.
After confronting her dad, she said she later forgave him: “I realise we are all human and realised I had him on a pedestal, now I see him as a father and as a man.”
However, Bindi’s friend claimed she was indecently assaulted by Rolf Harris. She said the abuse happened over several years beginning when she was 13.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass QC accused Bindi of colluding with her father to protect him from the sexual abuse allegations. The prosecution also accused Bindi of acting in her own self-interests for money. Bindi admitted her father’s monthly allowance subsided her husband’s pay.
A jury later found Rolf Harris guilty of grooming and sexually assaulting Bindi’s childhood friend, known as Victim A.
Did Bindi Harris write a book?
Bindi, who is now 59 years old, defended her dad in her 2018 book, entitled Living With a Pervert – which was never published. Shockingly, she claimed that his generation was to blame for his “flirty” behaviour.
In an extract seen by the Daily Star Sunday, she said: “Dad is from the age of Benny Hill, Carry On films. He is Australian – which was pretty male chauvinist in those days – that is the era he is from, so sometimes he says non-PC jokes.”
She continued: “He loves a flirt, which he does very openly, much to my embarrassment. But I have met many a man from my dad’s generation like that.”
In the draft pages of the proposed tell-all biography, she also claimed that her dad was “no kiddy fiddler”. She added: “It’s harmless and you know it doesn’t lead anywhere. Dad loves to give compliments to women so they feel good, for no other reason!”
Bindi also went so far as to call her father’s victims “liars, cheaters, and thieves”.
Is Bindi Harris married? Where is she now?
Bindi’s continued support of her dad led to the collapse of her long-term relationship with partner Malcolm Cox. At the time, he told the court they split because he was concerned their son Marlon wouldn’t be safe around his famous grandfather.
She is now remarried to a teacher called Craig Nicholls. Bindi and her husband understandably keep a low profile.
What did Rolf Harris do to his daughter Bindi’s friend?
The two-part documentary Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight told the story of his decades-long grooming of his daughter Bindi’s childhood friend.
In exclusive testimony, she described how Rolf abused her from the age of 13 until adulthood. The girl in question talked to the filmmakers via her psychotherapist Chip Somers.
The unidentified female gave Chip Somers permission to tell her story. And the psychotherapist admitted the young girl had turned to alcohol to cope with the abuse.
He said on her behalf: “She started to experience innocent physical contact… But Rolf pushed boundaries a little bit further, a little bit further, a little bit further every time she and Rolf were on their own.
“And then there is a specific point when it changed completely from anything that could be perceived as being innocent. [It turned] into a very overt sexual insertion into her vagina, of a finger. That changes the game completely.”
Chip added: “It then gradually got more intimate. There was a request for masturbation. There was a request for oral sex. These things were happening both in his home, and in her home. Where opportunity presented itself, becoming more intense, more frequent.”
Rolf told Victim A: “You cannot talk about this. Do not tell anybody about this. This is our little secret. I am a powerful person. I have money, so tread carefully.”
Read more: Rolf Harris told teenage victim ‘you’re irresistible’ during ‘humiliating’ abuse
Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight airs on ITV1 and ITVX tonight (Tuesday, October 31) at 9pm.
So do you think Rolf Harris’ actions are defendable? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.