Chris Denning

{{Short description|English radio presenter and convicted sex offender (1941–2022)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Chris Denning

| image =

| landscape =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Christopher David Denning

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1941|5|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Hayes, Middlesex, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|6|24|1941|5|10|df=y}}

| death_place = Bedford, England

| occupation = Radio presenter

| criminal_charges = Sex offences

| criminal_penalty =

| criminal_status =

}}

Christopher David Denning (10 May 1941 – 24 June 2022) was an English radio presenter and sex offender. His career effectively ended when he was convicted of sexual offences in 1974. He was imprisoned several times in the United Kingdom, Czechia and Slovakia between 1985 and his death in custody in 2022.

Early life

Christopher David Denning was born in Hayes, Middlesex on 10 May 1941.{{cite news| url= http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/former-radio-1-dj-fails-4838839| title= Former Radio 1 DJ fails to get his sentence cut| website= getsurrey.co.uk| date= July 27, 2006| edition= July 2, 2013| publisher= | access-date= October 9, 2023| archive-date= 22 May 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140522195603/http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/former-radio-1-dj-fails-4838839| url-status= live}} He grew up in Cowley, Oxford, the only child of middle-class parents.{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Kate|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/may/04/features11.g23|title=All Played Out|work=The Guardian|date=4 May 1999|access-date=8 October 2016|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305022342/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/may/04/features11.g23|url-status=live}} He has said that he was a rent boy from the age of 13{{cite web

|url=http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/34384-denning-going-against-social-norms.html

|title=Denning: Going against social norms

|first=James

|last=Pitkin

|date=19 December 2001

|publisher=The Prague Post

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130910203650/http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/34384-denning-going-against-social-norms.html

|archive-date=10 September 2013}} and remained so until the age of 18.

Radio career

His first radio experience was on a short-wave station in the United States as a teenager before travelling to Kenya to work on British Forces Network.{{cite news|last=Legge|first=James|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/ex-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-re-arrested-by-jimmy-savile-police-on-suspicion-of-sex-offences-8807365.html|title=Ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning re-arrested by Jimmy Savile police on suspicion of sex offences|work=The Independent|date=10 September 2013|access-date=18 February 2019|archive-date=19 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015628/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/ex-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-re-arrested-by-jimmy-savile-police-on-suspicion-of-sex-offences-8807365.html|url-status=live}} He then returned to the UK in time to become the first announcer heard on BBC2 when it began broadcasting in 1964.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30058689|title=Chris Denning convicted again of sex abuse against boys|work=BBC News|date=14 November 2014|access-date=18 February 2019|archive-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218142018/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30058689|url-status=live}} He worked for Radio Luxembourg and Radio London before presenting the Saturday afternoon programme Where It's At with Kenny Everett (produced by Johnny Beerling) on the BBC Light Programme.{{cite web

|url=http://www.beatlesbible.com/1967/05/20/the-bbc-bans-a-day-in-the-life

|title=The BBC bans A Day in the Life

|work=Beatles Bible website

|date=20 May 1967

|access-date=11 September 2013

|archive-date=1 September 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901034433/http://www.beatlesbible.com/1967/05/20/the-bbc-bans-a-day-in-the-life/

|url-status=live

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1967.0519.bbc.beatles.html

|title=Beatles Interview: Where It's At, Sgt Pepper Promo Party

|work=Beatles interviews website

|date=19 May 1967

|access-date=11 September 2013

|archive-date=21 August 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821012143/http://beatlesinterviews.org/db1967.0519.bbc.beatles.html

|url-status=live

}}

He then became one of the original DJs on BBC Radio 1,{{cite web

|url=http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/original_presenter_list.htm

|title=Radio 1 Original Presenter List as Published September 4th 1967

|work=Radio Rewind

|access-date=11 September 2013

|archive-date=6 August 2017

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806221039/http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/original_presenter_list.htm

|url-status=live

}} where he continued presenting Where It's At, had his own weekly show and deputised as necessary for Tony Blackburn on the latter's breakfast show.{{cite news

|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/oneder-boys-here-are-23-people-who-25-years-ago-this-week-thought-that-what-britain-needed-was-a-publicly-funded-pop-radio-station-many-others-firmly-disagreed-and-still-do--including-so-its-said-the-bbcs-next-directorgeneral-so-where-today-are-the-voices-of-radio-1-mk-1-1554088.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110054450/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/oneder-boys-here-are-23-people-who-25-years-ago-this-week-thought-that-what-britain-needed-was-a-publicly-funded-pop-radio-station-many-others-firmly-disagreed-and-still-do--including-so-its-said-the-bbcs-next-directorgeneral-so-where-today-are-the-voices-of-radio-1-mk-1-1554088.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=10 November 2012

|title=One-Der Boys

|newspaper=The Independent

|first=David

|last=Symonds

|date=27 September 1992}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/djsd.htm

|title=The BBC bans A Day in the Life

|work=Offshore Radio website

|access-date=11 September 2013

|archive-date=11 January 2019

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111234843/http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/djsd.htm

|url-status=live

}} Denning was gay, and has said that he was 'out' when he was working at Radio 1.

Denning left Radio 1 in 1969 after facing accusations that his job there came into conflict with his new promotional job at Decca Records, which the BBC had initially agreed to with provisos. He worked for Decca for two years. He then became the number two producer at Bell Records and was involved in developing the careers of the Bay City Rollers and Gary Glitter.

After his employment with radio stations and record companies, he ran his own music and video production business, and was part of a 1997 Radio One reunion with Terry Wogan and Tony Blackburn.{{cite web |title=Profile: Chris Denning, former BBC Radio 1 DJ |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30297839 |website=BBC News |date=16 December 2014 |access-date=22 December 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418222146/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30297839 |url-status=live }}

Legal history

In 1959, Denning was jailed in Germany for distributing pornographic images.{{cite news |title=Paedophile ex-Radio One DJ on the run |url= https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/5355029.paedophile-ex-radio-one-dj-on-the-run/ |website=Dorset Echo|location= Weymouth |access-date=4 December 2024 |date=26 April 2005 |archive-date=18 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818233416/https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/5355029.paedophile-ex-radio-one-dj-on-the-run/ |url-status=live}}

Denning's first conviction for gross indecency and indecent assault was in 1974 when he was convicted at the Old Bailey,{{cite news |title=Radio 1 DJ jailed for paedophilia claims offences were consensual |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7291723/Radio-1-DJ-jailed-for-paedophilia-claims-offences-were-consensual.html |date=22 February 2010 |newspaper=The Telegraph |location= LOndon |access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=19 June 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180619080344/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7291723/Radio-1-DJ-jailed-for-paedophilia-claims-offences-were-consensual.html |url-status=live}} although he was not imprisoned. Before his conviction, Denning had been working for Jonathan King's newly founded UK Records, but King sacked him after the guilty verdict.{{cite news

|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1363682/Paedophile-DJ-escapes-extradition-to-Britain.html |title= Paedophile DJ escapes extradition to Britain |first=Sean |last=O'Neill |date=28 November 2001 |newspaper=The Telegraph |location= London |access-date=3 April 2018 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181003033235/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1363682/Paedophile-DJ-escapes-extradition-to-Britain.html |url-status=live}}

During the 1970s, Denning was part of a group of child sex offenders based around a disco for young people{{cite news

|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-king-the-only-apology-i-have-is-to-say-that-i-was-good-at-seduction-7658249.html

|title=Jonathan King: 'The only apology I have is to say that I was good at seduction'

|first=Robert

|last=Chalmers

|date=22 April 2012

|newspaper=The Independent

|access-date=25 August 2017

|archive-date=4 December 2017

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204063106/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-king-the-only-apology-i-have-is-to-say-that-i-was-good-at-seduction-7658249.html

|url-status=live

}} called the Walton Hop. Other participants included Tam Paton, manager of the Bay City Rollers (convicted of child sex offences in 1982), and Jonathan King.{{cite news

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/dec/01/weekend.jonronson

|title=The fall of a pop impresario

|first=Jon

|last=Ronson

|date=1 December 2001

|newspaper=The Guardian

|access-date=14 December 2016

|archive-date=5 December 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205001758/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/dec/01/weekend.jonronson

|url-status=live

}} All became suspects in Surrey Police's Operation Arundel, an investigation focusing on sex offenders, which ultimately led to convictions against King and Denning.{{cite news

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4699934.stm

|title=Ex-Radio 1 DJ abused young boys

|date=10 February 2006

|work=BBC News website

|access-date=10 September 2013

|archive-date=2 January 2007

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102213026/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4699934.stm

|url-status=live

}}

In 1985, he was imprisoned for 18 months for gross indecency with a child, and in 1988 for three years for indecent assault on a 13-year-old boy and possession of indecent photographs. In March 1996, he was imprisoned for ten weeks for publishing indecent photographs. The following year he was held in Pankrác Prison in Prague to await his trial in 2000, which convicted him of abusing seven boys aged under 15. He was released in 2001.

After his release, he was wanted for questioning by Surrey Police, but an extradition attempt by British authorities in the Prague City Court failed because the alleged offences fell outside of the Czech Republic's statute of limitation of five years, but Denning was ordered to leave the country "indefinitely". He was arrested in August 2005 at Heathrow Airport after returning to Britain from Austria. He admitted to five charges of the indecent assault of boys aged under 16 years of age, dating back to the 1970s and 1980s: he was convicted the following February and imprisoned for four years. Meanwhile, a European arrest warrant was issued in December 2007.{{cite news

|url=http://news.sky.com/story/639761/ex-radio-1-dj-jailed-for-kid-porn

|title=Ex-Radio 1 DJ Jailed For Kid Porn

|date=8 October 2008

|work=Sky News website

|access-date=10 September 2013

|archive-date=4 March 2016

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124006/http://news.sky.com/story/639761/ex-radio-1-dj-jailed-for-kid-porn

|url-status=live

}}

In 2008, he was extradited from Britain to Slovakia, where he was jailed in October for five years for producing child pornography. The offences in Slovakia dated back to 2002 and 2003. He had been briefly held in custody in Bratislava during 2004 following a search of his house, but then quickly left the country.

In June 2013, he was arrested in east London as part of Operation Yewtree, an investigation into sexual abuse.{{cite news

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/06/chris-denning-held-suspicion-sexual-offences

|title=Former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning held on suspicion of sexual offences

|first=Josh

|last=Halliday

|date=6 June 2013

|newspaper=The Guardian

|access-date=14 December 2016

|archive-date=8 March 2016

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308205000/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/06/chris-denning-held-suspicion-sexual-offences

|url-status=live

}} He was re-arrested and bailed out in September of that year. The allegations made against Denning were not part of those relating to Jimmy Savile. In May 2014, as a result of the investigation, he was charged with 41 sex offences.{{cite news

|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27535203

|title=Ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning in court over sex offence charges

|work=BBC News

|date=23 May 2014

|access-date=7 June 2014

|archive-date=7 June 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607014321/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27535203

|url-status=live

}}{{cite news

|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-27736230

|title=Ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning remanded on sex charges

|work=BBC News

|date=6 June 2014

|access-date=7 June 2014

|archive-date=7 June 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607014314/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-27736230

|url-status=live

}}{{cite news

|url=http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2014/07/11/denning-in-court-over-sex-charges/

|title=Court delay for ex-Radio 1 Denning

|newspaper=Shropshire Star

|date=11 July 2014

|access-date=12 July 2014

|archive-date=14 July 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714140507/http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2014/07/11/denning-in-court-over-sex-charges/

|url-status=live

}} In August 2014, Denning admitted to 29 of the charges in relation to the offences committed against boys.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28660122 "Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning admits abusing boys"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003033250/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28660122 |date=3 October 2018 }}, BBC News, 5 August 2014 In November at Southwark Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to a further eleven charges. In all, he pled guilty to 40 sexual offences committed in the period 1967 to 1987 relating to 26 male victims, the youngest of whom was 9 at the time of the offence. In December 2014, Judge Alistair McCreath sentenced him to 13 years in prison.{{cite news|url =http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30504632|title =Ex-DJ Chris Denning jailed for sex abuse|work =BBC News|date =16 December 2014|access-date =16 December 2014|archive-date =16 December 2014|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141216171541/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30504632|url-status =live}}

Denning was charged with six offences stemming from the Operation Ravine investigation on 7 June 2016.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-36472233 |title=Ex-DJ Denning charged with child sex offences |work=BBC News |date=7 June 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=12 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160612213712/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-36472233 |url-status=live }} On 22 August 2016, Denning pleaded guilty to 21 sex offences between 1969 and 1986, against 11 boys, the youngest of whom was 8.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37154763 |title=Ex-DJ Denning admits child sex offences |work=BBC News |date=22 August 2016 |access-date=22 August 2016 |archive-date=22 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160822121028/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37154763 |url-status=live}} At Southwark Crown Court on 7 October 2016, Judge Alistair McCreath sentenced Denning to another 13 years in prison for these additional offences, running from the day of the court hearing.{{cite news |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/news/2016/10/07/paedophile-ex-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-introduced-victims-to-gar/ |title=Paedophile ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning 'introduced victims to Gary Glitter and offered boy to BBC colleague' |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=7 October 2016 |access-date=7 October 2016 |archive-date=9 October 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161009131555/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/news/2016/10/07/paedophile-ex-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-introduced-victims-to-gar/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37590275 |title=Ex-BBC DJ Chris Denning jailed for child sex offences |work=BBC News |date=7 October 2016 |access-date=7 October 2016 |archive-date=7 October 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161007142539/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37590275 |url-status=live}}

On 7 December 2017, Denning pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one of taking indecent photos of a child between March 1979 and March 1981. His trial was due to start on 11 June 2018,{{cite news|url=http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/ex-radio-1-dj-chris-14009143|title=Ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning denies sexually abusing teenage boy 'passed on to him' by Surrey man|work=Get Surrey|date=7 December 2017|access-date=14 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184401/http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/ex-radio-1-dj-chris-14009143|archive-date=15 January 2018|url-status=dead}} but the charges were dropped on 13 June.{{cite news|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16404049.former-dj-is-cleared-of-latest-sex-abuse-claims/|title=Former DJ is cleared of latest sex abuse claims|work=The Echo|date=7 August 2018|access-date=13 August 2018|archive-date=13 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813111833/http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16404049.former-dj-is-cleared-of-latest-sex-abuse-claims/|url-status=live}}

Death

Denning died while in prison custody in Bedford Hospital on 24 June 2022, as a result of a bone infection caused by diabetes. He was 81 years old. His death was not reported publicly until October 2023. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, which investigates deaths in prison custody, found that "when clinical readings first showed that Mr Denning needed emergency care, he was not transferred to hospital for treatment".{{cite news |last1=Thomson |first1=Charles |title=Paedophile BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning dies in prison |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23837286.paedophile-bbc-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-dies-prison/ |access-date=5 October 2023 |publisher=Echo News |date=5 October 2023 |archive-date=7 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007022652/https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23837286.paedophile-bbc-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-dies-prison/ |url-status=live }}