The two charities bearing the name of Jimmy Savile are to "discuss their future" whilst also pondering a name change following the airing of a documentary that presented the now-deceased presenter as a paedophile.

A statement from the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust advised that trustees had been contacted by members of the public suggesting it change its name and that the trustees are "in the process of looking into this".

The charity advised that "a large proportion of the funds the charity received came from donors other than the late Jimmy Savile, through fundraising and legacies" and said that the Trust has "recently committed substantial funds to medical research, hospitals and the Leeds Undergraduate Research Endowment". 

The charity also advised that trustees "will be meeting soon to discuss how to best use the funds that remain at their disposal". Asked by civilsociety.co.uk if this was an indication that the charity may wind-up, a spokesperson said:

"No decisions have been made yet as to the future of the charity. The trustees' main aim obviously is to protect the charity beneficiaries they currently support. They will be meeting in the next couple of weeks to discuss the future."

According to its latest accounts the Trust, launched in 1984, had £3.7m carried forward from 31 March 2012. It spent £30,800 on charitable activities in the year prior to that and generated £132,500 in investment income.

The Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandevile Hospital Trust shares three of the trustees of the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust and is also in discussion over its future following the ITV Exposure documentary that showed a number of accounts from women who said they were sexually abused by Savile while under the age of consent. The Trust was launched in 1981 to provide the relief of sickness by supporting the work of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, for its spinal unit in particular. Its spending amounted to just £7,749 in the year ending 31 March 2012.

Meanwhile, the Sun newspaper has launched a campaign to strip Jimmy Savile of his knighthood, which he received in 1990 for his services. In his lifetime Savile is estimated to have raised £40m for charity. 

And the NSPCC has advised it is "working closely with CEOP, ACPO and NAPAC to support anyone who has been affected by the issues raised in [the] documentary".