'I've explored Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris' abandoned homes - 1 chilling thing stood out'

Colin Smith is a man obsessed with decay. Known to millions as The Bearded Explorer, the former plumber has built a YouTube empire - amassing over 40 million views - by stepping inside the world's most haunting abandoned spaces. From derelict celebrity mansions to forgotten asylums, Smith's global expeditions are fueled by a dedicated community that provides him with daily leads on where to find the next "time capsule" frozen in history.

Ahead of a trip to Portugal for his latest project, Smith opened up exclusively with Express.co.uk, where he reflected on his most harrowing discoveries, including what he found when exploring the abandoned homes of notorious paedophiles Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris. Earlier this spring, the YouTuber took a deep look around Harris' rotting riverside home in Berkshire and will never forget the chilling discoveries he made while investigating the former Animal Hospital presenter's £4 million mansion.

He explained that Harris' house, reportedly modelled on his childhood home in Australia, was decaying but had been left untouched since everyone who had lived there had moved out.

"I believe it was still owned by his daughter, and she was trying to sell it now," he pondered. "The interesting thing about that is it was valued at £4.5 million originally, it then failed to sell, so she put it through an auction with a reserve of £2 million, and it failed to sell again."

Recalling the alarming items he found while exploring the house, he said: "There were a few bits which I thought were odd at first. In the utility room, there was a homemade, like, a wardrobe sort of cupboard in the corner, and I looked in. The hinges were made from knives, forks, and other things. But when you look at the shape of the doors, they actually look like little coffins. Like three-foot-tall coffins, and you think, 'That's weird.'"

However, the strangest find he came across was in the basement. Smith found a mould of his wife, Alwen Harris', head in the middle of the empty room, adding: "I just thought it was a really odd thing to find a mould of his wife's head in the basement. That's very strange, you know? I don't know why, but it was the only thing left in there."

Harris, who was convicted of indecent assaults against four girls, died of cancer in 2023 at 93, followed shortly by his wife, leaving behind a home that felt eerily frozen in time.

Smith described it as a stark contrast to Savile's abandoned cottage. While the late predator's Scottish retreat became a magnet for vitriolic graffiti before its eventual demolition, Harris' estate remained a disturbing time capsule.

The Bearded Explorer said: "[[Savile's] place was up in Scotland, and when I got there, it was completely wrecked, and it was covered in vandalism. People had been there, just scribbling all over the walls what he did and what he was. So that exploration for me wasn't really great."

To find out more about Smith's discoveries, visit

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