Sir Jimmy said he would give the thief a box of chocolates

Sir Jimmy Savile

The veteran star, aged 81, said the thief made off with his John Lennon-style glasses as he was leaving a function at the Queens Hotel.

Sir Jimmy reported it to police, but compared the experience to being chased by fans in the 1960s.

"The fact I've not been mugged for over 50 years, I thought it was marvellous, it was just like old times," he said.

The former DJ and TV presenter, who lives in Roundhay, said he was walking down the hotel's corridor at about midnight on Wednesday when the woman pounced.

'Gave me a thrill'

"She was walking alongside me and the next thing she reaches up - I thought she was going to give me an embrace, but she grabbed my glasses and took off down the corridor," he said.

"I thought, I've been mugged. How wonderful."

Sir Jimmy said that the unexpected theft hadn't left him unable to see as he has a spare pair of glasses.

He added: "I've told the police that if the girl turns up and I get my glasses back, I will give her a box of chocolates for giving me a 1950s thrill in 2007."