Beloved Australian entertainer Rolf Harries was revealed to have been arrested last month over sex crime charges. Police reports have previously said that they had arrested a then 82-year-old man as part a sex offences operation. But now, friends and family have rallied around Harries as he was named as the same man by a tabloid.

Police have arrested Harries in Berkshire in the UK on March 28, two days before his 83rd birthday. He was previously not named in the arrest, with the media only referring to him as a well-known Australian entertainer from Berkshire.

"An 82-year-old man from Berkshire was arrested by officers on Operation Yewtree on suspicion of sexual offences," the Scotland Yard was quoted by the UK tabloid The Sun as saying. "He has been bailed to a date in May pending further inquiries."

The Sun has just recently named Harries as the anonymous 82-year-old man. It was said that police first raided his Berkshire home on Nov 24, 2012 , but he was not at home. He was interviewed under caution on Nov 29, and was arrested in March.

He was one of the 11 people arrested under Operation Yewtree, which is investigating people who are linked to former BBC star Jimmy Savile.

Since Savile's death in 2011, allegations of child abuse that were made against him became widely public. It is believed his victims reach around 450.

The arrest of Harries, however, is allegedly over offences not linked to Savile. Police refused to give any details of the allegations. Harries remains free on bail until May.

Meanwhile, his two TV shows have been axed from the Channel 5 network following his identification in the case. The channel cut "Rolf's Animal Clinic" and the kids' series "Olive the Ostrich" from their programme line-up.

"While this legal matter involving Rolf Harries is ongoing we have removed Olive the Ostrich and repeats of Rolf's Animal Clinic from the schedule," a spokesman for the network said.