Peter Richardson turned Britain’s Ocean City into a movie set
Devon movie director and actor Peter Richardson(Image: Submitted)
He’s the man who founded the famous Comic Strip and went on to bring Hollywood stars to Plymouth.
And now Devon movie maker Peter Richardson will show some of his best work and take questions from fans in Plymouth and Exeter.
Richardson, who still lives in Devon, created the Comic Strip with Nigel Planer in the 1980s and helped forge the careers of Dawn French, Jeniffer Saunders, Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Alexei Sayle and Keith Allen.
The TV show The Comic Strip Presents was a huge hit in the 1980s and 1990s and Richardson also went on to take the formula to the big screen with The Supergrass, Eat the Rich, and the Pope Must Die.
His 2003 movie Churchill: The Hollywood Years was filmed at Plymouth’s Royal William Yard and brought Tinsel Town stars Christian Slater and Neve Campbell to Britain’s Ocean City.
He also returned to Plymouth to make Comic Strip reboots The Hunt for Tony Blair, a spoof on the former PM, and Redtop, a satirical take on the phone hacking scandal.
Devon movie director and actor Peter Richardson, left, with actor Ade Edmondson in a Comic Strip production(Image: Submitted)
And now Richardson is bringing his The Comic Strip Presents show to Plymouth’s Quad Theatre and Exeter’s Phoenix.
He’ll be joined by Phil Cornwell, with whom he created the 1990s TV hit comedy Stella Street and they will discuss that and other highlights of Richardson’s career.
In Exeter they’ll show the Red Nose of Courage and in Plymouth will screen The Hunt for Tony Blair.
There’ll also be clips from Stella Street and a tribute to their friend Rik Mayall, who died in 2014 aged just 56. They’ll take questions too.
Richardson is particularly proud of the productions he made in Plymouth and being from Devon.
Speaking to PlymouthLive from a train to a show in Maidenhead he said: “We have shot three films in Plymouth. The Royal William Yard was a ruin when we first filmed there.
Filming Churchill: The Hollywood Years at Plymouth’s Royal William Yard
“It was supposed to be Whitehall (in the Churchill movie) after it was bombed and it actually looked like a bombsite.
“And we shot the Hunt for Tony Blair there, it was also supposed to be Whitehall. I’m showing that film in Plymouth. It looks fabulous on the big screen.
“We’ll show it in black-and-white. It looks really great. I hope Plymouth likes it.
“We’ll also do a Q&A and show some bits of the Churchill film and the best of Rik Mayall and Stella Street.”
Richardson has a deep affection for Devon and said: “I was brought up in Devon, the first film I saw was Mary Poppins at the Drake Cinema in Plymouth.
“I was born in Newton Abbot. I tell people it’s a sad town, almost as bad as Plymouth. Of course, I’m joking. Plymouth has some nice sites.
“I also filmed Red Top there, about phone hacking. I filmed at the Civic Centre, which was supposed to be The Sun in Wapping.
“The last time I was in Plymouth was a couple of months ago. I went to the Royal William Yard and met Nigel Planer who was down seeing his son, who lives in Plymouth.
“We had dinner at the Royal William Yard. I still have lots of pictures of it when we filmed there.”
Richardson’s family moved from Newton Abbot to Dartmoor when he was a boy and he said: “I was brought up on Dartmoor and then went to London for 20 to 30 years and now live near Dartmouth.
“I’ve been there for about 20 years. I live near a valley. I came back (to Devon) in 2000 and started working from Totnes. I made films from there.
“Jennifer and Ade live here, Rik came here and Dawn lives in Cornwall, just over the border, Keith Allen’s parents had a fish and chip shop in Brixham.”
Richardson’s company Great Western Features was based in Totnes. It was dissolved in 2004. He’s now aged 74, and is still working.
“I have been writing a new script but it is hard to get money,” he said. “No one wants to make comedy. If you do horror you have more of a chance. But stand-up is doing well.”
The Comic Street Presents with Peter Richardson and Phil Cornwell is at the Quad Theatre, Plymouth, on October 13, 7.30pm to 10pm, and at Exeter Phoenix on October 14, at the same time.
For tickets:
www.tickettailor.com/events/comicalentertainment/2282556
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