Flashback 2000: Sgt Cryer aka Eric Richard on the Royal Yacht Britannia

A touch of nostalgia now, with this piece which was written to coincide with a low-key visit to Edinburgh by Eric Richard. Enjoy.


Britannia fits The Bill as Eric beats a path to Leith
By LIAM RUDDEN
Edinburgh Evening News 25 Mar 2000

"HEY Sarge" is the cry that greets Eric Richard as he walks along the shore at Leith and on to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

It's the sort of recognition that goes with being one of Britain's most famous TV faces. As Sergeant Bob Cryer, the linchpin of Britain's longest running police show, The Bill, he has been a household name for 17 years. But there's more to Eric Richard than meets the eye.

In the little time he spends away from his Sun Hill beat you are just as likely to find him behind the camera as in front of it. Two years ago he formed his own company, Watchman Productions, which makes documentaries, and it's the latest of these which brings him to the Capital to film on board Britannia.

"Everywhere you go someone will recognise you," he says. To help him work smoothly on Britannia he even had to be provided with security to keep over-enthusiastic fans at bay.

"It's an ongoing project," he explains. "But initially we were here to create a video for retail sale on board the ship." That completed, Richard is looking forward to returning later in the year.

"Working on the ship is marvellous. It's exciting being able to get below stairs on such a famous vessel."

His first visit to the ship that took Charles and Diana on the first leg of their honeymoon, has left him with an unexpected insight into the Royal Family.

"It isn't as regal as I expected," he says. "I hadn't realised that the Royal Family were quite as austere as they are. I suppose it's because we all imagine that palaces are from fairy tales, where everything is made of solid gold.

"Exploring the ship, I realise that they lived in a very practical way. I'm told the Queen wanted the drawing room to resemble that of a country cottage, rather than a state room, and although you're on a ship, that's exactly what it feels like."

With so much attention to detail on board, capturing the ship's atmosphere on video was just as important, and though Richard himself has narrated many documentaries he has not been tempted to do this one.

"As the producer it's my job to ensure we do the best for the subject we are filming. Britannia was built in Scotland, and has now, we assume, come to reside in Scotland for the rest of its life, I wanted a Scottish lilt to the narration to reflect that."

Filming here has brought Richard back to Leith for the first time in 20 years. He has noticed some changes. "I was last here in '76 and '77," he recalls, "and my memory is that it certainly wasn't a place I would have gone sightseeing. I do remember being taken to a party there by some friends once, though.
"We ended up in some dodgy-looking flat, but as a southerner I'd say it's now more on par with the Docklands, or Covent Garden ".

He regards his film work as a welcome diversion from a gruelling TV schedule -being the country's best-loved copper since Dixon of Dock Green can be hard work.

The actor, born in Margate and brought up in Brixton, first appeared on our screens in The Bill in 1983, since then most of the original characters have moved on to pastures new, but Bob Cryer is still there.

"I don't think any actor can ever perceive being in something this long," he confesses. "It's not the way the business usually works, but it is nice to be secure in the knowledge that for six months, or a year, you will be paid a certain amount."

Life wasn't always that easy. He left school at 15, and was married for the first time, and working in the motor trade by the age of 21. His acting debut came almost by accident.

"A workmate introduced me to the local amateur dramatic club," he laughs, "and I remember thinking, what a great way to make a living".

For the next 15 years he worked solidly as a jobbing actor before, at the age of 45, landing the part that was to change his life. In a real force Sgt Bob Cryer would have been pensioned off by now, but Richard is still happy to play TV father figure to his ever-changing batch of rookies.

Away from the screaming sirens and flashing blue lights he has another great love. "I have a passion for motorbikes," he reveals.

With nine bikes to his name - the earliest is a 1952 Triumph Tiger 100, and the most recent a GSXR 750 Suzuki - he jumped at the chance to present an episode of the travel show, Wish You Were Here, touring Scotland on his bike.

"I didn't set out to collect motor cycles," he says, "they've just sort of gathered themselves around me". When he'd finished shooting his holiday report, Richard and his wife, Tina, decided to spend a little longer in Scotland tracing his roots. "My mother was a MacDonell. And we managed to trace the family back to the times of Mary Queen of Scots."

During The Clearances his family moved to Edinburgh, before making their way down south working as engineers on the Victorian railways.

One day, the father-of-two, found himself at Glencoe, gazing out over his heritage - and taking some of his Kiwi fans by surprise.

"We were on our bikes, on the rise by the waterfall at the side of Glencoe," he remembers, "and it was raining. A car pulled up beside us, and five people got out to share the view. They were New Zealanders, and for some reason The Bill is really big out there. Imagine their faces as they stepped from their car only to be confronted by Sgt Cryer, in full motorcycle kit, standing drenched in the peeing rain in Glencoe.

"I've never seen anyone look so shocked," he laughs. "I'm sure they thought I should have been in a Rolls Royce and at least wearing a Barbour jacket!"