Irish Comedian Roy Walker Talks to David A. Ellis
Irish comedian Roy Walker was interviewed at the Gateway theatre, Chester England. Roy has made numerous appearances on TV and for many years hosted the popular Catchphase game show.
On October 19 2003 the Gateway theatre, Chester England staged a show in aid of muscular dystrophy. Here is an interview I did with comedian Roy Walker who appeared in the show.
DAE: How old were you when you decided you wanted to be in show business?
Roy: About 11 or 12. The decision was made for me by one of my schoolteachers who (joking) thought I would never make it in the real world.
DAE What jobs did you do before going on stage?
Roy: I never had a job. I had part time jobs as a child, one of them helping the milkman. I went into show business after leaving school. I started in theatres in 1955. Later a lot of theatres closed and became bingo halls. Artistes had to switch from theatres to clubs. A lot of them couldn’t do it because a lot of them were rough places.
DAE: When did you make your first television appearance?
Roy: When I was seventeen in Ulster, Ireland. It was twenty more years before getting on TV in England
DAE: How did you get the Catchphrase job?
Roy: I was doing a show with Russ Abbot who was very helpful to me. I was doing a summer season with him in Bournemouth. Russ gave me a cameo role in the second half of the show. The TV people were in and it was suggested that I try for a new game show I drove from Bournemouth to Maidstone in the middle of the night, arriving at eight O’clock in the morning to do the pilot. At ten O’clock I left to get back to Bournemouth for the summer season. When I got back I had a telephone call to say I’d got the job
DAE: What made you decide to give up the show?
Roy: They finished me – I was very (joking) expensive by then.
DAE: What are you doing at the moment and what are your plans for the foreseeable future?
Roy: I am doing a lot of stand-up all over the country. I am off to the West Indies for Christmas, working on a P&O white cruise ship
DAE: When will we see more of you on TV?
Roy: I don’t know – maybe(joking) my sell dates gone
ROY WALKER INTERVIEW 2
DAE: What are your hobbies?
Roy: I play golf and tennis. I have horses and enjoy cooking.
DAE: Have you been to Chester before?
Roy: Yes I have, but only shopping. I think it’s a great city; I love it.
DAE: Do you ever plan to retire?
Roy: It’s a wonderful profession show business. You don’t retire from it – it retires you – the phone stops ringing. Show biz is good fun. As long as it is good fun I’ll continue to do it.
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