Keith puts on special show

Jun 29 2001 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

LAST Of The Summer Wine star Keith Clifford performed a one-man show in Holmfirth last night.

The self-penned performance, Scandals, is about the life of Lancastrian comic Frank Randle.

Keith appeared at the CragRats Theatre in Dunford Road.

The actor, who plays Billy Hardcastle in Summer Wine, wrote Scandals with friend John Chambers more than 10 years ago. The show was an instant hit and has been in demand ever since.

Thus, Keith was not suffering from first night nerves, although he was acting before his Summer Wine colleagues.

"I have performed it 300 times before," he said.

"It is very funny and very sad. I am sure that they will be carried along with it like Frank was through his rollercoaster life."

The show documents Randle's life, from his poverty and illegitimacy in Wigan to his peak in 1950 and subsequent decline.

As a result of Keith's CragRats debut, Scandals has begun to gather momentum again, and he has already been asked to perform the show in Glossop in October.

Fellow Summer Wine actors took a break from filming the BBC comedy series to attend.

They have been in and around Holmfirth since June 10.