Nick J Thomas

Nick J. Thomas (born Blandford Forum, Dorset 16 December 1959) is a British theatre producer and former puppeteer who founded Qdos Entertainment.^[1] A producer since 1982, Thomas was listed in 2008 as the decade’s 5th most influential figure in UK Theatre by The Stage.^[2]

The son of a garage proprietor and youngest of five children, Thomas moved to Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in 1968. It was here that in 1970 he saw Ken Dodd perform at The Futurist Theatre and he caught ‘the show-business bug’. Little did he know that his wife to be, Sandra, was one of Ken Dodd’s Diddymen in that show. At age 15, Thomas won the ITV talent show New Faces in 1975 with his act 'Tommer Puppets'. Having won the TV show New Faces, Thomas left school before his O Levels and appeared in UK theatre shows with Dick Emery, Mike & Bernie Winters, Ronnie Dukes & Ricky Lee, The Nolans, Lena Zavoroni, Larry Grayson & Cilla Black. He built three teams of 'Tommer Puppets' to enable simultaneous performances in theatres, on cruise liners and in holiday camps.

He began producing at Scarborough’s The Royal Opera House in the summer of 1982 with The Keith Harris Show. By 1992 his company, then known as Artist Management Group (AMG), was producing 12 summer shows and 16 pantomimes annually. At the same time, AMG had established itself as a leading celebrity management business in London’s Covent Garden. He merged the production and talent management businesses to become Qdos Entertainment in January 1999. Between 1999 to present day, Qdos has grown organically and made various acquisitions including Paul Elliott’s E & B Productions, Jim Davidson’s Midas Productions, Laurie Mansfield’s International Artistes, Janet Malone’s JLM Artistes, Nigel Hudston’s holiday park specialists The Entertainment Department (TED UK) and regional theatre operator Hetherington Seelig Theatres, to create one of the largest entertainment Groups in Europe. Qdos’ business now spans theatre management, contract catering, live entertainment production and artiste management.

Nick is married to Sandra who he met whilst she was dancing in his Hi-De-Hi Sunday concerts in his first summer season of 1982. The couple have two daughters and maintain homes in North Yorkshire, Central London and Southern Spain. The couple owns the Les Routiers Restaurant of the Year 2008/09, The Copper Horse in Seamer near Scarborough, which is a theatrically themed gastro pub.

References

1. ^ "The entertainment masters with the light touch - Nick Thomas and Jon Conway". The Stage. 15 October 2004. http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/4672/the-entertainment-masters-with-the-light. 
2. ^ Smith, Alastair (December 24, 2008). "Stage 100: Who’ll be number one?". The Stage. http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/newsblog/2008/12/stage-100-wholl-be-number-one/. 

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Name	Thomas, N
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Date of birth	16 December 1959
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