Peter Richardson

Infobox actor
name = Peter Richardson

---

caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1951|10|15|df=y
birthplace = Devon, England
deathdate =
deathplace =
restingplace =
restingplacecoordinates =
othername =
occupation =
yearsactive =
spouse =
domesticpartner =
children =
parents =
influences =
influenced =
website =

Peter Richardson, born 15 October 1951 in Devon, is an English actor, comedian, director, and writer. He is best known for "The Comic Strip Presents..." television series.

He started performing at London's Comedy Store in 1979, in a double act with Nigel Planer called "The Outer Limits". Richardson soon set up his own comedy club called The Comic Strip, taking with him a core group from The Comedy Store. At this point, various television companies were taking note of the rapidly growing "alternative comedy" scene, and Richardson was approached by Jeremy Isaacs to make a series of comedy films for Channel 4.

"The Comic Strip Presents..." ran from 1982 to 1988 on Channel 4, and then continued from 1990 to 1993 on the BBC. Richardson wrote more than half of the shows together with Pete Richens, and he also directed most of the BBC series. He also cowrote and directed the Comic Strip film "The Supergrass", a well-made but little-known parody of slick police dramas starring himself, Adrian Edmondson, and Jennifer Saunders and featuring many other Comic Strip performers.

Richardson was due to play Mike on "The Young Ones" but when he fell out with the director his part was given to Christopher Ryan. Arguably this cost Richardson greater success in his own right as a performer, as he is still relatively unknown. Richardson directed the 1987 film "Eat the Rich", written by him and Pete Richens, about a gay waiter at "Bastard's", an exclusive restaurant. He's soon fired for conduct more obnoxious than even the "maitre d"' at a restaurant named "Bastard's" can stand. Fallen on hard times, his obnoxiousnous is channeled into a mock class rage and, with the first of a quartet of cohorts, he starts out on a rampage that of course ends in mock tragedy.

Richardson also wrote (again with Richens) and directed the film "The Pope Must Die", which starred Comic Strip regulars Robbie Coltrane and Adrian Edmondson.

During the last series of Comic Strip films, Peter introduced a new group of performers, Doon Mackichan, Mark Caven, Phil Cornwell, Sara Stockbridge, George Yiasoumi and Gary Beadle, and went on to star them in the "The Glam Metal Detectives". The series was a hit with critics, and did well enough in the ratings, but spiralling production costs and internal wranglings at the BBC meant it only ran for one season.

Apart from the Comic Strip, Richardson's best-known work is the sitcom "Stella Street", which he directs, and co-writes with the impressionists John Sessions and Phil Cornwell. A Stella Street movie was released in 2004. He also directed the bizarrely funny mock documentary "Lust for Glorious" about comedian Eddie Izzard with Mark Caven and Phil Kay.

Filmography

Movie

*The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
*The Supergrass (1985)
*Eat the Rich (1987)
*The Pope Must Die (1991)
*Carry On Columbus (1992)
*Stella Street (2004)
* (2004)

Television

*Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979)
*The Comic Strip Presents (1982)
*Glam Metal Detectives (1995)
*Stella Street (1997)

External links

*imdb name|id=0724724|name=Peter Richardson
* http://www.geocities.com/adeappreciation/PRappreciation.html Fantastic website about Peter Richardson and his comic strip co-star Adrian Edmondson.
*http://adesangels.forumsvibe.com/index.php?mforum=adesangels A forum for fans of peter Richardson, Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson to chat!