Bernard Wrigley Bernard Wrigley
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Contacts: Web site: www.bernardwrigley.com; Email: bwrigley@btinternet.com; Agent (acting only): www.sharronashcroft.com/
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Commonly known as 'The Bolton Bullfrog', you will frequently find Bernard surfacing at concerts, festivals, clubs, dinners, ceilidhs, and on the many albums he has recorded, with his humorous songs and captivating stories.People who haven't seen him on stage may recognise him from his numerous TV appearances - generally doing more acting than singing. Coronation Street, Guinness adverts, Last of the Summer Wine, Emmerdale, Children's Ward, Coogan's Run and many of Alan Bennett's films have been graced by the Wrigley presence.This formr Customs & Excise officer has sung at a Royal Command performance and has also made numerous overseas trips including Cyprus, the Middle East and Hong Kong to entertain the homesick (and not-so-homesick) ex-patriots.As a singer, Bernard has been gracing concerts, folk clubs and festivals for over 25 years. What began as an urge to play the guitar at school developed into a liking for traditional folk music and then back into a love of playing all kinds of music - as his varied albums demonstrate. Many people request the live tapes, taking home with them a slice of the Wrigley presence, humour and all. Others prefer the albums of folk songs, or the instrumental side.His professional career began at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. Then came the Ken Campbell Roadshow and the start of his songwriting. He has been back many times to the theatre, including Waiting for Godot with Mike Harding, and in Jim Cartwright's direction of his own critically acclaimed play Road at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. As well as playing bass guitar with ceilidh band Jack at a Pinch, who play a unique selection of English country dance music on fiddle, accordian, electric bass and drums, he has joined the revamped Fivepenny Piece. They are all greatly enjoying singing with this new line-up.
He recently appeared as a Union Rep in the film Brassed Off, and has recently achieved a certain noteriety as mad inventor Barry Clegg in Emmerdale. Recent TV credits include The Cops (BBC2, 1998), Dinnerladies (BBC1, 1998) and Cold Feet (Granada, 1998) as Taxi Driver
Bernard writes of his Street appearances:
The first time I appeared was in 1976, when I wasa compare/comedian at the Gatsby Night Club where Rita was singing and Ernie Bishop played the piano. I remember having to do some awful gags and thinking "This won't help my singing career - people will think these are my lines !"After chauffering Stan and Hilda, I was Harry the Breadman for three episodes in 1986 - each one started with the bread being delivered each morning. Incidentally, people don't often realise that each episode is "a day in the life...", starting early morning, and finishing at night. Harry fancied Bet when she lived in the flat above the Corner Shop, and he also flirted with Deirdre - but he was all wind.The last time I was in The Street was in 1991 when I played Mr Shaw. The story was that Mavis had been giving Derek some nutmeg to spice theit love-life up. He then tickled a woman's bottom in the supermarket - who turned out to be Mrs Shaw. So Derek is at our house apologizing one dinner time when I come home, engage in an arguement and throw him out of our house.
I'm sure most people will agree that Bernard's next appearance in The Street is well overdue...
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