Bury St Edmunds: Statue bid to commemorate star Roy Hudd

Roy Hudd loved working on stage, appearing here as Henry Ormanroyd in a production of When We Are Married at London's Garrick Theatre

The wife of the late entertainer Roy Hudd has launched an appeal to raise money for a permanent tribute outside one of his favourite theatres.

The actor, who lived near Stowmarket, Suffolk, died aged 83 in March 2020.

His wife Debbie was unable to hold a memorial service due to the pandemic so has come up with the idea for a statue in Bury St Edmunds.

"I don't want Roy up on a pedestal because he would hate that as he was a man of the people," she said.

"So he's going to be on a bench outside - fingers crossed - the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds.

"It was a theatre he absolutely loved."

Hudd appeared in a string of dramas and serials including the BBC's Holby City in 2014

The statue, costing about £100,000, will be created by Suffolk-based sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn.

He met Hudd when he unveiled the artist's sculpture of his friend, music hall actress Gracie Fields, in Rochdale.

Hedges-Quinn has also made statues of Sir Alf Ramsey, Sir Bobby Robson and Kevin Beattie for Ipswich Town Football Club, as well as one of Dad's Army character Captain Mainwaring in Thetford, Norfolk.

The Croydon-born star began his entertainment career at Butlin's

Hudd, who was an authority on music hall history, enjoyed a successful career spanning more than 60 years.

He started off as a Redcoat at Butlin's entertaining holidaymakers before moving on to the stage, screen and radio.

The star was well-known for his long-running BBC Radio 2 show The News Huddlines as well as his Coronation Street role of undertaker Archie Shuttleworth.

Debbie Hudd said her late husband loved to make people laugh

In the latter part of his career, he also appeared in Call the Midwife, Holby City, Midsomer Murders and Benidorm.

"He loved working in radio and then he'd want to jump to Shakespeare or doing Max Miller or his old time music hall," said Mrs Hudd.

"It kept everything fresh for him and he was working with lots of different age groups of people too - he loved working in pantomime with the kids.

"He thought it was the best sound in the world to make people laugh - that and applause."

Roy Hudd as Mother Goose in the pantomime of the same name at Wilton's Music Hall in London in 2016

• A fundraising show of the News Huddlines featuring Alison Steadman and John Culshaw is being held at the Sondheim Theatre, London on 14 May 2023.