THE CHASE COULD BE ON FOR a Norfolk home for Bradley Walsh

He is one of the most popular celebrities on television at the moment. He’s a comedian, singer, actor, personality and probably the best quiz show host doing the rounds. David Clayton looks back to when Bradley Walsh came to Cromer.

- David Clayton

“MY BIGGEST REGRET is not buying a house here when I could have done.” That was Bradley Walsh’s conclusion last year when he was back in Cromer, for a weekend, to crown the carnival queen.

He was talking live on-air to Julie Reinger during BBC Radio Norfolk’s popular Sunday morning Treasure Quest programme. He was recalling, with great affection, his summer seasons on Cromer Pier back in the 1980s which, he admits, were his breakthrough into showbusiness.

“It’s thrilling to be back,” he said. Bradley credits the Pier Show’s director Bob Marlow and the late producer Dick Condon with being his mentors. “I was 26, just a stand-up comic, bottom of the bill, I didn’t know what I was doing. They taught me how to sing and dance.”

The Cromer Pier summer season performances are renowned for the way the whole cast gets involved with everything. Yes, they do their allotted spot on the bill, but as everyone who has been in the audience knows, there are sketches and dances where the whole team variously take part. It’s an ensemble production and clearly it helped Bradley on his way to being a household name when he started there in 1986.

Back then Nick Clarke was working for Dick Condon and remembers Bradley’s first season. “He was a genuinely nice guy, eager to learn and be funny. He stayed over with us at our house in Norwich a few times. He was so witty and quick.”