Fred Ridgeway

Frederick Gerrard Ridgeway (16 October 1953 – 12 November 2012)

Ridgeway's first serious experience of acting came when he was a student at St Thomas the Apostle College, Nunhead. Actively encouraged by his A Level English teacher, Terry O'Brien, he joined the National Youth Theatre. Ridgeway left his job as a money broker and decided to take up acting professionally. For James Christopher, Ridgeway offered a "play-saving performance" in the vein of the character Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers.

In the mid-1990s, Ridgeway began appearing in television series such as The Bill, Heartbeat, EastEnders, Midsomer Murders and Casualty. Sicinius Velutus in Coriolanus (2007) and Egeon in The Comedy of Errors (2010).

From 2008, he appeared in a series of Richard Bean plays, namely The English Game (2008), England People Very Nice (2009), The Big Fellah (2010) and One Man, Two Guvnors (2011–12). His portrayal of an IRA member in The Big Fellah was described by a reviewer in The Guardian as "utterly terrifying". Ridgeway was part of the cast when the play opened in May 2011 in the South Bank and remained in the cast as the production toured the UK and travelled to Broadway. James Corden, who played the lead role, explained: "When we got to New York, a lot of us in the cast started to realise he was unwell, but he never missed a beat. He never missed a cue, an entrance, a line." Ridgeway died from motor neurone disease in London on 12 November 2012, aged 59.

Selected work

Theatre

Haymarket, London/Music Box Theatre, New YorkCharlie Clench