A Piece of Pastry

This is a slightly curious one. An article which wasn’t my idea and which it would almost certainly never have occurred to me to write, but which has ended up becoming one of the most-read pieces of work I have ever done. A few weeks ago my colleague Emma, who among many other things produces the Secret Norfolk series of feature pieces and mini-documentaries for BBC Sounds, asked me if I might make her an item for that series about the actor and comedian Richard Hearne – a household name in Britain for many years in the mid-20th century for his Mr Pastry character. Emma had been speaking to Paul Dickson, who runs walking tours of Norwich city centre exploring its history and heritage, about some possible subjects he might be able to help with for Secret Norfolk episodes and he had suggested Hearne as an interesting candidate. Emma knows of my great interest in and work related to television history, and thought I’d be the perfect person to do such a piece. I was aware of Hearne, and…