Richardson, Peter

Born 15 October 1951, Peter Richardson founded the Comic Strip troupe of performers, which showcased his double act with Nigel Planer and launched the careers of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, and Alexei Sayle. Richardson approached Channel 4 to make a series of short, self-contained one-off comedy films with this group, which led to The Comic Strip Presents, many of which were written, directed by and featured him in acting roles.

Richardson began his career as a teenager acting in Alan Bennett’s Forty Years On. Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School 1971-73. He later created his own experimental theatre shows with Nigel Planer amongst others, mixing comedy and improvisation with rock music. Two of these shows, Rank and The Wild Boys toured nationally.

In the 1990’s, Richardson introduced a new generation of performers, Doon Mackichan, Mark Caven, Phil Cornwell, Sara Stockbridge, George Yiasoumi and Gary Beadle, who appeared in his productions. He co-wrote and also directed the 1990s cult mockumentary comedy series ‘Stella Street’ with Phil Cornwell and John Sessions. In 2004, Richardson co-founded the production company Great Western Features with Nick Smith, which is based in Totnes, Devon. They have produced commercials for recycling, Flybe, Harris Tweed and the Devon Tourist Board, as well as the more recent Comic Strip Presents specials.

Richardson was director of the Comic Strip film Les Dogs, and the music video for the song The Sensual World. Richardson also appears in the film The Line The Cross And The Curve.