"Nothing’s forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten."
Celebrating 35 years of Robin of Sherwood.
Exclusive interview with
Jeremy Bulloch
The story of Robin
Hood and his Merry Men has been retold countless times through the centuries,
but Richard Carpenter wrote one of the most memorable retellings. I am, of
course, talking about the fabulous Robin of Sherwood. Robin of Sherwood ran on
ITV from 1984 to 1986 and instantly won over the hearts of many. With its
cleverly crafted mix of realism and fantasy, Robin of Sherwood was destined to
last the test of time. Now, 35 years later, we are heading back to Sherwood in
celebration of this wonderfully endearing series. One of my favourite
characters was the village elder, Edward of Wickham, and it is with the
greatest of pleasures that I welcome Jeremy Bulloch onto the blog today.
Hi Jeremy, it is such
an honour to have you on Myth’s, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots today. I am
so excited because you really were one of my favourite characters in the
series. I would love for us to travel back to Sherwood and talk about that
extraordinary time.
How did the role of
Edward of Wickham come to your attention?
My agent sent me along to HTV for the
interview. At the back of my mind I was
hoping that I was auditioning for the part of Robin! But the casting director
gently pointed out that I was perhaps a little too old!!! (I think I was around
40 at the time J.) I was offered the part of Edward of Wickham.
I adored
your characterisation of Edward. Edward came across as a very wise fatherly figure,
how much influence did you have on how you portrayed him?
I imagined Edward to be quite religious, also
my youngest son Robbie was playing my son Matthew in the series. This fostered my paternal feelings in the
show.
It must
have been wonderful working along side your son. In Hern’s Son — Part 1 there
is a very memorable scene in Wickham when you try to convince Sir Guy of
Gisborne that you found Robert’s horse and had sent men out looking for its
rider. When Guy turns his horse’s head, the animal catches your face. I have
often wondered — was this part of the script or was it what looked like a very
painful mistake?
Yes, it was a painful mistake. I also got kicked by a goat I was milking in
one of the episodes.
Oh, no! I
cannot imagine how much that hurt. I want to come away from Robin of Sherwood
just for a moment and talk about another character whom I think any fan of
science fiction will be very familiar with and that is Boba Fett. How did you
come upon the part of Boba Fett and what was it like working with George Lucas
in those early days of the Star Wars franchise?
My half-brother Robert Watts was co-producer
on the original Star Wars film and called me one day as they were auditioning
for a small part in The Empire Strikes Back.
I explained that it would be difficult as I was appearing in a play in
the West End at the time.
I did go along for the audition and the suit
fitted perfectly, so I got the part. It
was quite difficult working all day in the studio and then rushing to the
theatre in the evening for a performance.
George Lucas was brilliant although quite a shy man.
Back to Sherwood! Did
you ever imagine that Robin of Sherwood would become quite as popular as it
did? And are you surprised at how it has stood the test of time?
I think it was a brilliant show and captured the
imagination of many – the proof being that is still very much popular viewing
with a huge following.
 |
| Jeremy Bulloch (Edward of Whickham) Phil Rose ( Friar Tuck). |
Thank you so much,
Jeremy, for talking to us today!
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Carole Elizabeth Ballard for her generous help with the Robin of Sherwood celebrations!
All images are copyright protected. Carole Elizabeth Ballard has kindly granted permission to use the said images for the purpose of this blog post only.
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