Eric Richard

Eric Richard (born Eric Smith, 27 June 1940) is an English actor and presenter. His theatre work includes plays at the Royal Court Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, as well as seasons with the Royal Exchange, Manchester, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Sheffield Crucible Theatre and Paines Plough. In 2001, he appeared as Ebeneezer Scrooge in a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London. He is best known for his role as Desk Sergeant Bob Cryer in the long-running ITV drama The Bill, which he portrayed for twenty years from the show's inception in 1984; his television work has also included Shōgun, Victoria Wood As Seen on TV, Play for Today, Juliet Bravo, Made in Britain, Open All Hours, Games Without Frontiers, P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang, Shoestring, Casualty and Holby City. In 1991, he reviewed motorcycles for ()