Elstree Studios plaque honours Sir Cliff Richard (From Borehamwood Times)

Elstree Studios plaque honours Sir Cliff Richard

8:40am Tuesday 23rd September 2008

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Sir Cliff Richard was reunited with his Summer Holiday co-stars on Saturday at the unveiling of a plaque in his honour at Elstree Studios.

See our picture gallery of the event.

Actors Jeremy Bulloch and Teddy Green surprised the singer when they arrived in a red Routemaster double decker bus similar to the one featured in the 1963 film at the studios in Shenley Road.

Summer Holiday was a box office hit that saw a group of friends travelling across Europe by bus. Sir Cliff made four other films at the studios including Serious Charge in 1959 and The Young Ones in 1961.

The singer was also joined by Serious Charge co-star Jess Conrad and lyricist and oscar winner Sir Tim Rice who unveiled the plaque.

This comes as Sir Cliff celebrates 50 years in showbusiness this month as his single Thank you for a Lifetime reached number three in the UK music charts this weekend.

Paul Welsh, entertainments officer at Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council, said: “It was a wonderful day where we spent over an hour talking to Cliff in a question and answer session. I think he was pleasantly surprised to see his old co-stars and it was a rare chance to take a trip down memory lane.

“Cliff said how strange it was to come back to Borehamwood and how much the area has changed. He also doesn’t really do many public appearances so it was a privilege to have him there.”

Sir Cliff is the fourth person to be honoured by the studios this year alongside actor, writer and director Bryan Forbes, actor Christopher Lee and EastEnders actress Barbara Windsor.

Mr Welsh added: “It’s been a bumper year with the number of plaques we have presented in honour of people who have worked at the studios.

“We were looking to do a few this year and were especially pleased that Christopher Lee could join us as we were having difficulties with his schedule.”

More than 100 people from charity and voluntary groups from the area formed the audience for the event with Sir Cliff.

Councillor Morris Bright, leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, said: “Sir Cliff received his knighthood because of his work with charities and it was a keen wish of his to have people in the audience who did good work for the community.

“He was very professional, great fun and shared some fantastic memories with us about his time at the studios.”

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