Plans submitted for a life-sized bronze

Plans have been submitted to erect a  statue of comedian Roy Hudd outside a Suffolk theatre.

The tribute by local sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn would show him sitting on a bench, so fans could be pictured next to it.

It is hoped the statue could be installed outside Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds in  May to mark what would have been Hudd's 90th birthday.

The Grade II-listed venue has just applied to West Suffolk Council to remove a low brick wall to make way for the statue in an area in the front of the building currently used to store bins.

Hudd, who hosted BBC Radio 2's The News Huddline for 26 years and died in March 2020 at the age of 83, lived near Stowmarket, about 20 miles away from the theatre. 

His widow, Debbie, came up with the idea for the statue and is paying the £100,000 price with the aid of private donations. Writing on a fundraising page, she said: ‘Sadly Roy died just before the very first lockdown. There was no opportunity to celebrate this wonderful man who gave so much in so many ways throughout his life.

‘This statue will be a way of saying, "Thank you Roy, for your talent, generosity and love".  A lasting monument of a man who brought laughter to the world.’

She said her husband ‘loved the intimacy’ of the Theatre Royal and was a regular performer there.

Hedges-Quinn’s  previous statues include a  life-sized bronze of as Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring in Thetford, Norfolk, where Dad’s Army was filmed; Gracie Fields outside Rochdale Town Hall and England World Cup-winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey outside Ipswich FC’s Portman Road Stadium.

Hudd was an expert in  the history of music hall and his acting credits include Coronation Street, playing Bud Flanagan in the musical Underneath The Arches and starring as Fagin in the 1977 West End revival of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! 

Published: 12 Jan 2026