Latest news with #GeorgeHall
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bobby George admits 'overdoing it' with Essex mansion's bedrooms
Darts icon Bobby George admitted he "overdid it" by building 18 bedrooms inside his Essex self-styled King of Bling constructed his dream house in Ardleigh, near Colchester, during the with three fishing lakes, a bar and 12 acres (4.85ha) of land, he crowned the estate George the extensive bedroom offering, George joked: "My poor wife has got to clean them all." The 79-year-old was one of the first big names to emerge from darts in the 1980s, known for his flamboyant entrances and love of gold revealed 28 rooms were included in the initial blueprints for his property, something planners branded "over the top". "I overdid it with the bedrooms, to be honest," said George, who designed the home when he was 50 years old. "But I was younger and I didn't have any fear."The arrow-thrower regularly made headlines during his playing days, becoming a fan favourite at the returned to the limelight in June after revealing he kept one of his toes in a jar of vodka at 1999, he has had four amputations due to a genetic condition."I put one in the jar behind my bar just for fun, and I always say 'Do you want a cocktail or a cock-toe?'," George said. The closest the dartsman came to a World Championship title was in 1994, when he was runner-up to John building the mansion he now lives in with his wife Marie, George learned how to weld and install granite couple lived in a portable building in the garden while the ambitious project was ongoing."I built a bathroom first so we could use a bathroom, then a bedroom and a kitchen," George explained."I finished them and then I finished room after room after room." But, the TV pundit admitted he could have toned it down with the bedrooms."I made a few mistakes when I done this: I had too many bedrooms from kick-off," George said."My poor wife has got to clean them all. I say 'Leave it, it doesn't matter, we don't go in the rooms, who cares? Let the spiders have it'. "But she doesn't want that to happen... so she's got a lot of work." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Darts legend Bobby George who broke his back celebrating on live TV reveals he keeps amputated toe in a bottle of vodka
BOBBY GEORGE has revealed he keeps one of his four amputated TOES in a bottle of vodka behind the bar of his 18-bedroom Essex mansion. Eccentric ex- darts star George — one of the sport's most recognisable figures — had four operations to remove four toes, two on each foot, due to a painful genetic deformity. 6 6 Three of them had to be discarded but he was allowed to keep the first one chopped off 26 years ago — and stores it at his self-built home George Hall. Writing in a new book — Still Here! The King of Bling — George, 79, declared: 'Nobody believes me, or at least they don't, until they see me without my socks on. 'Or if they come to my bar in George Hall and see the evidence for themselves. 'There's some sort of gene in my body that has caused the toes to pop out of their socket and cross over. 'It got so bad that I couldn't get my shoes on. 'I couldn't walk without checking my balance each step. 'It was so painful on some days that if I'd had a sharp enough knife I would have chopped them off myself. 'There was nothing that the medical profession could do, so it became 'Operation Toot-Toot-Tootsie Bye-Bye'. 6 'The first one was cut off in 1999 and it was actually a great relief when it was all over. 'I knew the surgeon, a bloke called Phil, and he talked me through the procedure — something called a tulip operation. Luke Littler narrowly avoids being hit by object thrown onto O2 stage during Premier League Darts finals 'It's done under local anaesthetic, so I was able to watch him cut it off. 'It didn't hurt and once the deed was done, Phil showed it to me and I asked him if I could keep it. 'Phil presented it to me in a little jar but said that he couldn't give me the proper stuff — formaldehyde, maybe? — as it was poisonous. 'But if I used vodka instead, that would preserve it beautifully. So I took it home and popped it in some vodka and now it has a permanent home behind the bar in George Hall. 'Whenever anyone comes to the house for a drink, I whip it out and ask them if they want a cocktail or a cocktoe? 'It's also meant that, over the years, if I've been away from home for any length of time and my wife, Marie, is missing me, she can always suck my toe! 'Removing one tootsie wasn't enough, though, and eventually the procedure had to be repeated another three times, so I'm missing two toes on each foot. "Unfortunately, none of the other surgeons have been as obliging as Phil and they wouldn't let me take the sawn-off digits away with me. 'Losing four toes hasn't been as bad as it may sound, although when I go barefoot I do look like an alien.' 6 6 George — who lost in two BDO World Darts Championship finals, in 1980 and 1994 — says he pops '16 tablets a day for pain relief'. That is because he has 'shocking arthritis in my hips' and BROKE his back on the famous Lakeside stage 31 years ago. During a 4-2 win over Kevin Kenny in the quarters at Frimley Green, George leapt in the air in celebration and 'felt a sharp pain in my back'. He was in 'constant excruciating pain for the remainder of the match', which was broadcast on TV. Following X-rays the next day, a doctor told him: 'You can't play darts. 'You shouldn't even be able to walk. You've broken your back, Mr George.' The King of Bling — who used to come on to stage holding a candelabra to the Queen song 'We Are the Champions' — reached the final where he was thumped 6-0 by Canadian John Part. George said: 'I was fortunate not to have been paralysed but I still required immediate surgery, which my £16,000 runners-up cheque helped to finance. 'Eight titanium screws, each around two inches long, were inserted into the base of my spine to help me on the long road to recovery.' STILL HERE! The King of Bling, published by Pitch Publishing, is out today. 6
The Independent
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Laurence Olivier's former voice coach now considered UK's ‘oldest' podcaster
A centenarian who formerly worked as Lord Laurence Olivier's voice coach has said it is 'enjoyable' to be considered the 'oldest' podcaster in the UK. George Hall, a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music for 30 years, turned 100 years old in early February and started a five-part podcast series with well-known TV and theatre actors including Blackadder actor Sir Tony Robinson, Cold Feet star James Nesbitt and actress Zoe Wanamaker to mark his 100th birthday. Mr Hall, from Brighton in East Sussex, was previously director of an acting course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Central) in London and taught at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama as well as Yale University in the US. His students include various actors such as Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston and The Diplomat actor Rufus Sewell. He said he feels surprised to be considered the 'oldest' podcaster in the UK as he hopes to share his stories with his former pupils in his podcast, George Hall at 100. 'It was a surprise to be described as possibly the UK's 'oldest' podcaster but it is very enjoyable,' the centenarian told the PA news agency. 'It is very interesting and enjoyable to know that my stories about various theatre and TV actors are being remembered in the podcasts.' Mr Hall studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1949 alongside actress Dame Joan Plowright and later became a voice coach for her husband, Lord Olivier. In the first podcast episode, he tells the story of Dame Joan asking Mr Hall to keep their then-secret relationship at the time under wraps from the press, and claims Lord Olivier was 'going through a phase of being absolutely obsessed about colonic irrigation'. He said his friends and family encouraged him to start a short-series podcast sharing his stories over various encounters with famous faces to celebrate his landmark birthday. 'I was approached by a group of friends and former students who suggested I make the podcast series with them as part of my birthday celebrations,' he said. Mr Hall's second podcast episode includes Blackadder actor and former Central student, Sir Tony Robinson, who interviews the centenarian about his childhood and early theatre memories. The third podcast episode with BBC's Dear John actress Belinda Lang, TV presenter Fern Britton and Only Fools and Horses actress Tessa Peake-Jones, was published on Thursday, and the fourth instalment will be available soon. Peake-Jones credits Mr Hall for 'transforming my life' after he offered her a place at Central, which she attended in the 1970s. 'George Hall has more energy and passion for theatre than anyone I have ever met – even now, at 100,' she said. 'He single-handedly transformed my life the day he offered me a place at drama school. I had no idea until I went there that other people (students and staff) could be in love with theatre as I was.' Mr Hall continues to give weekly lectures via Zoom about the history of music to post-graduate students at the Royal Academy of Music. He has encouraged people to 'try new things' particularly for those considering starting their own podcast. 'If anyone else is thinking of starting a podcast I'd just say that it is always good to try new things,' he said. Mr Hall's podcast is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.
