Rikki Beadle-Blair

Rikki Beadle-Blair
Rikki Beadle-Blair speaking at the pre-launch of LGBT History Month 08 at the Royal Courts of Justice – 26 November 2007
Born	1961 (age 55–56) Camberwell, London, England
Occupation	Actor, film director, writer
Parent(s)	Monica Beadle
Relatives	Gary Beadle

Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE (born July 1961) is a British actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, singer, designer, choreographer, dancer and songwriter of British/West Indian origin. He is the artistic director of multi-media production company Team Angelica.

Blair was born in Camberwell and raised in Bermondsey, both in south London, by a single mother, Monica Beadle (who was born in 1944 in Jamaica). She had moved to Britain when she was 12 and was the first black child in her school in Peckham. Rikki was brought up with a brother, Gary Beadle (also an actor, of Eastenders fame), four years younger, and a sister, eight years younger. He attended Lois Acton's Experimental Bermondsey Lampost Free School.

When he was 17 he performed a capella concerts at the Gay's the Word bookshop in Bloomsbury, London, with fellow singers Robert Chevara and Michelle Baughan. The group went under the name of "Three People". He was also involved with the Gay Liberation Front (GLF).

In 1979 He won the Evening Standard′s Edward Bond's Young Playwright award for the play A-Z.

In the film Sirens he played Blue, a punky Scouse heroin junkie.

His band Boysie included Sean Mayes on piano, Leonard Davies on bass, Baden Hill on guitar and Martin Harmer on drums.

In 1994, he wrote the screenplay for Nigel Finch's film Stonewall, about the Stonewall Riots.

In 1999 he wrote Native, a Radio 4 play that became a short film directed by Rene Mohandas.

In 2000 he wrote and performed a series of short radio plays for Radio 4 – including Fares Fair, Puppy Love, Finders Keepers, Silly Me and Open Pores.

In 2001 he adapted Boy George's autobiography Take It Like A Man for a BBC film. This has not yet been produced.