| Dick Strawbridge | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Francis Strawbridge 3 September 1959 Burma |
| Occupation | Broadcaster, engineer, environmentalist |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse | Brigit Strawbridge (separated 2010) |
| Children | James; Charlotte |
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Francis "Dick" Strawbridge, MBE, (born 3 September 1959), is a British engineer, television presenter and environmentalist. He is often referred to as "Colonel Dick".[1]
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The third of seven children, Strawbridge was born in Burma and raised and educated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, attending Ballyclare High School from 1971–76.[2]
He was married to Brigit Strawbridge and the couple have two children, James and Charlotte, but the couple separated in 2010.[3] Strawbridge is the owner of a large moustache, which he claims is "the best in showbiz".[4]
Strawbridge received a commission in the British Army in 1979,[5] after attending Welbeck DSFC (becoming head of college) and joined the Royal Corps of Signals in January 1980.[6] Promoted to Lieutenant in April 1981,[7] and Captain in October 1985,[8] he became a Major in September 1991.[9] He was awarded an MBE in 1993 for his distinguished service in Northern Ireland,[10] promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1999,[11] and left the army in November 2001.[12]
Strawbridge is best known to the general public as an engineering and environmental expert on such television programmes as Scrapheap Challenge (on which his team, Brothers in Arms, were series champions and on which he took over from Robert Llewellyn as the main presenter in Series 11), three series of It's Not Easy Being Green for BBC Two, the six-part BBC Two series Crafty Tricks of War of which he was the main presenter, Planet Mechanics, and as a regular guest presenter on Coast. Following his switch of career to television, Strawbridge often refers to himself as a "telly tart".[1][13]
Dick began his career in television as the 'Yellow Team Leader' for six episodes in the first ever series of 'Scrapheap' He has to date appeared in over 30 programmes of Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars, winning the Scrapheap Challenge trophy in series 3 with his two younger brothers David and Bobby as 'Brothers in Arms', and the Junkyard Megawars trophy in 2003. On 5 June 2008, it was announced that he would be returning to Scrapheap Challenge for its 11th series.[14] Dick took over from Robert Llewellyn as the main presenter with his expert team of 'Dick's Diamonds', including his technical mate Jim Milner. The series was shown on Channel 4 in 2009 and will return in 2010.
Dick, along with his family, have filmed three series of It's Not Easy Being Green for BBC Two. In series one, which was shown on 28 March 2006, the family moved to a new home near St Austell, Cornwall and attempted to live as green a life as possible, using renewable energy and environmentally friendly resources. The second series started in Spring 2007 with a different format: Dick and his son James aided several members of the public in larger and smaller ecology projects around the country. Series three saw another format change as the programme took on more of a 'magazine' theme.
Also in 2006, Strawbridge appeared as a one-off presenter on the BBC2 series Coast, examining the workings of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, a role he revived in the 2007 version of Coast, presenting a short part of the program on the failure of Exercise Tiger. In Series 4 of Coast, July 2009, Strawbridge examined the terrain of the Normandy landing beaches. Since then Dick has become very much part of the Coast team, appearing in many episodes mainly using his engineering and military history experience. Some his favourites have been visiting off-shore wind turbines in Denmark and exploring the beaches of Normandy.
Strawbridge also had a major role in the BBC's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and was the co-host and resident "boffin" on the 2005 game show, Geronimo!. He also appeared as a regular team captain in the US series, Junkyard Mega-Wars.
Dick also starred in The Big Idea, in which he tested out amateur inventions, and featured in the short series The Re-Inventors, a series of five, hour-long programmes commissioned by the UK digital channel UKTV History and first broadcast through the week of 11 December 2006. Each episode featured Strawbridge and his son James reconstructing an invention of historic significance, with only a limited budget (£500), a limited time of two days and limited facilities (a specially constructed mobile workshop) to construct a modern version. They then try it out against the real thing. UKTV History also shows "Crafty Tricks Of War" from time to time.
On 21 February 2008 edition of Ready Steady Cook on BBC2, Strawbridge cooked spotted dick. Dick Strawbridge currently presents Planet Mechanics on the National Geographic Channel.
On 13 November 2009, Dick was a guest on Robert Llewellyn's CarPool.
In summer 2010, he appeared in Celebrity Masterchef, reaching the final alongside Christine Hamilton and eventual winner Lisa Faulkner.[15]
On 20 November 2010, Dick appeared on the Children in Need Special of Bargain Hunt.
Strawbridge lives at Newhouse Farm in Cornwall where much of the filming for all three series of It's Not Easy Being Green was done. With his son James he runs eco courses at the farm in order "to share our experiences, demonstrate all the systems we have invested in, and offer eco advice". The courses include "how to make your own biodiesel", "harness wind power", "make the most of water power", and "eco-engineering".[16]