Lionel Blair
Kingswood Heritage Museum has an extensive collection of images of the many celebrities who have grown up in and visited the area, and many of these images are featured in one of the Museum’s new exhibitions for 2025.
This month’s ‘Memory’ features the late Lionel Blair, the well-known actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. Lionel made regular appearances as a dancer and entertainer on British television from the late 1960s until the early 1980s.
Lionel was one of the team captains on the popular game show Give Us a Clue from 1979 until the early 1990s, and was the second presenter of the British version of Name That Tune in the 1980s. He also appeared in a number of feature films, and choreographed others.
At the age of 85 Lionel entered the Celebrity Big Brother house. He was the show’s oldest ever housemate, and remains the oldest person to compete in any version of the Big Brother franchise.
The featured photographs (courtesy of the South Gloucestershire Gazette) illustrate a visit by Lionel to the NSPCC Young League in Downend in the late 1980s.
If you were present when Lionel visited Downend please share your memories with Kingswood Heritage Museum by email at kingswoodmuseum@gmail.com, or by phone on 0117 9605664.