Actor Roy Kinnear dressed as a Roman promoting Peterborough with King's School students.Actor Roy Kinnear dressed as a Roman promoting Peterborough with King's School students.
Actor Roy Kinnear dressed as a Roman promoting Peterborough with King's School students.

Looking back: ‘Iconic image of Peterborough but who were they and where are they now?’

It is one of the city’s iconic images – the picture of actor Roy Kinnear dressed as a Roman promoting the growing city of Peterborough.

The 1980s TV, radio and newspaper marketing campaign celebrated on “The Peterborough Effect” and it was vital in attracting new companies and people to the city as it grew. Using a character from the city’s colourful history to look forward to an exciting future, it proved a huge success.

The picture of Roy with some schoolchildren (I think they were King’s School pupils) has been published many times and often crops up on social media to this day.

It appeared in my Twitter feed again last week and prompted a comment from Toby Wood, of Peterborough Civic Society ,who said: “Interesting to think that those children in the photo will now be in their fifties.’’

Thanks to Chris Porsz, the PT’s Paramedic Paparazzo. Peterborough has become the home of the reunion photograph with his books sparking interest from around the world.

So inspired by Toby and Chris, it prompted me to wonder what has become of those children who were in the picture with Roy.

The PT has printed the picture on several occasions and some of the children have been identified but we want to go one step further and recreate the image, or at least get pictures of them today.

Sadly, of course, any reunion could not involve Roy Kinnear as he died in 1988 after an accident during the making of the movie, The Return of the Musketeers.

If you are one of the children in the picture please get in touch by e-mailing [email protected]