'I've never fell off a big chimney. You only fall off one of them once.'
08.09.2023 - 18:33
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It's been 44-years this week since the nation was first introduced to the phenomenon that was Fred Dibnah.
Flat-capped Fred who was born in Bolton and became famed for his death defying antics, sadly died in 2004. He demolished more than 100 chimneys and married three times, becoming one of Britain's best-known TV presenters for over 25 years.
His steam tractors, his nationwide searches for engineering masterpieces, his enthusiasm and his flat Boltonian drawl endeared him to millions of viewers. Fred became a TV star by chance after an interview on a local news programme.
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He was pictured as he perched 240ft high, repairing Bolton town hall clock. His warm and easy manner coupled with his 'chimney daft' enthusiasm made TV producer Don Haworth take notice.
His career as a steeplejack stemmed from his childhood love of climbing. Aged just 15, climbed the tallest chimney in town for a bet.
When he was 17 he built a factory chimney on his mum's home, and even as a small boy, he wanted to climb chimneys after watching "little men in flat caps" working in the sky. But the Boltonian shot to national fame after a 50-minute documentary titled Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack, was broadcast on BBC2 on September 6, 1979.
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This week, BBC Archive shared a snippet from the documentary to their social media accounts showing Fred climbing the ladder up the side of sky-scraping chimney with no safety equipment. No harness, no safety rope.
Fred's infectious enthusiasm for his job, and life, is evident as he narrates over the footage of his heart stopping ascent. Fred