Hundreds mourn Rikki Fulton

Hundreds of fans yesterday joined Scottish celebrities in paying tribute to comic Rikki Fulton.

The streets of Clydebank were lined with mourners as his funeral cortege made its way to the crematorium where he was laid to rest.

Black ties had been banned at the event, which his family wanted to be a celebration of his life.

In his eulogy, actor Tony Roper said: "If we could see inside the coffin, Rikki would be wearing that grin - the one where he had twice as many teeth as everyone else.

"Let's ditch solemnity; let's celebrate a wonderful life of creativity, laughter and the art of someone who approached his work with engineering precision."

Glasgow-born Fulton, who had Alzheimer's disease, died last week at the age of 79. Though mostly unknown south of the border, he was an institution on Scottish TV, thanks to his long-running sketch show Scotch and Wry.

Mourners included Elaine C Smith, Rab C Nesbitt star Gregor Fisher and EastEnders actor Gerard Kelly.

Actress Dorothy Paul said: "His death represents the end of that wonderful era of variety that was funny and clever."

Published: 3 Feb 2004