Team

Dr Tony Lidington AKA Uncle Tacko!

Tony is a leading authority on British popular entertainment forms – well-known for his numerous BBC Radio and television programmes, as well as live performances at festivals and events throughout the country. He is also a senior lecturer in drama at the University of Exeter.

Tony has been a showman, researcher and teacher for more than 40 years: he has run theatre venues, companies, festivals and events for and with a wide range of diverse communities. He specialises in historical popular entertainment forms and their application to contemporary contexts and in 2017, he was awarded a doctorate by University of Exeter for his research into itinerant British performance forms. He regularly broadcasts for both radio and television – most recently for David Walliams’ & Lee Mack’s episodes of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ However, he is perhaps best known by families throughout the country, as ‘Uncle Tacko!’ – ringmaster of his extraordinary flea circus and the founder of ‘The Pierrotters’, Britain’s last professional seaside pierrot troupe.