Mr Blobby on the jobby; Actor who plays TV favourite falls for pupil after split with wife
The actor who plays children's TV favourite Mr Blobby has split up with his wife and set up home... with Mr Blobby. Barry Killerby, 38, fell for pretty Lee Blakemore after he was called in to help her play Mr Blobby at the theme park where she worked. The couple now share Barry's former marital home at Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. And his ex-wife Felicity, known to friends as Flic, has moved into a flat of her own.
Barry met dark-haired Lee at the Pleasurewood Hills American Theme Park, near Lowestoft, Suffolk. The tourist attraction was staging a Crinkly Bottom Castle Show, with Mr Blobby as the star character. Bosses at the theme park called in Barry, who plays the original Mr Blobby on TV, to teach staff how to behave while wearing the pink spotty rubber outfit. He showed the aspiring stars how to recreate Blobby's movements and mannerisms.
Lee was one of his brightest pupils. After Barry returned to London, Lee moved out of her home in East Anglia and into a rented house just a few miles from the entertainer. Once Barry's divorce from book illustrator Felicity, 35, was complete, Lee moved out of her rented home... and in with Barry. Last night Felicity told the Sunday Mirror: "Our divorce is perfectly amicable, but I really don't want to talk about the circumstances of it."
Barry's agent, David Wilford, released a joint statement on behalf of his client and former wife. It read: "We separated early in 1997, formally split in December and are now divorced. It was all thoroughly amicable. No third party was involved and we remain close friends. Quite simply we realised that even the best of friends don't always make the best of couples. As for Lee, Barry had known her as a friend and colleague for some years. They only became involved for the first time in March this year well after the split had already happened. In short everyone involved is fully aware of the situation and we are very happy with the way things have turned out."
Lee's mother, Patricia, said at her home in Oulton Broad, Suffolk: "Barry did teach Lee at Pleasurewood Hills. It's up to them what they do."
Felicity, who wed Shakespearean actor Barry in 1989, spoke about her relationship with the star when he was first unmasked in 1993. She said at the time: "It's been strange, but I don't mind all the girls being after him. I know they love him. But at the end of the day he always comes home to me. He's mine."
