Bill is certainly a very tough producer to work for....he pays as little as he can and his touring shows are very tightly budgetted...but he does keep performers in work and has personally ' saved' a number of theatres that were on their last legs. He is the toughest negotiator in the entertainment business, by a long way, .I only ever spoke to him once, at the Playhose theatre years ago,watching a musical about rock festivals....I said 'Will this get to the West End' and he replied 'It needs a lot of work before it does'. A friend of mine went for an audition for a part in ' The Billy Fury Story'...he had auditioned for Bill many times without success, so this time after he'd done his audition piece he says to Bill ' Isn't it about time you gave me a ******* job?. 'THATS the attitude I want' says Bill and gives him the job. A senior exec at First Nation, owners of many large theatres throughout the UK told me once that without BK and his budget versions of West End shows, provincial theatre in the UK would be practically dead. And of course Bill was largely responsible for the infamous Greggs fortune...Gregg used to refurbish old theatres and put Bills shows into them. A few years ago he was worth about £14 million but he's sold most of his Everton shares now. His pension is basically that he owns the rights to Educating Rita, which is always on at a theatre somewhere in the world, and the film rights to Stepping Out. Clever operator is BK...it was a good move to give up acting. Happy birthday Blue Bill !