Best known as Bomber the Bricklayer in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Pat Roach's previous incarnation was as a professional wrestler when he held the British and European Championship Heavyweight titles. He still takes his exercise seriously: "I was on a very strict training programme while we were filming out in the Dominican Republic. Unlike the other guys, I didn't get out and see much of the island but I only missed four nights training in the whole six weeks I was there." Pat got Tim Healy hooked on the training bug too:  "Tim's great, he's into his training now and he rings me up with his weekly reports. When we weren't filming we trained by doing a bit of free squatting, then some free weights and sometimes a bit of punch bag work. At one stage he even surpassed me in one of the training exercises so he's doing really well!" At the end of the last series Bomber confides to Neville that he has Hepatitis C and he decides to stay in Arizona with his new love Lainie. "Although he's been working abroad in Russia and Cuba, Bomber's romance with Lainie is still going strong," Pat explains."He's in good health having very much recovered from his hepatitis - it appears as though the native American Indians might have cured him. "Bomber's got 10 years on most of the boys. When we first met him he was the seasoned, well-travelled one who took them all to the brothels. "He's very much a father-figure and they look up to him. Oz and Dennis are at each other's throats in this series and Bomber is the one that can say, 'Hey, you two, shut up, sit down, stop it,' and they will. "Albeit that Dennis is the boss, Bomber doesn't say a great deal but what he does say usually has a little bit of sense."And it was wonderful to be back filming Auf Wiedersehen, Pet again, especially working in such a great location," he smiles. "We never really leave each others sides as the guys are always in touch but it's great to get the programme back together with our little family unit!" Pat got his first break as an actor in 1971. "Stanley Kubrick gave me my first acting job in Clockwork Orange, then he cast me in Barry Lyndon. I didn't even get an agent until I did three films. Twenty or so years ago there weren't so many big, ugly guys around so there was plenty of work for me!" He has also played a villain in James Bond's Never Say Never Again and has appeared in all three Indiana Jones films: "I've played four different characters in three Indiana Jones films and have been killed each time!" he laughs. "I was the guy who got chopped up in the propeller in one of the films. They now show that stunt scene all the time at Universal Studios in America. "Since finishing filming, Pat has been busy writing: "I've just finished my second book. I had a book out last year called If, based on my life story. I bought the world rights to Rudyard Kipling's poem If and each chapter of the book starts off with a line from the poem and goes into a story from that. "My second book is called Pat Roach's Birmingham and it's all about Birmingham's canal system and the Jewellery Quarter. It will be out in February next year. "I was born in the Jewellery Quarter and my descendants were water gypsies from the long boats and canal barges. "I'm also writing another book about professional wrestling with my co-author, Shirley Thompson, who has worked with me on all my books. "Pat considers Auf Wiedersehen, Pet as the highlight of his varied career: "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet has overtaken everything now. I still get approached for autographs for wrestling, James Bond and Indiana Jones, but I now sign more Auf Wiedersehen, Pet autographs than ever before. "He speaks fondly of the rest of the cast. "We all get on famously. We all respect the fact that we brought each other along – I was very fortunate to get caught up with these wonderful actors and get taken along with them. "We have great respect for each other and, the thing is, we really are friends.

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