TV famous life-sized ‘bull’ installed on top of The Red Bull pub in Eccles
05:00, 27 May 2023
updated: 07:33, 27 May 2023
You might have noticed something different about your local boozer recently.
The Red Bull pub in Eccles has announced a special new addition to their team: Ronnie the life-sized ‘bull’.
Landlord Tim Gough took over the pub near Aylesford at the end of lockdown and has now been running it for four years.
The 39-year-old received an anonymous tip-off from a customer, who sent a link and said they thought he might like it.
“It was listed on Facebook Marketplace and looked interesting,” he explained.
“It’s made of fibreglass and has been sprayed red.
“I decided to offer a cheeky amount, and if we didn’t get it there was no harm done.
“I asked for £250 and it was originally on there for £500.
“They accepted the offer and a few days later it turned up!”
The animal itself has a famous past – previously appearing on the set of British TV programme, How.
Filmed in the Maidstone Studios, the educational series was created by Jack Hargreaves, where children could write in and ask questions.
Fred Dinenage, Jon Miller and Marian Davies presented the program between 1966 to 1981, but it was also revived in 2020 for ITV.
“I remember watching when I was a child,” Tim added.
“It might have been in the back of the set or used in a segment, I’m not too sure.
“But I found it in an episode to prove it was there.”
Due to it having both a pair of horns and udders, Tim and his team decided to come up with a gender neutral name, calling it Ronnie The Red Bull/Cow.
He said: “We thought about it and it’s bit of fun, why not! It doesn’t matter too much.
‘Everyone is quite interested in it when they come in. A lot of people were shocked.’
“Collectively we named it – we have a WhatsApp group and someone suggested the neutral name of Ronnie and it stuck.”
Currently the full-size bull takes pride of place on the flat roof of the building, and will stay there for a couple of weeks on display.
Ronnie will eventually be moved into the pub garden, where people will have the opportunity to take a picture with it.
“Everyone is quite interested in it when they come in,” Tim added. “A lot of people were shocked.
“Some people have said it's an eyesore and some have asked how can you have a bull with udders. But generally most people see the fun side of it.”