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Hi De Hi character
Felixbowness.jpg
Fred Quilly
Nationality English
Gender Male
Hair Brown
Job Riding Instructor
Actor Felix Bowness
Appearances
First Hey Diddle Diddle
Last The Wind Of Change

Fred was an illegitimate child and grew up in an orphanage until he was adopted at the age of fourteen and went to live in Brighton. He began working at the Brighton Race Course and eventually qualified as a jockey. He became involved with the daughter of the local undertaker but they split up when he refused to join the family business. During World War II he was conscripted into the RAF, where he trained as an instrument mechanic, but spent the entire war stationed at Catterick. After being demobilised in 1946, he returned to the Brighton Race Course and married the owner of a wet-fish shop, but the relationship was short-lived and they soon separated. He then fell into the employ of a small time gangster known as ‘Big Mac’, who began paying him to fix the races, either by pulling his horse or drugging it prior to the race. However on one occasion the Race Officials caught him pulling the favourite and gave him an official warning. The following week he took £300 from Big Mac to lose a race, but accidentally won causing Big Mac to lose £5,000 in bets. Shortly afterwards Fred was caught in a horsebox with a syringe and his Jockey’s licence was revoked. He was forced to leave Brighton for fear of further reprisals from the underworld and began drifting, eventually in 1951 he joined the staff at Maplins as the Riding Instructor. Fred shared a chalet with Mr Partridge, even though they both hated each other - Fred hated Partridge smelling of alcohol and Partridge hated Fred smelling of horses. After the end of the 1960 season, Fred went to work in an old horses' home.

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