Actor
Writer
Commmunications
Paul Riddell is a strategic communications consultant, actor, director and writer whose career bridges the worlds of business, theatre and film. With a background in PR and marketing in the wealth-management sector, he holds a Dip HE (Management) from the University of Reading and a CAM Diploma in Public Relations from University of the Arts London, and is a Chartered PR Practitioner of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
A lifelong devotee of cinema, Paul completed an MA in Film and Screen Media at Birkbeck, University of London, where his research explored narrative subversion in 1990s Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock’s influence on the films of Brian De Palma, and the changing role of the auteur in contemporary screen culture. His thesis also examined the balance between storytelling and promotional synergy in global film franchises.
Paul’s creative career spans stage and screen. He was executive producer of Summit Fever (2022) and has worked extensively as a featured and supporting artist, with minor speaking roles in film and television, alongside a rich portfolio of stage performances. In 2025 he was elected Chairman of Chesil Theatre – Winchester’s vibrant community theatre – where he has long been a performer, director and marketing supporter.
Paul’s writing career began in childhood, evolving from comic sketches into short plays and stories. His stage work has won recognition, including national festival shortlistings and performances for The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke and Dice with Death, and his short play Shadowglass was a semi-finalist in the TakeTen Playwriting Festival. His debut novel, Palimpsest – a dual-timeline psychological thriller – is complete and seeking representation. Designed to stand alone, it is also the first in a trilogy: Pentimento (Book 2) is complete and in editing, while Shadowglass (Book 3), based on his short play, is in development.
Storytelling has been at the heart of Paul’s life since his childhood in Kent, where he filled notebooks with comic sketches and stories, staged lunchtime puppet shows with school friends and was forever experimenting with creative writing.
“I’ve been drawn to storytelling from a young age, and many of my childhood comic books still linger in our loft. At primary school, a friend and I staged lunchtime shows using jelly pencil toppers as characters. Around that time I was cast as a Cub Scout in Ken Campbell’s You See the Thing Is This – thanks to a family connection and an original Cub uniform – and the production reached the final of the Medway Little Theatre Drama Festival.
“The comics, the puppet shows and my debut on the Kent stage ignited a lifelong passion for performance. After moving to south London as a teenager, I joined The ‘Y’ Players in Wimbledon, directing and performing in comedies by writers such as Alan Ayckbourn, Mike Leigh and Richard Harris. During this time we also wrote and performed alternative sketch comedy on the London circuit as ‘The Disguise Outfit’.
“A formative influence during this period was my English literature teacher, William ‘Bill’ Holmes. A former RSC and TV actor, he was the epitome of a Liverpudlian beatnik, often arriving in his trendy fur-lined kaftan coat, black leather cap and battered Mini. He introduced me to Shakespeare and encouraged my creative writing. He was also married to Barbara Murray – a star of 1950s and 1960s British cinema (Passport to Pimlico, and later the Fairy Liquid adverts) – so he was well connected in theatrical circles.
“My passion for writing continued into adulthood, nurtured by a Winchester creative writing group led by the author and tutor Margret Geraghty. Her acclaimed books, such as The Five-Minute Writer and The Novelist’s Guide, have inspired countless aspiring authors. Through her practical exercises and encouragement, I honed my craft, shared my work and developed the discipline that shaped my later writing.
“I’m now thrilled that my debut novel, Palimpsest – a dual-timeline psychological thriller – is complete. Designed to stand alone, it is also the first in a trilogy: Pentimento (Book 2) is complete and in editing, while Shadowglass (Book 3) is in active development.
“Since I settled in Winchester in the late 1980s, Chesil Theatre has been my creative home. I have appeared in productions ranging from All My Sons and Our Town to Terra Nova, Women in Mind and The Accrington Pals. My election as Chairman in 2025 reflects both my commitment to community theatre and my firm belief in its transformative power.