Fans make Boycie a big hit on Twitter
The actor who became a household name by featuring in BBC TV's record-breaking Only Fools and Horses has amassed one of the region's biggest Twitter followings.
John Challis, better known as Boycie, lives on the Shropshire border. He is one of the few individuals in the region to have about 50,000 Twitter followers.
The number of people following him rises daily and says he loves communicating with fans via social media. Mr Challis has amassed his followers at a rate of more than 1,000 per month, having joined Twitter in December 2011 with the username @beingboycie.
And he is inundated with messages, requests and jokes each day. He said: "I really love being on Twitter. It's a great platform because it allows me to speak directly to my fans – and them directly to me."
Mr Challis will be visiting events in Shropshire during coming months and is looking forward to seeing some of his Twitter followers then.
He said: "I'm doing a personal appearance at the Shrewsbury Food Festival, in The Quarry Park, Shrewsbury, on Saturday and Sunday and I've also got two theatre dates in the region this autumn.
"I'll be playing the Festival Drayton Centre, in Market Drayton, on September 25.
"I'm also returning to Telford for a show at Oakengates Theatre @ The Place on November 5. I'll be bringing my Only Fools and Boycie shows to both venues, which looks back on my career and is very funny."
Mr Challis added that he would continue to use Twitter so that he could remain in touch with fans.
He said: "It's great for work, for pleasure and to keep up to date.
"I always enjoy speaking to people on social media."
