On 2 January 1982, a weary crowd gathered at Twickenham to watch the England cricket team take on Australia. It was a dreary, grey day and there was little to celebrate for either set of supporters as the half time whistle blew. The break lasted just a few minutes in those days and there was no opportunity for the players to retreat to the warmth of the changing rooms to dry off and catch their breath. Instead, England’s captain, Bill Beaumont, gathered his team mates at the side of the pitch and was trying to deliver a rousing team talk, when, to his dismay, he realised that no one was paying him the blindest bit of notice. They were staring, mouths agape, at something happening on the muddy pitch behind him. Beaumont turned, and suddenly understood. A topless woman was being chased by police officers across the field.
Who streaked at Twickenham?
Her name was Erica Roe. As the half time whistle had blown, bored and fuelled by booze, she had turned to the woman sitting beside her, Sarah Bennett, and without planning or preparation, they had both taken off down the stands towards the pitch, whipping off their tops as they went. Bennett was accosted by a police officer within seconds, but Roe just kept running, cigarette hanging haphazardly out of the side of mouth, as the crowd, who felt they finally had something to cheer about, roared louder and louder. An officer caught up with her at the halfway line and tried to use his helmet to cover her bosom. When it proved insufficient, she was bundled up in a Union Jack flag and frogmarched off the field. Twenty minutes later she was in the pub, fully clothed, and not expecting any fall out from her antics.
Who is Britain’s most famous streaker?
To her astonishment, the next day, she was front page news, labelled by the BBC as “Britain’s most famous streaker”. Overnight, she had become a household name. Erica Roe was supposed to be working in a bookshop that day, but called in sick. Her manager was not impressed to see her spread across the front pages the next day, but allowed her to keep her job. Though her fame was fleeting, she was able to use the brief spotlight to carve out a career for herself in journalism, conducting interviews for several rugby magazines throughout the 80s.
Has anyone streaked at Wimbledon?
Roe inspired so much interest that soon streakers were turning up at every major sporting event around the country. Streaking or exhibitionism was by no means a new idea. Way back in 1799 a man had been arrested outside of Mansion House trying to run naked from Cornhill to Cheapside for a bet worth £750 today, but now streaking was become an epidemic. One by one, each bastion of British sport fell victim to this new fad, football, cricket and rugby of course, but these were soon joined by the Grand National, Boules, and even Crufts. The last pillar to fall was Wimbledon. Many believed those hallowed grass courts too civilised for such barbarity, but by 1996 bookies were so certain it was going to happen that they were offering odds of 4-1 that the final would be interrupted. It turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. As the finalists posed for photos at the net, a London student called Melissa Johnson burst onto the court, giving the players and the Royals quite an eyeful.
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