STAR SNAP RIDDLE
EastEnders Barry in Omagh photo shoot
MOURNERS who gathered in Omagh were stunned to see an EastEnders actor posing for pictures at the bomb site.
Sean Williamson, who plays car dealer Barry, was photographed in front of the spot where 28 people were murdered - just hours after the atrocity. The BBC refused to explain why Mr Williamson was snapped at the scene of Ulster's worst day of carnage.
And a spokeswoman rejected suggestions that the incident was insensitive and said the actor was in the devastated town for a magazine feature. One reporter who spotted the star said: "It was bizarre. "We couldn't understand why this guy from EastEnders was posing for photographs with the bomb site in the background, a day after the tragedy.
"When he was asked what he was doing there, he mumbled apologetically that he was doing a 'thing' with 'these people who are with me' and couldn't talk." The reporter added that Mr Williamson apologised before the English cameraman who was with him snapped: "He's not saying anything to anyone". He then whisked the soap star away in a car.
Mr Williamson's agent explained that his father is from Enniskillen but declined to comment on why he was being photographed in Omagh, almost 30 miles away. An EastEnders spokeswoman said: "Sean was doing pictures for a 'back to his roots' feature with his father.
"They visited Omagh as part of a visit they were doing. "He didn't feel it was appropriate for him to talk about that particular situation, although he was paying his respects." The spokeswoman refused to comment on why it was necessary to take photographs of the actor at the bomb site if he was 'paying his respects'.
MOURNERS who gathered in Omagh were stunned to see an EastEnders actor posing for pictures at the bomb site.
Sean Williamson, who plays car dealer Barry, was photographed in front of the spot where 28 people were murdered - just hours after the atrocity. The BBC refused to explain why Mr Williamson was snapped at the scene of Ulster's worst day of carnage.
And a spokeswoman rejected suggestions that the incident was insensitive and said the actor was in the devastated town for a magazine feature. One reporter who spotted the star said: "It was bizarre. "We couldn't understand why this guy from EastEnders was posing for photographs with the bomb site in the background, a day after the tragedy.
"When he was asked what he was doing there, he mumbled apologetically that he was doing a 'thing' with 'these people who are with me' and couldn't talk." The reporter added that Mr Williamson apologised before the English cameraman who was with him snapped: "He's not saying anything to anyone". He then whisked the soap star away in a car.
Mr Williamson's agent explained that his father is from Enniskillen but declined to comment on why he was being photographed in Omagh, almost 30 miles away. An EastEnders spokeswoman said: "Sean was doing pictures for a 'back to his roots' feature with his father.
"They visited Omagh as part of a visit they were doing. "He didn't feel it was appropriate for him to talk about that particular situation, although he was paying his respects." The spokeswoman refused to comment on why it was necessary to take photographs of the actor at the bomb site if he was 'paying his respects'.
Further Information
Publisher: SUNDAY LIFE
Ref: SL/034
Published Date: 23-Aug-98
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