'I'm Andy Capp's biggest fan' The Sunderland woman who had a massive collection of Andy memorabilia

Eileen Turner from the Ford Estate in Sunderland was hailed in 1994 as ‘something of a super fan’ and the subject of her adoration was Andy Capp.

But we want to know more about Eileen and whether her huge collection grew even further.

She had all the books

As well as all the books, she bought the Sunderland Echo and Daily Mirror every day to read about Andy’s escapades.

She said 30 years ago: “I just think it’s a brilliant cartoon strip. I read the books nearly every night in bed.

“I’ve got the first three Andy Capp books, which I think are from 1957 or 1958, but there are no dates on the early ones. They started to put them on in 1961.

‘I don’t think Andy is quite Andy without a fag’

“I was very interested when Andy stopped smoking a while ago, because in some of the older strips he’s not smoking either. I know smoking is a bad thing to do, but I don’t think Andy is quite Andy without a fag.”

Andy Capp ran in Eileen’s family as her seven-year-old grandson, Liam, also became a fan.

“He has read every single book as well, ” said Eileen in 1994.

‘When he says he is flattered he means it’

Andy’s creator, Reg Smythe, reacted to Eileen’s love of his character and said: “Andy would be very pleased to think he has such a dedicated fan. When he says he’s flattered, he means it.

“I still get a lot of letters about Andy, but I like to let him do the talking. He now appears in 1,500 papers.”

Tell us if you can match Eileen’s collection - either for Andy or another star.

Or maybe you knew Eileen and can tell us more about her mega collection.

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