A quiet corner of County Durham

Blackhill sits on the western edge of Consett, a former steel town in County Durham with sweeping views towards the Durham Dales.

It was here – on a family farm owned by his father Eric Atkinson – that a young Rowan grew up alongside his two older brothers, Rupert and Rodney, in a household his biographers describe as comfortably well-off.

His father was a farmer and company director, and his mother, Ella May Bambridge, came from a long-established local family; genealogists have traced Atkinson relatives working as greengrocers in Blackhill as far back as the turn of the 20th century.

That deep-rooted connection to the area meant Atkinson’s formative years were shaped by rural County Durham rather than the bright lights that would later define his career.

From farm boy to national treasure

Atkinson left the North East as a boy to attend Durham Cathedral Chorister School, then St Bees School in Cumbria, and later studied electrical engineering at Newcastle University.

It was at Oxford, where he pursued a further degree, that he began performing comedy sketches, eventually creating the characters that would make him one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers, from the bumbling Mr Bean to the scheming Edmund Blackadder.

Despite his global fame, Atkinson has largely kept his Consett roots out of the spotlight, and he does not carry the Geordie or Durham accent some might expect given his origins, a point often noted by fans online.

Locally, though, the connection has never been forgotten, and his childhood cottage near Consett has since been turned into a holiday let, still marketed today as the “former home of comedy star Rowan Atkinson.”

A lasting local legacy

For a town perhaps better known for its industrial steelmaking past, Blackhill’s link to one of Britain’s most recognisable comic actors remains a point of local pride.

Long after he left for boarding school and university, Atkinson’s early years on a Blackhill farm are still cited as the starting point of a journey that would take him from rural County Durham to Hollywood film sets and the West End stage.

Shane Sterling, who studied at Oxford University, is currently a judo athlete, practising magician and is the owner of Oxford Magic Walking Tours.

He was hospitalised with heatstroke after conducting three back-to-back walking tours through Oxford on Monday (August 3).

Shane led tours at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, spending most of the day outdoors and walking between Oxford’s historic landmarks in hot weather.

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His tours are highly interactive and can occasionally run slightly beyond their scheduled finish time.

This can leave Shane with only around 20 minutes to return to the meeting point, check in the next group and begin the following tour.

Around an hour into his final tour at 3pm, he began to feel increasingly unwell, but determined not to disappoint his guests, he continued and completed the tour.

However, shortly after the tour ended, his condition quickly became worse.

“I suddenly felt extremely sick and dizzy,” Shane said.

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“I had a severe headache, I was incredibly thirsty, and I knew something was not right.

“Luckily, my wife was meeting me after the final tour. She immediately realised how unwell I was and made sure I received medical help.”

Shane was taken to hospital that evening, where he was treated for heatstroke.

Medical staff warned him that the situation could have become extremely serious if help had been delayed.

The tour guide is sharing his experience as a warning to others, particularly with further periods of hot weather expected.

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“I spend a great deal of time outdoors, and I consider myself to be extremely fit,” said Shane.

“I represent Team GB in judo and have trained at a high level for many years. I never expected something like this to happen to me, but it shows that heatstroke can affect anyone.”

He is now urging residents, visitors, tour guides and outdoor workers to take extra precautions during periods of extreme heat.

“Drinking water is essential, but it is not the only thing people need to think about,” Shane said.

“Try to spend time in the shade, take proper breaks and avoid pushing through if you begin to feel unwell.

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“Move to a cool or air-conditioned place as quickly as possible and seek urgent medical help if your symptoms are serious.”

Common warning signs of heat-related illness can include dizziness, nausea, severe headache, intense thirst, confusion, weakness and feeling unusually unwell.

Shane, who has now recovered, added: “I pushed through because I wanted to finish the tour for my guests, but looking back, I should have stopped as soon as I felt ill.

“No tour, job or appointment is worth putting your health at risk. The hospital staff told me that this could have ended very badly for me.”