How old is smiler

The character was popular enough to be brought back on a semi-regular basis, and was a regular throughout the s and most of the s although his dog died between his first and second appearances.

In some early appearances, he was a lollipop man , but for much of his time on the show worked for Auntie Wainwright, with whom he seems to be suffering some sort of indentured servitude. In early appearances, Smiler was also a lodger with Nora Batty, which enraged the jealous Compo. Smiler also owned a big, but rather beaten up and poorly maintained, white convertible Chevrolet Impala , in which he sometimes drove around with Tom, and which on occasion has been used in various promotions for Auntie Wainwright.

Smiler was last seen in the series 28 episode "Sinclair and the Wormley Witches". Lewis left the show at the end of series 28 because of ill health.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Image source, WMAS. The ambulance and fire services worked to rescue the badly-injured.

Mobile phone footage taken by year-old "Thomas" immediately after the crash. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service built a platform to help people off the ride. History of problems. A group of 16 journalists were left dangling on it at a steep angle as they tried out the rollercoaster before it opened to the public.

The ride shut for four days in July after a piece fell off the track, and 48 people had to be rescued. It closed again in August for five days due to a "technical issue". In November it closed for five days after wheels fell off and hit four people in the front carriage. The injured people were looked after by park staff and did not need treatment by the ambulance service, a spokeswoman said at the time.

Riders were also left stranded in the air when the ride ground to a halt at the top of a near vertical section 14 months ago. Image source, Kirsty Wild. Eyewitness Ben Richardson: "People were screaming and shouting". The Smiler ride. Alton Towers.

Published 2 June Published 25 December Published 3 November The following week, Washington had her left leg amputated above her knee as a result of her injuries. On 26 June, it was revealed that Balch had her leg amputated below the knee after multiple operations to save her leg were unsuccessful. Following the accident, merchandise and references to the Smiler were removed from the park.

The coaster was closed for the rest of the year. The fate of the ride was unknown until 24 November , when Alton Towers announced that the accident was caused by human error and the ride would reopen in On 19 March , the ride resumed operation after 9 months of standing but not operating. The coaster received new modifications to the track and trains following the accident.

Navigation Main page Random page Help Style guide. Portals World records Roller coasters Coaster types Ride types. Wiki tools Upload file Special pages. Page Discussion View View source History. Click here to watch the on-ride POV. A merged photo of two smiler trains navigating the "Staffordshire Knot". Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. Retrieved 7 January This box: view edit.

Alton Towers. Operating since 31 May Yes, by IMAscore [1]. Chain lift hill and vertical chain lift hill.