BIG JR may be 5,000 miles from Southfork - but he's having a hard time adapting to his new-found fame on TV.

Each week, BBC1's fly-on-the-wall documentary Pleasure Beach homes in on the booming Cornish twang of director and general manager Jim Rowlands shouting orders to keep rides moving.

Now the man never stuck for words with his 1,800 staff finds it difficult to respond to being recognised everywhere and asked for his autograph.

"It's got to the stage where I can't go to my local pub or to a restaurant without being pulled up all the time," he said.

"The other day I was walking down Waterloo Road when a car screeched to halt in front of me and a man got out begging me to speak to his wife.

"It's becoming a problem for me because I'm not used to it."

In restaurants, the 54-year-old JR and his wife Diane have had difficulty finishing meals due to interruptions from well-wishers.

"It does bother her a bit, but it goes with the territory. I just have to accept it.

"I've not had anything bad said yet. They generally say I'm doing a good job, though a few say I shouldn't shout at people like I do - but they don't understand the pressure you're under.

"I have to shout to get the job done, but staff don't get upset because they understand why.

"They know at the end of the day I'll buy them a drink and it's fine."

Watching the series, he says, there's nothing he would rather have done differently - whether dealing with broken-down rides, disabled protestors or bomb-scares.

"In the end I just forgot the film crew were there and got on with the job as I normally do," he said.

Now he is being sought after by TV chat shows, increasing his chances of being recognised this summer by many of the Pleasure Beach's 7.5 million visitors.

But the pressures of the job must not be too bad as two of his three sons have followed him into the business - one as chief engineer for the Sultan of Brunei's theme park, another as an operations manager at the Pleasure Beach.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.