richard cole, played by ian reddington between 1992 and 1994, is a character was conceived by writer tony jordan. designed to be "a bit of a lad, a charming womanizer", the original character's biography scripted him with as a uniform-wearing cockney from london. however, when sheffield-born actor ian reddington read for the role, the production team liked his portrayal so much that they altered the character's backstory so they could accommodate reddington's northern-english accent. the character was nicknamed "tricky dicky" both in the show and the british press and became a prominent soap womaniser and villain for the two years he appeared; he has flings with various female characters, most notably kathy beale (gillian taylforth) and bianca jackson (patsy palmer).