I don't know if anybody has mentioned this, so I apologise beforehand if it already has been mentioned on here. It's just that I haven't seen a thread about it.

But the neck thing. Has anybody else seen it?
Once you spot him doing it you notice that he does it a lot.
It's like a nervous tick. He kind of stretches his neck forward and gives it a bit of a sideways twist.

Yes I have and I am concerned about his tick. I thought at first his shirt collar may have been to tight, but it is a nervous twitch thing he does when he is being confronted. I think I have seen some policemen/security types do the same thing when in a confrontational situation.

I actually think Ricky is doing very well now, for a wide boy. He is keen to learn and get on, is polite and has a certain amount of self awareness which is refreshing.

Is it connected to his left eyebrow?

I didn't realise Ricky did this until Andy Parsons mimicked him on YF.

I've noticed wrestlers and muscle-bound rugby players doing the same thing.
They seem to be snapping their neck vertebrae into place before hard physical contact.

I was going to mention this last night. There was a guy in my high school who used to do it but it wasnt a tick or any form of nervousness it was more to do with bravado in trying to put his point across.

Come to think of it this was a guy who did the weights quite a bit in school too so maybe it is linked with the style of exercise Ricky does.

Yes. It looks to me like a man loosening his collar when he's too hot or feeling flustered, it's almost as if his throat feels constricted. Probably just something he does when under pressure.

ITs not a tick. In fact its almost certainly related to his wrestling, and is more likely a pinched nerve around the neck/traps.

Ive felt similar pains when Ive worked my traps too hard (the muscle between your neck and shoulders) and you need to make that movement to clear the pain.

Guarantee you its this, and not a tick.

Haven't noticed that, but did clock the massive tat around his upper arm when he got up, and thought how hideous it looked.

I grin every time he does it.

I've seen quite a few some men who did that. It's just a psychological thing. Usually happens when under pressure or in a stressful situation. I don't know how doing it helps them, but if I were to make a guess, I think it's to shake off a feeling that there's a noose around their neck.

oo yes and once you have tuned into it you keep watching for it

A lot of slap and pluck hide a multitude of imperfections except ability.

The combination of that absolutely gob-smackingly ugly tatto and him in his combinations - Ugh.

I'm glad it wasn't just me ..... he was like a great lump of lard in his combinations and the tat on what looked a bit of a bingo wing was unpleasant. I thought he looked pretty unfit and deffo better with the clothes on!

The neck thing - I laugh every time. Ricky reminds me of the Inspector from 'On the Buses' who did something similar when under pressure, and doesn't Phil Mitchell do a touch of it too when being a hard man?

Yes, I've seen it. It's the part between his head thing and his shoulder thing.

(I'd get my coat, but it's too hot to wear one.)

Yes he always looks like his collar is choking him.

He does it when he's nervous. In the boardroom he does it over and over - don't think he realises he's doing it!

He does do the eyebrow and neck thing quite a lot, you know when he raises his slick arched eyebrows and then does the neck thing.

Is he really a wrestler? He looks ever so voluptious to be one, when he waddled down in his nightie last week. I thought they were meant to be all muscles and what not?

This is a guy who won Total Wipeout. He might not be in tip top shape these days but he was very fit then. I know TW is a bit of a joke show but you do have to be in very good shape to do well on it.

RE the neck thing, people who work out hard often feel the need to 'stretch out' for comfort. It can become a habit particularly when one feels nervous. I haven't lifted weights for couple of years but still find myself stretching my chest and back muscles at times.

Which is what I suggested back at the beginning of the thread but was ignored as Im assuming most posters arent exactly keen gym goers, so would prefer to belive their 'tick' explanation.

Reminds me of Uncle Albert from Only Fools and Horses.
Just after he does his neck thing I can imagine him saying "During the war...".

i hadnt noticed....i'll look out for it on tonights show

Yes, I've noticed it. It's almost like a reflex action when he is challenged or comes under pressure in some way.

And I also noticed all through the thread the repetition of tick. The word is actually tic.

Isn't a variant on kind of loosening your collar - you're right -he does it when challenged which makes me think that it a)buys him a second more before he has to speak and b) may stem back to when he used to wear a shirt and tie and wanted to loosen his neck.

Yeah, that was my impression too, but I had forgotten that it could be something to do with his wrestling. Reminds me of Vincent last year who always adjusted his collar and it was even shown on a montage on his YF iirc.

Following on from this and the Uncle Albert reference, I thought I'd point out that Windsor Davies also did it in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum", when he lost his rag with his effete underling, whose name escapes me.