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The life of an obsessive hoarder from Surrey has been turned into a stage play, coming to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford this Friday (May 23).

Richard Wallace, 63, has lived in Westcott his whole life. He was brought to the public’s attention in 2011 when he starred in the Channel 4 documentary, Obsessive Compulsive Hoarders.

The programme showed Mr Wallace battling against his obsessive hoarding, which had filled his house to the brim with years of old newspapers, magazines and junk that he could not bear to part with.

During the filming of the programme, Mr Wallace was introduced to Andy Honey, who was renting the property next door that he also owned.

Mr Honey said: “I was asked by the filmmaker if I would help out with Richard, which I agreed to, but I did not know what I was getting myself into.”

The two neighbours became good friends as they worked together to try to clear Mr Wallace’s house of decades worth of rubbish which had made it uninhabitable.

After the documentary aired on television, Mr Honey was approached by playwright Adam Sunderland about the possibility of staging a drama about the friendship between the two men.

Mr Honey said: “I thought it was a great idea, although the play is about a man battling his hoarding, it is mainly about the power of friendship and what can be achieved through that.”

The three-person play stars actors David Glass, who plays Richard, Leigh Symonds as Andy and jazz double bassist Jenni Molloy.

The play, called The Hoarder, focuses on Andy slowly gaining the trust of Richard who begins to clear out the house of more than 30 tonnes of rubbish, but also explores the ideas of loneliness, materialism, tolerance and above all, how great things can be achieved when humans connect.

Mr Wallace, who worked as a television engineer in Dorking but is now retired, said: “I am very much looking forward to seeing the play. I have heard Andy talk about it so much that it will be nice to see what all the fuss is about.

“I have enjoyed the attention after the exposure from the documentary, and now the play about my life.

"It has helped me confront my disorder and raised awareness about the condition. Around 5% of people in the UK suffer from hoarding and it is more prevalent than you would think.”

'Fetish for cereal box packaging'

Mr Wallace’s hoarding problem began after the death of his mother and father, who he said did not suffer “clutterers” gladly.

“It became much easier to decide to keep all publications and rubbish after that,” he said.

“That is when I started to archive my acquisitions outside, but nature took control of these items and my garden.

“I find it very hard to discard things that I think might be useful, I have a bit of a fetish for cereal box packaging, I like to keep them as a historical archive of the artwork on the boxes.”

Mr Wallace’s house is still jam-packed with rubbish, with several outhouses and sheds also full.

However, Mr Honey said his friend had come a long way from the first time he walked into his neighbour’s house and was astonished by what he saw.

He said: “Richard has done very well. He is not there yet and will never completely be cured of hoarding but the house is a lot better now. You can actually walk through the house which is a start.”

The play at the Yvonne Arnaud coincides with UK Hoarding Awareness Week which runs from May 19 to 25.

Mr Honey, who now works with Clouds End, a social enterprise that works with people with hoarding disorder, said he hoped it would encourage other sufferers to seek help.

He added: “I am very passionate about the play, I hope it raises awareness of the illness.

"At the end of the play there is always a question and answer show with the audience, which can be quite emotional. I hope the people of Guildford enjoy the show.”