Why indeed? To understand a bit more about The REG Temple’s origins we must step back in time to the last millennium.

The REG Temple was founded way back in October 1998 by Dominique Falla. Dominique had long been a fan of Richard’s work ever since she saw Withnail And I. In 1998 Dominique was writing reviews and articles for several fanzines. While reviewing one of Richard’s films, Dominique decided that she wanted a bit more background on Richard’s career and went to see what she could find on the internet. She was surprised to find that there was not much at all in the way of information about Richard E. Grant on the net — certainly no official site, and very little everywhere else. In fact the main source of info was from the Internet Movie Database, and even then it wasn’t that much.

Thinking that it was almost a crime that such a fine actor as Richard E. Grant would have so little by way of a “web presence”, Dominique took steps to remedy this and the first seeds of what was to become The REG Temple were born!

The REG Temple was officially launched in December 1998. Here was a site that originated in Melbourne, Australia, was hosted in Dayton, Ohio (U.S.A.) and was about a British actor who was originally from Swaziland in Southern Africa! How’s that for a global mix.

After contacting Richard through his book publisher early in 1999, Richard himself offered to help by letting Dominique know what he was up to and what films, TV shows etc. he was appearing on. In early 2000 Dominique flew to England for the Withnail For Waterford charity event and got the chance to meet Richard, along with other REG fans and most of the cast members from Withnail and I.

Later in 2000 I suggested to Dominique the idea that Richard might be amenable to making The REG Temple his official site. He was, and so The Temple entered a new era. It wasn’t just a fan site anymore. It was unique blend of fansite and official website — possibly the first one of its kind. Not only could fans catch up on what REG was doing — straight from the horses mouth as it were — but they could also add their own content, stories, pictures and tributes, knowing that Richard would be checking in and reading from time to time. They also had numerous opportunities to add their creative touches to The Temple’s official “Birthday Books” and to ask Richard questions via a series of exclusive Q&A sessions we’ve had over the years (which reminds me we need to do more of those sometime soon).

By 2001, and with her increasing work commitments, Dominique was finding it difficult to put enough time aside to update the site, so I said I’d help her out — eventually taking over the reigns completely by the following year.

It’s not all Dominique, Richard and myself doing all the work though. Far from it in fact! The REG Temple is very much a multicultural, multi-continental effort which involves the participation and contributions from a number of people around the world. Some of these people have been with The Temple for many years, while others have only not long discovered it. The REG Temple has benefitted greatly by these people who have helped us over the years, most notably Nicola (Nikki), Sue W, Jolie, Maureen, Denise, Rosemary, Joan, Pat, Stargazer, Kate, Melanie & countless others. These people are the ones who have made The REG Temple the site it is today, and I thank everyone for their support over the years.

Cameron Miller,
July, 2008.

p.s. To see how The Temple used to look like in the past, check out The REG Temple Throughout The Years