Walter Biddulph was the owner of Biddulph's newsagent/cafe in Rosamund Street. The shop was known locally as a rough and grotty fleapit and, according to Deirdre Hunt, there were stories about Biddulph, an elderly gentleman, of having "140 'ands and all of 'em clammy". Nevertheless, in May 1973 Biddulph had enough money behind him to sell up and move into a £10,000 villa on the Costa del Sol. Ray Langton jumped at the chance to buy the shop and asked Biddulph to consider selling to him in exchange for a quick cash deal, abandoning a previous deal that was all but signed on the dotted line. When he heard that Ray was Len Fairclough's partner, Biddulph laughed, telling Ray that it was Len who he'd been dealing with for two weeks.