Frank’s artistry left its mark across countless comics from the late 1960s onward. He contributed to adventure titles such as Hotspur and The Eagle, brought his lively touch to Roger the Dodger in The Beano, and created memorable humour strips like The Gasworks Gang, Luncheon Vulture, Boy Boss, and many more for Fleetway.
Yet, for me—and for many fans—Frank McDiarmid will always be best remembered for Cheeky and his colourful cast of pals. The comic’s unique format, following Cheeky through the days of his week, meant Frank shouldered the lion’s share of the workload: seven strips every issue, an extraordinary feat! While other artists occasionally stepped in, Frank himself confirmed that at least two‑thirds of Cheeky bore his hand, a testament to both his talent and his tireless dedication.
Back in 2018, I first connected with Frank’s son on social media after he commented on some of my Cheeky vector art posts. That exchange led to me being in touch with Frank himself, who kindly asked if I could send him a print of the Cheeky gang illustration to hang on his wall — an absolute honour for me. While putting this webpage together, I searched online for a photo of Frank to include, and was both amazed and delighted to discover the picture below: Frank proudly holding my artwork, beautifully framed and looking wonderful.
Of course, I couldn’t let the chance of being in touch with one of my childhood heroes pass without a keepsake. I’d never have forgiven myself if I hadn’t asked for a one‑off, original “Frank McDiarmid” of my very own. Frank was more than happy to oblige, and now that priceless piece of Cheeky art (priceless to me, at least!) hangs proudly on my wall.
The exchange was followed by a wonderful letter from Frank, which you can see below — and, to my utter surprise, he even picked up the phone and spent over an hour chatting with me about his career on The Beano, Cheeky, and all manner of comic adventures. It’s a moment etched in memory, one I’ll treasure forever.
Cheeky bursts onto the scene with a full week of antics from the first issue of Cheeky Weekly — nine pages of Frank’s tireless doodling (and that’s not even counting the cover gags). The man was a cartoon‑churning machine! Between the chaos you’ll find TV spoofs, movie send‑ups, and vintage comics cheekily “read” along the way. Buckle up for Cheeky’s manic debut week!
...and from first to last - this is the last of Cheeky's week before Cheeky Weekly disappeared into the pages of Whoopee. They always made these mergers sound like a good thing - I doubt many of the readers would agree.
With the merger of Cheeky Weekly and Whoopee, Cheeky's Week was condensed down to a two page spread, this example being from December 1981. As time went on even this shrank down further to a half-page strip titled "What a Cheek".
Let's not let Cheeky take all the glory here! Frank also contributed many other characters among the range of comics. Below we have Boy Boss from Wow comic, The Beano's Roger the Dodger and Frank appearing as guest artist on Whoopee's Bumpkin Billionaires.
As the market for kids' humour comics took a decline, Frank concentrated on fine art and, as well as opening a gallery in Arbroath his art was widely distributed. He sadly passed away in 2021 leaving a huge Cheeky-shaped hole in the lives of all his fans across the world. My own childhood would certainly have been different without the madness and humour-packed panels of his comics strips. A tribute can be found on downthetubes.net by clicking the link below.