New tallest Brit

Anyone in Worcester who watched Neil Fingleton play basketball at Holy Name or Holy Cross doesn’t need Guinness World Records to tell them the Englishman is tall, but we’ll take their official word for it.

The famous reference book of international extremes last month validated Fingleton, who towers 7 feet, 7.56 inches, as the United Kingdom’s tallest living man. He said he ranks as the fifth tallest living man in the world.

“When you put it in that perspective, it is fascinating,” Fingleton said in a telephone interview from his apartment in central Spain, where he is playing professional basketball.

The Guinness World Records book comes out only once a year — usually right before Christmas — so if his mark prevails, Fingleton will be in the next edition.

Fingleton, 26, is averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds for his Ciudad Real team, and has not given up on his dream of playing in the NBA. Fingleton, who earned a degree in history from Holy Cross, has also played professionally in China, Italy, Greece and England. He was the tallest player in the histories of Holy Name, Holy Cross and the University of North Carolina (he spent two years there).

But while he loves the game, Neil has recently quit the Ciudad Real club to see if he can use his height as a launch pad into acting.

He said: “I remember being fascinated by the actor Richard Keil, who is 7ft 2in and played Jaws in James Bond movies. I guess he was sort of a role model because he was tall but played a great character. Then recently I realised I was actually taller than him. So I thought, ‘Why don’t I do that? I don’t just want to be famous for being tall. Just as I became good at basketball, I’d like to master acting.”