He was a racing tipster, often featuring to the top of the unofficial Sporting Life naps table, a competition held between journalists to select winners.
[3] Rickman returned to Surrey in 1932 to recover from a lung illness and in 1934 joined the Daily Mail as a junior reporter covering a variety of stories and becoming the newspaper's Zoo correspondent.
[6] When Graham was unavailable Rickman began to cover his role as a paddock correspondent gaining some experience that proved very helpful when Independent Television launched in 1955.
Rickman became the first frontman for the new channel's racing coverage that began in 1956 maintaining the role until his retirement in 1978 when John Oaksey replaced him.
[3] In front of the camera Rickman offered a reassuring courteous presence invariably greeting the audience with an extravagant doffing of his trilby hat.