Tag: Celebrities

Filming Ken Russell’s Valentino at the Blackpool Tower Circus

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Valentino was a 1977 American biographical drama directed by Ken Russell, co-written with Mardik Martin, and starring Rudolf Nureyev, Leslie Caron, Michelle Phillips, and Carol Kane. Loosely inspired by the life of silent film star Rudolph Valentino, it drew on the book Valentino, an Intimate Exposé of the Sheik by Chaw Mank and Brad Steiger. Among its highlights was a sequence filmed at the Blackpool Tower Circus. The project began in 1975 when producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff set it in motion, eventually turning to Russell to direct. The narrative was told through flashbacks following Valentino’s death in 1926,…

Hindle Wakes – Dramatic Film Shot in Blackpool and Llandudno

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Hindle Wakes was a 1952 British drama directed by Arthur Crabtree, featuring Lisa Daniely, Brian Worth, Leslie Dwyer, and Sandra Dorne. It marked the fourth screen adaptation of Stanley Houghton’s 1912 play, a story that explored a young woman’s defiance of her parents and society when she pursued a holiday romance. The independent Monarch Film Corporation produced and distributed the picture. It was filmed at Merton Park Studios in London with sets by art director Andrew Mazzei, while location work took place in Blackpool and Llandudno. The story followed Lancashire mill girls Jenny Hawthorne and Mary Hollins as they travelled…

Lauren Bunney Wins Role in BBC’s Grange Hill

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Lauren Bunney (born 1988) is an actress from Blackpool, best known for playing Annie Wainwright in the BBC school drama Grange Hill from 2003-2005. The character was written out in 2006, apparently having gone to live with her estranged mother. Lauren trained at Blackpool’s Tiptoes Theatre School. The Annie Wainwright character is a student at Grange Hill School from 2003 to 2005, played by Lauren Bunney. She made her first appearance in episode 1 of series 26 and made her last appearance in episode 20 of series 28. Annie is the daughter of Owen Wainwright and Mrs Wainwright and the…

Kelsey-Beth Crossley’s First Appearance in Emmerdale

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Kelsey-Beth Crossley (born 8 July 1992) is an actress from Fleetwood, who played the part of Scarlett Nicholls, the secret teenage daughter of deceased millionaire Tom King and Carrie Nicholls on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She made her first appearance in March 2007, and last appearance on 20 November 2012. Crossley was a pupil at Bispham High School Arts College in Blackpool. She was put forward for an audition in Emmerdale by Blackpool-based children’s casting agency, Scream Management, and from hundreds, she made it through to the final six, who were then invited to take part in a workshop…. Read more »

Malique Thompson-Dwyer Lands Role in Hollyoaks

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Malique Thompson-Dwyer (born 2 February 1998) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Prince McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2016 to 2019 and 2021 onwards. Thompson-Dwyer’s first on-screen acting role was as Tommo in the CBBC children’s drama The Dumping Ground. He is represented by Red Door Management. In 2016, he joined the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Prince McQueen, the son of Goldie McQueen (Chelsee Healey) and the twin brother of Hunter McQueen (Theo Graham). His first appearance was in the episode shown on 17 November 2016. For his work in… Read more »

Maddison Jaizani Makes Her Television Debut

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Maddison Sunshine Al-Jaizani (born on 3 June 1995) is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles as Sophie de Clermont in the Canal+ series Versailles (2015–2018), Odessa in the AMC series Into the Badlands (2017–2019), and Bess Marvin in the CW series Nancy Drew (2019–2023). Jaizani was born in Kensington / Chelsea, London, to an English mother and an Iranian father and grew up in Sale, Greater Manchester. She attended Sir John Deane’s College for sixth form. She completed a BTEC Extended Diploma in performing arts at Bury College in 2014. Jaizani made her television debut… Read more »

Marli Harwood Signs With Island Records

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Marli Harwood (born Marilena Buck, 13 March 1975 in Lytham St Annes) also known as Marli Buck, is a British singer and songwriter. A piano and guitar player, she is of Eritrean, Italian, Welsh and English extraction. In 1995, she was signed by Chris Blackwell to his Island Records label. During the recording of her debut album, Blackwell decided to sell Island Records, and Harwood’s album was never released. In 2002, Harwood appeared on Fame Academy, and finished eighth in the series. She then recorded several albums with various major record labels, which remained unreleased or promoted. In 2010, the… Read more »

Cheryl Fergison First Appears in Eastenders

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Cheryl El Jamouni (born 27 August 1965 in London), known professionally as Cheryl Fergison, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Heather Trott in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role in which she starred in from 2007 until 2012. Fergison moved to the Fylde Coast eight years ago (2017) and now lives in Cleveleys with her husband and son. In January 2025 she told her 54.6k followers on social media that she would be singing at the opening night of Dragon Lounge, 120 Victoria Road West, Cleveleys – formerly the Great Fortune House, which… Read more »

Peter Gunn Appears in Brassed Off!

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Peter Gunn, born 13 February 1963 in Lytham St Annes, is an English actor who’s appeared in several TV series and films. He has been married to Julie L. Livesey since July 2000 and they have two sons, George and Tom. On British television, perhaps Gunn is best known as the character Len Cosgrove in the BBC series Born and Bred as well as dozens of guest-starring and recurring roles in other television series and films such as: Brassed Off! (1996), Frost, Heartburn Hotel, and Sunshine. To American audiences, he may be better known for Blue Juice (1995), EverAfter (1998), Hannah… Read more »

Amanda Barrie Comes to Blackpool

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Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent; 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the Carry On films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played on and off for 20 years. Between 2003 and 2006, she played the role of Bev Tull in the ITV prison drama, Bad Girls. Barrie has since enjoyed a varied stage and television career. Barrie is a distant cousin of Coronation Street co-star Sally Ann Matthews, who plays Jenny Bradley. Barrie was born Shirley Anne Broadbent in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, to Hubert… Read more »