Tag: Celebrities

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 »

Hollywood Icon Mae West Lights up Blackpool

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Mae West visited Blackpool on multiple occasions, with a well-documented appearance at the Blackpool Hippodrome in 1947-1948. She also performed at the New Opera House in 1947-1948. The Hippodrome’s archives even list various other performances in Blackpool, including those by “Blackpool Film Festival,” which occasionally screened her films like “I’m No Angel”. Blackpool must have made a terrific impression on her as she was amongst many other celebrity donors who gave to the St Stephens-on-the-Cliffs Church. West’s likeness was used on the front cover of the Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. When approached for permission, West… Read more »

Noël Coward Comes to Blackpool

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Noël Coward had a notable connection with Blackpool, particularly with the Grand Theatre. He first came to Blackpool in October 1942 to present his “Play Parade” featuring “Present Laughter”, “Blithe Spirit”, and “This Happy Breed” at the Blackpool Grand Theatre. This was part of his wartime tour of Britain. Amongst many other things, Coward was also a donor at Blackpool’s St Stephen’s on-the-Cliffs Church. With the outbreak of the Second World War Coward abandoned the theatre and sought official war work. After running the British propaganda office in Paris, where he concluded that “if the policy of His Majesty’s Government… Read more »

Alan Ball Starts at Blackpool Football Club at 17

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Alan James Ball MBE (12 May 1945 – 25 April 2007) was an English professional football player and manager. Often regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he won the 1966 World Cup with England and played for various clubs, scoring more than 180 league goals in a career spanning 22 years. After retiring as a player, he had a 15-year career as a manager which included spells in the top flight of English football with Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City. He was inducted in the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Ball started his professional… Read more »

Tessie O’Shea Returns to Blackpool to Share Bill with The Beatles

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Teresa Mary “Tessie” O’Shea (13 March 1913 – 21 April 1995) was a Welsh entertainer and actress. She was born at 61 Plantagenet Street in Riverside, Cardiff to newspaper wholesaler James Peter O’Shea, who had been a soldier and who was the son of Irish emigrants, and his wife Nellie Theresa Carr. O’Shea was reared in the British music hall tradition and performed on stage as early as age six, billed as “The Wonder of Wales”. When staying at Weston-super-Mare as a child, she got lost and was only discovered when her mother heard her singing the Ernie Mayne hit,… Read more »

Diana Dors Gets Into Trouble and Appears in Blackpool Shows

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Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 1931 – 4 May 1984) was a British actress who made several appearances in Blackpool. She performed in the “Life with Lyons” show at a fee of £100 a week for three months in 1953. In addition, eBay UK reports she appeared in a “Souvenir Sunday Night Concert” at the Opera House in Blackpool on 30 July 1961. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was promoted by her first husband, Dennis Hamilton, mostly in… Read more »

Blackpool’s Harry Moulding Wins Britain’s Got Talent

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Harry Moulding was born in Blackpool and fell in love with magic when he was just 11 years old. Within a couple of months, he started entering magic competitions and taking home winning trophies! His passion for magic continued to progress over time. When he left school, he joined the cast of the Award-Winning House of Illusion Magic and Mystery Theatre Show in Spain. Since then, he has performed in thousands of sold-out shows, including intimate close-up magic to VIPs and hosting to UK and International audiences. On 31 May 2025 he was crowned the Britain’s Got Talent winner after… Read more »