Tag: Celebrities

King of Comedy DAN LENO at Pavilion Theatre and the Grand

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Dan Leno (1860-1904) was the greatest of all the music hall stars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He appeared at theatres and music halls across the United Kingdom filling their auditoriums with his particular brand of comic madness and pathos. Every year he was contracted to perform at the annual pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London’s West End; as well as annual residencies at the famous Pavilion Music Hall, Piccadilly Circus. He became the highest paid artist of his generation. His influence on other comic performers that followed him is well documented; the likes… Read more »

John Thomson Stars in Hairspray at The Winter Gardens

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John Patrick Thomson, born Patrick Francis McAleer on 2 April 1969 in Walkden, Worsley, is an English comedian, narrator, and actor known for his roles in The Fast Show, Men Behaving Badly, Cold Feet, 24 Hour Party People, The Brothers Grimsby, and Coronation Street. He also appeared in the 2004 TV mini-series Blackpool, playing Terry Corlette. In 2021, he joined the cast of Hairspray at Blackpool Winter Gardens, where he performed alongside Brenda Edwards, Alex Bourne, Katie Brace, and Akeem Ellis-Hyman. The production was directed by Paul Kerryson, with choreography by Drew McOnie. Thomson’s birth mother, Mary McAleer, placed him… Read more »

Stephen Barclay Becomes Commissioner of the Treasury

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Stephen Paul Barclay, born on 3 May 1972 in Lytham, is a British Conservative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010. He held several ministerial roles under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak, including Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2023 to 2024. After the Conservative Party’s defeat in the 2024 general election, he briefly served as Shadow Environment Secretary before becoming Chair of the Finance Committee in December 2024. Barclay was raised in a family where his father worked in IT for 55 years,… Read more »

King Edward School’s Michael Platt Joins JP Morgan

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Michael Platt was born in Preston, Lancashire on 18 March 1968. He is a British billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the co-founder and managing director of BlueCrest Capital Management, Europe’s third-largest hedge-fund firm which he co-founded in 2000. He is Britain’s wealthiest hedge fund manager according to Forbes, with an estimated wealth of US$18 billion as of December 2024. Platt’s father taught civil engineering at the University of Manchester. Platt went to King Edward’s School in Lytham (now AKS). Platt studied civil engineering at Imperial College London, but after a year, switched to mathematics and economics at the London… Read more »

Aiden Grimshaw Gets into X-Factor

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Aiden Samuel Grimshaw (born 4 December 1991 in Blackpool) is an English singer, songwriter and actor who was formerly known by the stage name Butterjack. He studied at the Michael Hall Theatre School in North Shore, Blackpool. He played Tom Holmes in an episode of CBBC show Half Moon Investigations. He successfully made it to the live shows in the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010 and was the eighth contestant eliminated. After his elimination, Grimshaw was signed by RCA Records. On 3 June 2012, he released his debut single “Is This Love”, which debuted at number 35… Read more »

Les Dennis Joins Dustin Gee at the North Pier

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In 1982, Les Dennis joined Russ Abbot’s Madhouse and The Russ Abbot Show before forming a comedy double act with fellow impressionist Dustin Gee. The duo launched their own television series, The Laughter Show, which first aired on 7 April 1984. For its third series, it was retitled Les & Dustin’s Laughter Show. On 24 May 1985, during the opening night of a summer season at Blackpool’s North Pier, Gee fell ill on stage but continued performing. After the show, he was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a minor heart attack and dilated cardiomyopathy. Despite… Read more »

Lennie Bennett Leaves the Gazette for the BBC

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Michael Berry, born on 26 September 1938 in Blackpool, was better known by his stage name, Lennie Bennett. An English comedian and game-show host, he became a familiar face on British television throughout the 1970s and 1980s. After attending Palatine Secondary School in Blackpool, Bennett began his career as a journalist for the West Lancashire Evening Gazette. He later transitioned into entertainment, initially working as a professional hypnotist before making his television debut on the BBC light entertainment programme The Good Old Days in 1969. His breakthrough came when he partnered with Jerry Stevens to create The Lennie and Jerry… Read more »

Anna Jobarteh Plays Star Pupil on Waterloo Road

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Anna Jobarteh was born on 3 April 1996 in Blackpool and is best known for her work in television, including Paradox (2009), In From the Cold (2022), and Coronation Street (1960). She made her on-screen debut at the age of 13 in BBC One’s Waterloo Road, portraying Ruth Kirby, a gifted but headstrong student in the school-based drama. A former pupil from Marton, Anna was thrilled to step onto the Waterloo Road set, where she swapped her Highfield school uniform for that of her on-screen counterpart. Her character made an immediate impact, running away on her first day and prompting… Read more »

Chris Wiggins Stars in Friday the 13th TV Series

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Chris Wiggins was born on 13 January 1931 in Blackpool. Before pursuing a career in acting, he initially worked as a banker in the UK. However, after emigrating to Canada in 1952, he transitioned into the entertainment industry and built a successful career in television, film, and radio. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as Jack Marshak, the knowledgeable and kind-hearted expert on the occult, in the syndicated horror series Friday the 13th: The Series, which aired from 1987 to 1990. Another notable role was that of Johann Robinson (the father) in Swiss Family Robinson, appearing in all… Read more »

Keith Marsh Lands Love Thy Neighbour Role

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Keith Marsh (1926 – 28 January 2013) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades, during which he featured in numerous television productions. Originally from Blackpool, he is most widely recognised for his role as Jacko in the Thames Television sitcom Love Thy Neighbour (1972–76), where he became known for his signature catchphrase, “I’ll have half!” Marsh made several appearances in Coronation Street, playing a variety of roles over the years, including a foreman (1961), George Chippendale (1966), James Dawson (1972), George Marsden (1980), Harry Ashton (1988), and Uncle Mervin (1999). His television credits also included roles in… Read more »