Why Blackpool Rocks

The seventeen year old show is set to find new life on Britbox and it’s about time.

Britbox has finally decided to take a little vacation to the north and blessed us with Peter Bowker’s sadly long forgotten classic Blackpool. It’s a show that aired on BBC1 in 2004 and the garish colour palette of the filter is certainly of its time but also rather fitting of the Blackpool illuminations themselves. On the surface Blackpool is a story that exudes pizazz with outlandlash broad strokes but the real heart of proceedings is one man’s descent as his world crumbles around him.

Ripley Holden (David Morrissey) is an arcade owner with big dreams of turning the town into the casino capital of the north west. Once a dead body is found on his property, Ripley no longer holds any of the cards. His ego takes a bruising and amid a murder investigation his family fragment and his past comes back to haunt him. Morrissey is incredible in the role and quite clearly revelling in Ripley’s sourpuss complexity, crafting that fine line between arrogance and fragility. But he is in great company as quality runs through everything like a stick of rock. Enjoy the sugar rush but boy, just to warn you all there’s quite the comedown.

David Tennant is at his mischievous best as the Dastardly D.I Peter Carlisle. No Ice Cream is safe as he aims to bring Ripley and his family down (or with him, ahem). His long suffering assistant Blythe (Bryan Dick) is just another of his fall guys. Tennant’s intensity in delivering a nuanced and very comical performance deserves more plaudits. Still, he’s done pretty well since so probably doesn’t lose sleep over it. Speaking of long suffering, there’s Sarah Parish being a powerhouse as Ripley’s wife Natalie. Stuck in a loveless marriage and with very different ambitions, it sets things on a course where two worlds collide.

Add to all this and one of Blackpool’s biggest strengths has so far been left unsaid – it’s a musical extravaganza! Through glam rock, country ditties and eighties power ballads the cast sing, dance and fight in imperfect harmony, breaking out into songs at random moments. Here’s the thing, they do actually sing too, albeit over the tracks and not always in tune but it is a touch that just adds to the show’s unique charm. Highlights of the songs include Holden’s son being arrested by Carlisle to the tune of The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, replete with the most stilted dancing since I last went clubbing. Then there’s the water fountain based fight set to Should I Stay Or Should I Go which totally puts Hugh Grant and Colin Firth’s efforts to shame. They are all beautifully directed, funny and heart warming.

Bowker finessed a story that encapsulated the extremes of Ripley’s teetering mind. It’s brash and over the top but also has a very dark heart. He mastered brooding tension with incredibly light comical moments. Nuance dictates the characters, the series arc and the dialogue. Themes of depression, drugs and murder intertwine with riotous silliness. The fruit machine being used as a method to illuminate where the characters are at was a masterstroke. On the other side of the coin is Holden’s moralistic battle with protester Hallworth (David Bradley).

Even the supporting cast is paved with gold. Steve Pemberton, John Thomson, Georgia Taylor, Thomas Morrison, Kevin Doyle, Lisa Millett and Paul Ritter add to the rich tapestry and that ultimately makes us, the viewers the real winners. Underneath the sheen of Blackpool’s bright lights lurks a gritty underbelly and there lies the faded glamour of this lost TV classic.