The red carpet will be rolled out for a drama filmed in Bolton tonight.
Nolly, a biopic about the extraordinary life story of actress Noele Gordon, will air on television on Wednesday, February 2.
It will be screened at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham today.
Helena Bonham-Carter of Harry Potter and Fight Club fame takes the title roll and was spotted in Bolton filming scenes.
Filming took place in the go to location for producers of Le Mans Crescent, which was transformed into a period set with vintage cars and buses lining the town centre street last May and June.
READ MORE: ITV's Nolly starring Helena Bonham Carter starts filming in town
The three-part series, written by Russell T Davies – best known for Doctor Who and It’s a Sin – is due to launch on ITV’s online streaming platform ITVX next week, Thursday, February 2.
Bonham Carter was tasked with imitating Noele, who was deemed something of a legend in her own lifetime.
As flame-haired widow Meg Richardson in the long-running soap opera Crossroads, she was one of the most famous people in Britain.
hen in 1981, at the height of the show’s success and the peak of Nolly’s fame, she was axed without ceremony, without warning, and with no explanation after 19 years.
Davies and Bonham Carter have revealed that they are both extra keen protect Noele’s legacy as she has no living family, with Davies saying he wanted to give her a “proper send-off”.
READ MORE: Nolly film crew issued with parking tickets in Bolton
Bonham Carter said: “Russell thought she was treated appallingly and wanted to bring her back into people’s minds and give her the send-off she deserved.
“I love any character that has got many colours to play. I think Russell's script was a gift frankly, and a gift of a part.
“It was so clearly written. Unlike a lot of screenwriters, he writes idiomatically for character. She fizzed off the page.”
Davies added: “I think the more I work in television and the more I work with actors, the more mysterious that treatment seems.
READ MORE: Harry Potter star Helena Bonham Carter filming in Bolton
“We've all seen actors being chucked out of soaps and we've all seen people falling from grace, but the very public and ruthless nature of that seemed odder and odder as time went on.”
Mark Gatiss plays Gordon’s close friend, Larry Grayson, host of The Generation Game, who also briefly appeared in Crossroads.
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here