The first Bolton TV and film walking tour launched on Friday and Bolton News reporter Leah Collins signed up to find out why the town is known as Hollywood of the North.
The tour started at Bolton Museum in Le Mans Crescent, about 15 of us gathered in the museum’s gift shop eagerly anticipating what the next hour or so would bring.
The TV and Film tour was announced just 10 days ago as a part of of a programme to celebrate Bolton's new status as the Town of Culture.
Tickets for the seven 90-minute tours sold out in just one and a half days.
I also, rather embarrassingly, have limited TV and film knowledge.
As someone who prefers to watch an episode of ‘Come Dine with Me’ rather than cult classics, I was sceptical going into the tour.
Boy, I was wrong.
Without giving away too many spoilers for those who may be attending, the TV and Film tour was a lovely way to spend a sunny Friday afternoon with a tour guide who made the tour hugely entertaining.
First stop was Bolton Museum with visitors finding out that itself was a popular location with the the ‘Egyptology’ room used in the hit BBC Drama, Princess Mirror-Belle, based on the children’s book by Julia Donaldson.
The tour also heightened interest in the actual museum - a place to return to at a later date.
Professional guide, Suzanne Hindle led the tour group keeping visitors engaged throughout the 90-minute session and ensured that sessions were informative with bursts of humour and local lingo.
Leaving the museum we stopped at Le Mans Crescent, a go to location for many primetime TV dramas - from Bancroft to It's a Sin, and that is to name just a few.
The beautiful crescent is often used to create London scenes, as seen in the Channel 4 miniseries with multi-BAFTA nominations, It’s a Sin - and also a backdrop for showcasing Bolton town at its best – such as in the comedy, Alma’s Not Normal.
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Who can forget when Ewan McGregor was in town to film A Gentleman in Moscow which was released earlier this year and directed by BAFTA-award winning director, Sam Miller.
During the tour, Suzanne proudly said: “All these films and TV shows with BAFTA nominations, I like to think that Bolton has done its part to contribute to that.”
Anyone worried about spoilers needs not worry, as any plot details about the TV shows and films discussed are not revealed to guests, although plenty of quotes and film facts are included for colour.
Visitors were then whisked on a film-tastic journey through the old Bolton’s Magistrate’s Court, which now sits as an empty venue for production companies and has been used as a backdrop for BBC’s Happy Valley, The Ipcress File, Peaky Blinders and Coronation Street.
At one point, The Bolton News even got its own shoutout when it came to the ‘Peaky Blinders’ front-page spread in 2019 detailing the hit period crime drama’s filming in Bolton.
I spoke to one fellow-visitor who noted that: “The tours were sell-out. I’d heard about them in the paper and thought it would be worth going to have a look.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but I’ve really enjoyed it – it’s an afternoon well spent.”
We were taken down to the prison cells underneath the magistrates court, which were equally creepy as they were intriguing – having been the filming location for ‘Tommy Lee Royce’s’ incarceration in BBC’s Happy Valley.
Our group was lucky enough to have an ex-police officer amongst the visitors, who was able to add lots of colour to the tour by providing details of his own experiences working as law enforcement at the courts back when they were officially in use.
The tour also had a grand finale, which I won’t reveal to avoid spoilers, but left guests taking many selfies and pictures for social media.
Suzanne said: “It’s the first time we’ve had the public in, we’ve been practicing so it’s great to be able to do the tour live and get people’s responses.
“I’m also glad that people were able to enrich the tour with their own experiences, we created the tour with the idea that people could interact with it and add to the social history of the building.
“I think there’s been so much intrigue in the tours because the courts are a part of Bolton but usually visitors are not allowed. People are interested in having a look around or connecting to the history they spent here.”
Overall, the tour was excellent, and I feel as though I left knowing more about Bolton’s extensive film history. I would recommend the tours to not only film and TV fanatics, but also those who are looking for a pleasant afternoon with family.
Given the popularity of the tours, it might be worth joining the waiting list.
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