Viva Blackpool

BBC America's Love story,
Thriller and Musical

BBC America visits the bright lights and faded glamour of Blackpool, Britain’s equivalent to Atlantic City. Viva Blackpool is a love story, thriller and musical.

Premiering Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. PT from October 24, 2005 it tells the story of Ripley Holden (David Morrissey, State of Play, Basic Instinct 2), a wannabe Donald Trump who dreams of transforming the run-down seaside town of Blackpool into his own Las Vegas. A charismatic entrepreneur with unfailing confidence, Ripley hopes to court Blackpool’s elite to back his ambitious plan to turn a small-time casino into a glittering Vegas-style affair.

But when a dead body turns up in his newly opened establishment, The Yankee Dollar, his house of cards begins to crumble. Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Peter Carlisle (David Tennant, Dr. Who) takes an instant dislike to Ripley and seems even more determined to nail him when he takes a shine to his wife, Natalie (Sarah Parish, The Wedding Date, Trust).

Elsewhere, Ripley’s problems are compounded by a chaotic family life that spins increasingly out of control. Natalie, feeling unfulfilled in life and neglected by Ripley, succumbs to the charms of Carlisle as her husband becomes ever more preoccupied by money-making ventures and the murder investigation. Meanwhile, his teenage son Danny (Thomas Morrison) is in trouble with the police and his daughter Shayanne (Georgia Taylor), whom he adores, begins a relationship with an older man.

As he struggles to keep his business dream alive and his family and friendships intact, Ripley, like a true gambler, holds on to one hope - that the good times are just around the corner.

Created by one of the UK’s leading drama writers, Peter Bowker (Canterbury Tales), Viva Blackpool features Broadway-quality karaoke-style song and dance routines performed by the characters including classic tracks from Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, Billy Idol, The Smiths, Jimmy Cliff and Diana Ross.

“Viva Blackpool is that rare show that will have viewers on the edge of their seats at one moment, and singing along the next,” notes CEO and President of BBC AMERICA, Bill Hilary. He continues, “And BBC AMERICA viewers have never seen David Morrissey like this!”

For up-to-the-minute information on BBC AMERICA, forthcoming U.S. premieres, artwork and news from the channel, log on to www.press.bbcamerica.com.

BBC AMERICA brings audiences a new generation of award-winning television featuring razor-sharp comedies, groundbreaking movies, provocative dramas, and news with a uniquely global perspective. BBC AMERICA pushes the boundaries to deliver high quality, highly addictive and eminently watchable programming to viewers who demand more. BBC AMERICA is distributed by Discovery Networks. It is available on digital cable and satellite TV.

CAST AND PRODUCTION CREDITS

Ripley Holden David Morrissey (State of Play, Basic Instinct II)

Natalie Holden Sarah Parish (The Wedding Date, Trust)

DI Peter Carlisle David Tennant (Dr. Who, Casanova)

Danny Holden Thomas Morrison

Shyanne Holden Georgia Taylor (State of Play)

Terry Corlette John Thomson (Cold Feet, Brilliant!)

Adrian Marr Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentlemen)

DC Blythe Bryan Dick (White Teeth, Bleak House)

Steve Kevin Doyle (At Home with the Braithwaites)

Hallworth David Bradley (Harry Potter, Reckless)

Jim Allbright David Hounslow (The Unknown Soldier, Fever Pitch)

Hailey Lisa Millet (Clocking Off)

Writer Peter Bowker (Canterbury Tales, Flesh and Blood, A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Producer Kate Lewis (Man and Boy, Take a Girl Like You)

Directors Julie-Anne Robinson (Episodes 1-3)

Coky Giedroyc (Episodes 4-6)

Executive Producers Sally Haynes, Laura Mackie - BBC Drama

David Bernath - BBC America

WHAT THE UK PRESS SAID

“It’s hard to recall the last time a television drama took such gleeful pleasure in its mission to entertain. At its best, it made everything else on television appear static and monochrome, as if it were merely radio with pictures.” Observer

“Peter Bowker’s compelling tale of sex among the slot machines was vibrant, energetic, funny, and yet another platform for the enormous talent of David Morrissey, who can do anything.” Mail on Sunday

“Ripley Holden… the best character on television for years.” Daily Telegraph

“It’s the sort of drama production that makes you go, ‘Why can’t all TV drama be this witty? This original?’ But, if it were, of course, we’d never find time to go out or read books.” Spectator

“Exhilarating, witty and stylish…a must-see series, with a towering performance from David Morrissey.” Evening Standard

EPISODE SYNOPSES

Episode one

Charismatic entrepreneur and ‘family man’ Ripley Holden (David Morrissey) holds a lavish opening for his showpiece casino, The Yankee Dollar. He’s lobbying to build a luxury casino hotel on this site and hopes to persuade the local city planners and money men with a night of entertainment, Vegas-style.

But the discovery of a dead body on the premises the next morning threatens to shatter his ambitious plans. Detective Inspector Carlisle (David Tennant) takes an instant dislike to Ripley and seems determined to prove that he’s the culprit.

Family problems add to Ripley’s headache - his teenage son, Danny (Thomas Morrison), appears to be hiding something and his teenage daughter, Shyanne (Georgia Tayloy), brings home a much older new boyfriend, Steve (Kevin Doyle), an adversary of Ripley’s from schooldays.

Songs featured in episode one are Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley), You Can Get It If You Really Want (Jimmy Cliff), She’s Not You, and These Boots Were Made For Walking.

Episode one premieres Monday, October 24, 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT.

Episode two

The murder investigation begins to make Ripley’s life very difficult. The victim is identified as a young man who’d been out on his bachelor party. Carlisle temporarily closes down the casino for forensics and calls Ripley’s son in for questioning. His instincts tell him that Danny knows more about the murder than he is letting on and he suspects that he might be covering for his father.

Ripley coaches Danny through his alibi without asking where he actually was on the night in question. Meanwhile, Ripley’s buddy, Chief of Police Jim Allbright (David Hounslow), attempts to get Carlisle off Ripley’s tail by offering an off-the-record alibi filled with strip clubs, bars, and saunas. Carlisle is unimpressed.

Meanwhile, Ripley’s neglected wife, Natalie (Sarah Parish, The Wedding Date) agrees to go on a date with Carlisle without realizing he is the investigating officer. Shyanne resumes her affair with Steve, who’d earlier been warned off by Ripley.

Featured songs are Should I Stay (Gabrielle), I Second That Emotion (Smokey Robinson and The Miracles), The Gambler and Cupid.

Episode two premieres Monday, October 31, 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT.

Episode three

Forensic evidence links Ripley ever more closely with the murder and his application for planning permission is rejected. It seems Lady Luck has turned against him and his world is falling apart.

Natalie is devastated when she discovers that Carlisle is the police officer investigating her family. The little time they have spent together has made her feel more alive than she’s felt in years.

Danny starts to crack under the pressure and gets into even more trouble. He’s set up on a drug bust but Carlisle lets him off with a warning. What Carlise really wants is evidence that Ripley committed the murder. But Danny shocks him by showing up at the police station and confessing to the murder himself.

When boyfriend Steve is badly beaten up, Shyanne’s convinced Ripley is behind the attack but he denies any involvement.

Songs featured in episode three are Brilliant Mistake (Elvis Costello), Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me (Slade), The Boy With The Thorn in His Side (The Smiths) and The Secrets That You Keep.

Episode three premieres Monday, November 7, 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT.

Episode four

Carlisle doesn’t believe Danny’s confession and is convinced he’s covering up for his father. Natalie confronts Carlisle and warns him to stay away from her and her family. Heartbroken, Carlisle is determined to nail Ripley, his rival in love.

Ripley visits Steve in jail and gives him a large sum of money to stay away from Shyanne. Steve takes the money but uses it to stretch Ripley’s patience by spending it on an engagement ring for Shyanne.

With his showpiece arcade sinking deeper into trouble, Ripley is forced to drop everything and take drastic measures when Danny, traumatized by recent events, reaches breaking point. He finds his son lying on a train track in a suicide bid similar to one he attempted as a teenager. Danny admits he moved the dead body from the apartments into the casino. Ripley goes to Carlisle and claims he moved the body.

Songs featured in episode four are I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (Diana Ross and the Supremes and The Temptations), Ooh La La (The Faces) and Walk Tall.

Episode four premieres Monday, November 14, 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT.

Episode five

To Carlisle’s shock and horror, Natalie provides an airtight alibi for Ripley on the night of the murder. He knows she is lying but there is nothing he can do about it.

Ripley’s business empire is collapsing around him. His friend and trusted financial advisor, Adrian Marr (Steve Pemberton), reveals a mean trick he’s had up his sleeve and his friend Terry (John Thomson), admits to informing police about Ripley’s activities on the night of the murder.

Carlisle succeeds in winning back Natalie but she gets cold feet once again and goes to his hotel to end the affair. Carlisle claims that he never loved her and just wanted to get to Ripley. Meanwhile, Ripley discovers that they’ve been having an affair.

Songs featured in episode five are Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash), Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen) and Knock Knock Who’s There.

Episode five premieres Monday, November 21, 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT.

Episode six

Love is in the air, and Ripley’s life has completely unraveled. On the morning of Steve and Shyanne’s wedding, he finally admits to Natalie that he knows about her affair with Carlisle. When the detective shows up at the wedding to arrest Ripley for murder, Ripley confronts him about his compromising affair and threatens to go to his superiors if he is charged with murder.

After the wedding, Ripley surveys the ashes of his life. There is nothing for him in Blackpool anymore. He ties up some loose ends and, in a final bid for glory, makes a radical move that just might allow him to join the big players.

Songs featured are There Goes My Everything (Engelbert Humperdink), Don’t Leave Me This Way (The Communards), There’s Always Something There to Remind Me and White Wedding.

Episode six premieres Monday, November 28, 10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. PT.

MEET THE CAST

David Morrissey plays Ripley Holden

In a film and television career spanning over 20 years, David Morrissey is best known to American audiences for his role in the Peabody Award-winning drama State of Play and the feature film Hilary and Jackie. Morrissey will also appear in the upcoming Basic Instinct sequel.

David Morrissey explains why he became obsessed with the larger-than-life character of Ripley Holden after reading Pete Bowker’s script:

“The reason I wanted to do Viva Blackpool is that the Ripley character kept coming back to me - the lines he said, the situation he got himself into, his philosophy. I kept picturing how he would look in my head and that obviously meant that I really wanted to play him.

“Ripley is a man who wakes up in the morning and says, ‘You’re a winner’. And what that means is that everyone else is a loser. The term ‘put-downs’ was invented for Ripley because it’s all about put-downs. He’s a bully. He’s bombastic. He’s very recognizable, I think. He surrounds himself with people that he can dominate and he saps energy from people - his friends, his wife, his associates, his employees - but he does it with a bravado which is like a whirlwind of energy.”

David Morrissey on the fantasy (and the terror) of song and dance:

“The character is very funny which is something that I don’t get to play now. There’s nothing subtle about Ripley when you meet him, and he sings and dances! When I read the scripts it really frightened me. I thought, ‘Oh my God! How am I going to do this?’ And that’s why I really decided to take the part because it was a brave piece of writing and a brave piece of commissioning.

“It was quite exposing to boogie on down in front of people when you’re not a dancer and singer, but the crew were very supportive, and entered into the spirit of it. The atmosphere created on set was one that made you brave.

“I must say when I was a kid, before I got introduced to Brando and De Niro or any of those, it was Gene Kelly and the musicals that really inspired me to look at films in a different way. On The Town is still one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s something that I’ve loved watching, but never imagined myself doing!”

On the songs of Viva Blackpool:

“The songs are very integral to the story. One of my favorite songs of all time is in Viva Blackpool. The track is Ooh La La by The Faces, which is in episode four. It’s a great, great song and one I have been singing in my bedroom for years.”

On the location:

“I went up to Blackpool and spent a few days there speaking to arcade managers and customers. The arcade managers were able to give me an insight into what it takes to run an arcade and the type of mischief the clientele get up to.

“What I think the series captures well is that Blackpool is a different world. It’s not a town like any other. It has a history. There are museums to George Formby, posters of old musicals and end-of-the-pier shows all over the place, so there’s a nostalgic feel about Blackpool that’s fighting against the lap dancing bars and very risqué sex toys that are in gift shops, which they’re trying to clean up.”

On why people should tune in:

“It’s very different television, it’s not like anything they’ve seen before. I also think it’s fun, with real characters going through real emotions, and brave writing.”

Sarah Parish plays Natalie Holden

Sarah Parish was most recently seen in the feature film The Wedding Date, as Kat’s (Debra Messing) racy British cousin, TJ. On television, Parish is the star of the hit series Cutting It, which is now shooting its sixth season. She also co-starred with Robson Green and Ian McShane in Trust, and appeared on crime drama The Vice. Parish is also a stage actress, and was most recently in David Leveaux’s production of Nine at the Donmar Warehouse.

Parish will next star in the upcoming BBC AMERICA co-production, Much Ado About Nothing, a contemporary take on Shakespeare, co-starring Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers). She has just finished shooting the lead role in If I Had You, a two-part thriller for ITV.

Sarah Parish on the neglected Natalie Holden:

“They live in a fantastic house, they’ve obviously done incredibly well in the time they’ve been together, but Natalie’s a bored housewife, which is why she does charity work - she works at the Samaritans, she works at Oxfam - she’ll go anywhere that people need her.

“I think Natalie, through the years, has become quite dominated by Ripley and has lost a lot of herself - she’s become smaller and smaller over the years. You often find in couples that one person swamps the other person’s personality.”

On habitually playing a mother to teenagers:

“It’s funny, isn’t it? I’ve been doing it ever since my first television job, Peak Practice. I had three kids in that and the oldest was about 15, and I was only 28! In Viva Blackpool, Natalie is supposed to be around 38, so she’s only got two years on me. Every series I do the kids get older and older, and I think, ‘I must go and have that facial!’”

On dancing and singing for the role:

“When I was younger I did ballet, until I was about fifteen. I also did a musical at the Donmar Warehouse called Nine - I had to dance a lot and do a bit of singing, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a born dancer or singer at all. The most fun song I’ve done in Viva Blackpool is probably Don’t Leave Me This Way, by The Communards, because it was a huge dance number. That was really good fun. We all came out feeling like we’d done a day’s work after that!”

On Viva Blackpool:

“It’s a story about things falling apart - a marriage falling apart, a man falling apart, his business falling apart, a dream falling apart, but the songs bring it up. People will watch because they’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s colorful and bright and fun.”

David Tennant plays Investigating Officer DI Carlisle

David Tennant is an accomplished theater actor who most recently starred in The Pillowman at the National Theatre. He has also appeared in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company productions, including Romeo & Juliet and As You Like It.

Tennant’s television work includes the title role in the Russell T. Davies’ (Queer As Folk) adaptation of Casanova alongside Peter O’Toole. Later this month he starts shooting the new season of Dr. Who having landed the role of the new doctor. His movie roles include Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things and he will next be seen Stateside in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

Is Detective Carlisle seeking the truth, or just trying to frame Ripley? David Tennant explains:

“I think it’s a bit of both. He develops an instant dislike to Ripley, just because of who he is and his arrogance, and he decides that Ripley’s the man. But that’s compounded by the fact that Carlisle ends up compromising himself, so it becomes convenient for Ripley to be guilty too, and it becomes an emotional and sexual thing to nail Ripley. I imagine Carlisle is usually very full of integrity and rather good at his job but, for the first time, he finds himself on the slippery slope to madness.”

On the song and dance routines:

“It’s been fun, dusting down some half-remembered half skills! I’ve found myself doing some quite unusual things, like being in a pool fully clothed, or dancing the tango with David Morrissey in These Boots Are Made For Walking. And we found ourselves at 3:00 a.m. in the concrete colonnades underneath the Blackpool Promenade, dancing to The Smiths! That was the biggest number for me. I had to learn the most dance steps for that one. It’s a full-on number with twenty-five dancers and the actors. It’s been eye-opening and invigorating to get to do all of these things at once.”

On the music of Viva Blackpool, and his one regret:

“I love the Elvis Costello track, Brilliant Mistake, and there’s a great song by The Faces called Ooh La La. I was desperate to get some Proclaimers in - I’m a big fan. It would have fitted my accent as well-everything else you have to sing with an American accent, so it would’ve been nice!”

On Viva Blackpool, and why people should watch:

“I loved it. It’s so different and so exciting. It’s great writing, it’s great storytelling, but also with this wonderful device-the songs and the graphic sequences, and the fact that it can move from fantasy to reality and it seems to do so very easily. It’s brilliant to have a prime-time drama that’s so different, and so brave. It’s really difficult to describe - I think that’s good though, because it means you can’t categorize it. It’s everything really. It’s a family drama, a whodunit, a rite of passage, a love triangle, and a musical.”