Ray of Sunshine lights up Marple
Matthew Davis
8/10/2008
A MARPLE pub had the Hollywood treatment as it became a film set for a new BBC One drama starring Steve Coogan.
The Ring O’Bells pub in Church Lane provided the setting for scenes in Sunshine, a three-part series written by Stockport’s Craig Cash, famed for his BAFTA award-winning The Royle Family.
Pub landlord Peter Clarke, 53, was delighted to welcome film crews into his pub for six weeks back in April and even landed a part with wife Sue as extras.
He said: "It was very exciting we were so pleased they decided to use our pub. They even kept the name of the pub in the script.
"In one line Bernard Hill says to Coogan’s character ‘Fancy going to the Ringers for a pint’."
Sunshine tells the story of three generations of a Manchester family and was filmed in locations around Stockport and Salford, but with a majority of scenes shot in Marple.
Steve Coogan plays Bob ‘Bing’ Crosby, father of young Joe (Dominic Senior), whose addiction to gambling threatens to spiral out of control and end his relationship with despairing partner Bernadette (Lisa Millett).
The Ring O’Bells was used for shots inside and out including a scene where Coogan and his father played by Hill have a pint as well as doubling up as a karaoke bar for another shot.
Other locations used in Marple included All Saints Primary School, the Regent Cinema and the Conservative Club, while many of Peter’s regulars scored parts as extras or had their houses immortalised on film.
He added: "It is great they filmed it in Marple. We had one night when they used our carpark for a scene and it was like a Hollywood film set, I couldn’t believe how many people were working on the programme.
"All the actors were very nice and very focused on their work. We are looking forward to it being on TV and trying to spot all the locals. We are definitely going to have the TVs on in the pub showing it.
"We could end up being as famous as the Woolpack in Emmerdale with coach loads of tourists coming to see where Steve Coogan had a pint."
Sunshine is on Tuesday nights on BBC1 at 9pm.
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