Author: Ed

Lynne Carol Becomes Martha Longhurst On Coronation Street

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Josephine Caroline Gertrude Mary Faith Harber, born on 29 June 1914 and known by the stage name Lynne Carol, was a Welsh actress primarily recognised for her roles in television series and telemovies. She is best remembered for portraying the gossiping Martha Longhurst in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played from the second episode in 1960 until the character’s death in 1964. Carol married Herbert (Bert) Newell Palmer in 1934 in Bideford, Devon. Palmer, born 22 April 1900, was a character actor from Easingwold, Yorkshire, and had numerous television roles, including appearances in two episodes of… Read more »

Blackpool-Born Simon Sadler Buys His Local Football Club

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Simon Sadler, born on 18 October 1969 in Blackpool, is a British entrepreneur and the founder of Segantii Capital Management. He became the owner of Blackpool Football Club in 2019, purchasing a 96.2% stake and ending the Oyston family’s 32-year control. In his second full season at the helm, Sadler oversaw the club’s promotion to the Championship, marking their return to the second tier of English football after a six-year absence. Sadler grew up on Bispham Road in Blackpool and had a summer job renting deckchairs. He attended Moor Park Primary School, Warbreck School, and Blackpool and the Fylde College before… Read more »

Tarzan’s Johnny Weissmuller Swims in Derby Baths

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Johnny Weissmuller performed in “The Water Follies” at the Derby Baths in Blackpool in 1949. The Derby Baths was a swimming complex known for its Art Deco architecture and Olympic-sized seawater pool. It also had high diving boards and was popular for international competitions. Johnny Weissmuller was born Johann Peter Weißmüller on 2 June 1904. He was a Hungarian-born ethnic German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records of the 20th century. He set world records alongside winning five gold medals in the Olympics. He won the 100m freestyle and… Read more »

King of Comedy DAN LENO at Pavilion Theatre and the Grand

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Dan Leno (1860-1904) was the greatest of all the music hall stars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He appeared at theatres and music halls across the United Kingdom filling their auditoriums with his particular brand of comic madness and pathos. Every year he was contracted to perform at the annual pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London’s West End; as well as annual residencies at the famous Pavilion Music Hall, Piccadilly Circus. He became the highest paid artist of his generation. His influence on other comic performers that followed him is well documented; the likes… Read more »

Sports Historian Gerry Wolstenholme Writes First Book

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Born in Blackpool, Gerry Wolstenholme is an author and sports historian from Blackpool who wrote about football and cricket. He penned his first book in 1992 and became a strong supporter of Blackpool F.C. He attended Northlands school between the ages of three and five, and then Devonshire Road School in Blackpool and Baines Grammar School in Poulton-le-Fylde. He saw an advertisement for Civil Service examinations and decided to take them. He passed, and moved to London to begin working at Her Majesty's Treasury in Whitehall. He was promoted, and worked in the office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He... Read more »

Chris Webb: Representing his hometown in Parliament

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Chris Webb, born on 26 April 1986 in Blackpool, is a British Labour Party politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament for Blackpool South since May 2024. He is notably the first MP in six decades to represent his hometown in Parliament. Webb is the son of a local postman and a teaching assistant. He attended St Mary’s High School in Blackpool and later studied British politics and legislative studies at the University of Hull. During his time at university, he was actively involved in student life, serving as the president of the rugby league club and participating in… Read more »

Paul Maynard Becomes Blackpool North MP and Advocate for Disability Rights

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Paul Maynard, born on 16 December 1975 in Crewe, Cheshire, is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool North and Cleveleys from 2010 until 2024. He was educated at St Ambrose College in Altrincham and later earned a first-class degree in history from University College, Oxford. Before entering Parliament, Maynard worked as a political adviser and speechwriter. Throughout his parliamentary career, Maynard held several governmental positions. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport from July 2016 to January 2018 and again from July 2019 to February 2020. In May 2019, he… Read more »

Lorraine Beavers, Labour MP of Blackpool North and Fleetwood

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Lorraine Beavers is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Fleetwood since the general election on 4 July 2024. She won the seat by defeating the incumbent Conservative MP, Paul Maynard, with a majority of 4,647 votes. Her victory was part of Labour’s broader success in the election, marking a shift in political representation for the constituency. Before entering Parliament, Beavers had a long-standing career in local politics. She was the deputy leader of the Labour opposition group on both Wyre Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, where she was… Read more »

Joan Humble Elected MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood

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Joan Humble, born Jovanka Piplica on 3 March 1951, is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Fleetwood from 1997 to 2010. She married Paul Humble in 1972 in Halifax. Her working life began in a delicatessen before she pursued higher education at Keighley Girls’ School (now Greenhead High School) and Lancaster University, where she earned a BA in History in 1972. She then joined the civil service, working at the Department of Health and Social Security in 1972 before moving to the Inland Revenue in 1973. She left the… Read more »

John Thomson Stars in Hairspray at The Winter Gardens

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John Patrick Thomson, born Patrick Francis McAleer on 2 April 1969 in Walkden, Worsley, is an English comedian, narrator, and actor known for his roles in The Fast Show, Men Behaving Badly, Cold Feet, 24 Hour Party People, The Brothers Grimsby, and Coronation Street. He also appeared in the 2004 TV mini-series Blackpool, playing Terry Corlette. In 2021, he joined the cast of Hairspray at Blackpool Winter Gardens, where he performed alongside Brenda Edwards, Alex Bourne, Katie Brace, and Akeem Ellis-Hyman. The production was directed by Paul Kerryson, with choreography by Drew McOnie. Thomson’s birth mother, Mary McAleer, placed him… Read more »