Golden Mile just like Jeremy Kyle
Tytyty tytyty tytyty
IT reminds them of the Jeremy Kyle show “but we still love it!” So said one regular visitor as Channel 5’s Bargain Loving Brits In Blackpool burst on to our screens. Their point being that you can see all sides of life along the Golden Mile of Britain’s most popular seaside resort. Initially we met eighty- something Scottish sisters Margaret and Agnes, who visit Blackpool three times a year. These ladies certainly know how to party – bingo on the coach trip down from the Highlands and then straight to the bar of their all-inclusive accommodation. They rarely stray from the hotel because the entertainment and grub is so good. Trying cocktails gave them a giggle – “Sex On The Beach? It’s too cold for that,” they chimed. Meanwhile, over at Funny Girls Drag Review, star attraction Betty Legs Diamond was having a late panic. With the summer season show opening in days, Betty had to break in new Polish recruit Alexis – “she’s like Bambi on ice” – and deal with scenery and costume hitches. Betty, real name Simon Green, is devoted but a career in stilettos and fishnets comes at a price.
He said sadly: “The complete life would be a partner and some kids but I don’t think that’s going to happen... no one wants to date a drag queen.”
The show looked like a hoot, though, and the place was packed to the rafters.
In episode two, we met recently- widowed Sandra who was throwing a fundraising birthday party in honour of husband Gordon.
The couple had cashed in and moved to one of the resort’s growing retirement parks specialising in static homes.
“It was like winning the lottery,” Sandra recalled. But the real value of her new home was found in the close-knit community which rallied round in her hour of need. It was the uplifting highlight of a slightly lacklustre second episode.
Over at the Derwent Hotel, landlord Chris was welcoming a boisterous 15-strong hen party from Bury buoyed by a B&B online voucher promotion for wild in the aisles and finally swap expensive takeaways for baking bakin homemade pizza with her daughter. Persuasive should sh be his middle name! Chris has worked in food import i and export for years and a certainly knows his onions. o With the right team behind be him he’ll go to the top to of the TV food chain. Definitely one to keep your eye on. just £30 each. There was a raunchy night of fun followed by a full English breakfast for those who weren’t sleeping it off. A downcast Sharon, meanwhile, was about to throw in the towel as her poorlysited Caribbean restaurant hit the skids. “It’s not the dream I came to Blackpool for,” the stressed mum-of-two admitted. But hope springs eternal in Britain’s brashest resort and Sharon jumped at the chance of paying £150,000 to relocate to seafront premises. With a humorous voiceover from Cold Feet’s John Thomson, this affectionate take on bold, brassy, brilliant Blackpool is a mixed bag but strangely appealing. As one happy punter leaving Betty Legs’ triumphant show in week one squealed: “I’ll be back in a heartbeat.” It’s nothing like the lovely family holiday destination I went to with my grandparents every summer but, hey, nothing stays the same for ever. Oh... and I’ll have three WKD Blues and a snog in a kiss- me-quick hat if anyone is offering!