Altrincham is set to feature in one of the BBC’s primetime hits of the festive season.
Victoria Wood’s Manchester-based musical, That Day We Sang, will air on BBC Two on Boxing Day.
It stars Michael Ball (Tubby) and Imelda Staunton (Enid) as a pair of lonely middle-aged people who get a second chance at life when they meet at a reunion of the Manchester Children’s Choir.
It’s an adaptation of the stage play Wood wrote for the Manchester International Festival last year.
The 90-minute production, set in both 1969 and 1929, was filmed around Manchester and Liverpool, but eagle-eyed viewers will recognise at least two key scenes in the Altrincham area.
An opening scene with Ball and Staunton by a bus-stop was filmed in the Bowdon area, while it’s understood that later scenes showing Staunton outside her house was filmed in the Timperley area.
The production company, Endor Productions, told Altrincham Today that an indoor scene inside an old school hall was also filmed in Altrincham. Emma Richman has subsequently contacted us through Twitter to confirm that this scene was filmed in St Peter’s church hall on Cecil Road in Hale (and that her son was in the scene).
Below: Imelda Staunton in one of the musical set-pieces
Wood said: “That Day We Sang brings together everything I love, singing, dancing, comedy, love and chips. A musical set in ‘29 and ‘69 complete with tap dancing children, singing coal men and possibly a tram, was always going to be a big undertaking, and I’m very appreciative of the way everyone at the BBC has been so encouraging and supportive.”
Executive producer Bevan Jones added: “Victoria Wood is an extraordinary talent. This script is warm, witty and fun, complete with music and lyrics that make your heart leap.”
No production stills from the Altrincham scenes are available – the photos here show Manchester and Liverpool scenes – so all eyes are on Boxing Day on BBC2!
Below: More scenes from That Day We Sang
