Palace Bingo in Bedworth is no stranger to crowds but on October 30th, the popular bingo hall welcomed something a little different to the norm; a BBC filming crew along with a few celebrities, which came as a surprise to the regular bingo players.
The BBC crews descended on the historic bingo hall to shoot scenes for series 3 of Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators, the popular crime drama which is set to air in February next year.
Locals were able to rub shoulders with the likes of Ted Robbins who’s famed for his roles in Benidorm, Coronation Street and Phoenix Nights plus Jo Joyner aka Tanya Branning in Eastenders. Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators first aired in 2018 and saw more than 1 million viewers tune in before rights to air were sold to 175 territories and jurisdictions across the globe.
Company Director at Palace, Donna Woolley said: "We really enjoyed having the BBC filming - we didn't realise how much work goes into filming something like this! There was around 100 people there, about 40 crew members and 50 or 60 extras.”
Donna continued: “They were there from 6am to 6pm so they really crammed the filming in. I used to watch Eastenders when Jo was in it, so it was really cool to meet her."
Bingo Showdown
The comedy drama centres around an odd-ball couple of bumbling private detectives who investigate crimes in Stratford-upon-Avon. In the last series, Frank and Lu were tasked with all manner of humorous missions, from tracking down a lost pet to investigating a death threat at an exclusive tennis club. Series three will be a little darker but just as much fun according to the BBC, but so far, there’s no clue as to why one of the best bingo halls in the area was chosen for the filming.
What if Lu and Frank are called in to investigate the disappearance of a bingo player who had just won big playing bingo casino games? Maybe the buzzing player stepped outside to call her partner with news on her win and bang…
…she’s walloped over the head and bundled into a car with her winnings! What a storyline that would be. The BBC are remaining tight-lipped over why they were actually filming in the bingo hall, but it wasn’t for a game of 90 ball bingo that’s for sure.
A BBC spokesperson shared the following on the upcoming television series: “Their adventures on this new series sees them dealing with an aging heavy metal star with a pact with the devil, a Shakespeare museum full of deadly secrets and a King Lear story set in a carpet warehouse, amongst others. Once again Lu and Frank will be joined by their thespian assistant Sebastian (Patrick Walshe McBride), as well as by new regular character PC Viola Deacon (Yasmin Kaur Barn), a 20-something friend of Sebastian with boundless, puppy-like enthusiasm."
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Comments (1)
Bubles12
11/01/19, 07:11:59 PM
Must have been so much fun for the bingo players to witness! I was in a studio for 12-hours when filming was taking place for many pop-artists videos and it was an eye-opener!
