After growing up on the silver screen, former Shameless star Jody Latham has announced he’ll be making a return to acting this year.
The Burnley-born actor – who shot to fame as the smart-mouthed tearaway teenager Philip ‘Lip’ Gallagher in the long-running Channel 4 comedy-drama Shameless set on the fictional Chatsworth Estate in Manchester – made headlines at the back end of last year after it was revealed that he now owns a business empire worth £18 million, but he was also sure to tease that he wasn’t finished with acting, and hoped “there’s more to come” in the future after his “fantastic career”.
And now it’s been confirmed that he will have a leading role in a new movie set in the 1950s about the Teddy Boys.
The 39-year-old actor turned entrepreneur – who has recently carved out a successful career in cosmetics and aesthetics, and even donated thousands of face masks to care homes and charities across the North West to help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) through his company Safe and Protect UK – will begin shooting the film later this year.
It will focus on black culture and how it has shaped Britain today.
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The film is being developed by Jody himself, alongside fellow Burnley native Lucien Laviscount, 28, who played Sophie Webster’s love interest Ben Richardson in the iconic Manchester soap and pupil Jonah Kirby in the Rochdale-based BBC school drama Waterloo Road, before going on to feature in the American thriller show Scream Queens.
The pair are currently in the United Arab Emirates to gain further funding for the film.
This film is set to be the next in a long line of acting roles Jody has had to his name over the years.
In 2011, he played pimp Rob Grayson in a controversial sex exploitation storyline in EastEnders, and in 2017 he was reunited with Shameless creator Paul Abbott on the police drama No Offence, where he played Aidan McGee in the Channel 4 show, also set in Manchester.
But of course, he made his name playing Lip, the eldest of Frank Gallagher’s children, in the groundbreaking show Shameless, which ran from 2004 to 2013, and went on to win BAFTAs and British Comedy awards at the height of its popularity.
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The show even gained new eyes after it began screening on Netflix during lockdown too.
When asked previously about the possibility of the iconic show making a reunion, Jody said: “Why not? Never say never. A lot of the serious themes Shameless touched upon are still incredibly relevant today.
“I saw that Luther might be hitting the big screen, maybe we’ll be next.
“If there’s a story to be told, I’m sure Paul will tell it and I’ve always got time to chat to him.”
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All the free things you can get with a Great Manchester Run finisher’s medal this year
Danny Jones
What’s the best part about doing the Great Manchester Run, we hear you ask? All the freebies, of course. You’ll be glad to hear there are more free things than ever for finishers this year.
More than 35,000 runners are set to take on the challenge, be it the half marathon or the 10k, and we firmly believe every single one of these legends should be entitled to as much free stuff as possible.
If it were up to us, they wouldn’t pay for anything all day, but hey, we make don’t make the rules.
So yeah, without further ado, here are all the freebies you can get for taking part in the Great Manchester 2025.
Free stuff and offers for Great Manchester Runners to cop in 2025
Without further ado, here are a tonne of freebies, discounts and deals you can grab by simply flashing your finisher’s medals:
Credit: The Manc/Supplied
Dishoom –Complimentary 330ml Kingfisher/Kingfisher Zero (0.0%) for anyone with anyone dining with a finisher’s medal.
Blacklock –Free glass of fizz on us with your medal.
Maray – Free glass of fizz/pint (or non-alcoholic beer/soft) for anyone with a medal who is dining on Sunday
Electric Shuffle – Free house wine, prosecco or pint for anyone with a 2025 medal.
Salon Madre – 2-4-1 margaritas all day Sunday for anyone with a race medal.
Suki Suki – Free bao bun for anyone with a medal.
Refuge/Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – 100 free pints of Manchester Union Beer (first come, first served)
Hello Oriental – Discounted soft serve ice cream, plus a free beer or soft drink with any meal for all finishers
The Shack – Flash your medal to claim a free glass of Prosecco or beer, plus parties with medals get 20% off their food bill.
Dough Religion (House of Social) – half price slice at Manchester Jazz Festival on Sunday
The purpose of this happy hour spotting app has definitely been a topic of discussion between friends while over a few drinks on a night out, and now this idea has been brought to life.
Titled ‘Hoppy’, the all-new app shows you all the best happy hours in Manchester, even going as far as planning nights out for you and telling you what times each venue is hosting their exclusive offers.
Crazy Pedro’s are just one of the bars featured on this Happy Hour app.Trof is another venue that has a happy hour offering and has made its way onto the app.
Whether you’re after £6 margs at Ramona, two for one cocktails at Rewind or £4 draught pints and cider over at Arcane Bar, this app spells everything out for you plain and simple.
They even go as far as using their social media accounts to plan nights out in Manchester to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.
In a post on their Instagram, they plan out the ultimate Tuesday night in the Northern Quarter, making the most of the various happy hours in the neighbourhood.
The happy hour app stops off at multiple pubs and bars, including frequently visited watering holes like Wolf at the Door, Trof, Bay Horse Tavern and Smithfield Social, before ending the night at Crazy Pedro’s.
Sounds like all the ingredients for the perfect crawl, if you ask us.
Revolución de Cuba, has a huge marg menu, is another drinks spot on Hoppy.Mother Mary’s serves some seriously good Guinness alongside some savvy savings too.
Go on, tell us looking at those hasn’t made you thirsty…
Next time you go out for drinks, why not download this happy hour spotting app along for the ride with you, and you won’t only thank yourself but your bank account will too.
‘Hoppy’ is available on the App Store now for everyone to make the most of their next night out and make finding the best happy hours in Manchester even easier HERE.
See you at the pub – provided happy hour is still on, of course.
Emily Sergeant -
18th January 2021 
