TV & Showbiz

Bez and Shaun Ryder are starring in a new gangster movie – nope, not kidding

Yes, as in the maraca-shaking, "twisting ma' melon man", Madchester icons.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 21st November 2024

No, you didn’t misread the headline and you’re not on acid: Manchester music legends Bez and Shaun Ryder are set to feature in a brand-new gangster film.

Yes, the ones from the Happy Mondays – why are you having such trouble processing this?

Seriously though, we did a little double-take ourselves when we came across this news, but the familiar Manc faces look to be among the ensemble of a brand-new gangster movie by Irish writer, actor, producer and filmmaker, Ciaron Davies.

And this is just a little leak or rumour that may have been blown out of proportion: you can take it from the horse’s mouth as Happy Mondays frontman, Ryder, recently shared the news on social media.

As you can see, the new film is called Geezers and is billed as a “British crime caper” written and directed by Davies, featuring Shaun as hard-man Robbie and Bez as ‘Monk’. If you saw Ryder shaking off that snake biting his hand like it was nothing then you already know he’s hard as nails.

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Although it’s not strictly listed as a comedy per se, ‘caper’ would suggest plenty of humour and light-heartedness, so we’re thinking more like The Gentleman, Italian Job, or maybe even Four Lions, rather than a serious crime thriller.

Now, while we’ve seen both of the Salfordians on screen before not only in the likes of music videos, interviews, panel shows and even as two of the funniest guests to ever go on Celebrity Gogglebox, this latest venture will serve as their respective acting debuts.

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According to the IMDb page, the synopsis of the film is as follows: “Crime caper about a stolen bag of money. Caught in the crossfire are ‘The Geezers’ a bunch of wannabe criminals who have bitten off more than they can chew. With 24 hours to grab the cash, London may just go up in smoke tonight.”

Shame it’s not set on the mean streets of Manchester, or better yet Salford, but you’ve still very much caught our interest.

You can see the first promotional poster for the film down below.

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As for Davies, he has been involved with a number of small-budget TV film projects, as well as appearing in shorts and even video games, so it’s fair to say that getting 62-year-old Ryder and his ever-energetic hype man, 60, involved is quite the coup for his movie-making career.

We’re still not over Bez rather randomly delivering a curry to our offices, to be honest, so seeing him act is going to feel like one long fever dream.

Although the film has no release date just yet, we know that filming locations having included parts of Warrington and Pinewood Studios, will be produced by Loose Gripp Films and distributed by publishers High Fliers.

Given the high-octane nature of Geezers and its genre, the feature will involve lots of action, stunts, violence and even martial arts – though how much kung-fu these two will have learned for the project remains to be seen…

All we know is that the film is supposedly “coming soon” and if you don’t want to see Bez and Shaun Ryder doing their best impression of a Guy Ritchie gangster movie then you’re lying to yourself. Praying for a Rowetta cameo to put the cherry on top.

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Featured Images — Shaun Ryder (via X)/Loose Gripp Films/IMDb

TV & Showbiz

Chris Brown arrested at luxury Manchester hotel just weeks before major tour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Chris Brown arrested at luxury Manchester hotel just weeks before major tour

Singer Chris Brown has been arrested at a five-star hotel in Manchester on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

The ‘Forever’ singer, who is set to play four huge shows at the Co-op Live arena next month, was arrested at The Lowry Hotel around 2am today (Thursday, 15 May).

It’s been reported that the arrest is in relation to a bottle attack at a London nightclub two years ago against music producer Abe Diaw at Tape nightclub.

Chris Brown, 36, flew into Manchester on a private jet on Wednesday, 14 May, and was later arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police at his hotel.

In a statement, The Met told The Sun: “A 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester shortly after 02:00hrs on Thursday, 15 May on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

“He has been taken into custody where he remains. The arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on 19 February 2023. The investigation is being led by detectives from the Central West Area Basic Command Unit.”

Abe Diaw has alleged that Brown ‘smashed him over the head with a bottle’ in the attack on him, at around 3am at Tape nightclub.

Diaw has launched a civil claim against Brown for $16 million (£12 million) in damages for injuries and losses suffered as a result of the alleged attack.

Chris Brown has 10 UK tour dates in the pipeline as part of his ‘Breezy Bowl XX tour’, which includes four at the Co-op Live on 15, 16, 24 June, and 3 July 2025.

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Featured Images — Eva Rinaldi (via Wikimedia Commons)

TV & Showbiz

Coronation Street and Emmerdale set for special crossover episode

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Two of Britain’s most legendary TV shows are set to collide as Coronation Street and Emmerdale prepare for an unforgettable crossover.

It’s the sort of thing we’ve imagined plenty of times before, but if we’re being honest, we never actually thought it would come to fruition.

For the first time ever, the iconic Northern soaps will be teaming up to release a special crossover episode early next year.

‘Coronationdale’? ‘Emmerdale Street’? All we know is we’re excited.

Announced on Tuesday, 13 May, ITV confirmed that work on the first-ever Coronation Street and Emmerdale collaboration is now underway.

The flagship serial franchises both have huge nationwide followings in their own right, attracting more than 8 million viewers every week.

Moreover, with both Manc’s much-loved Corrie and its Yorkshire counterpart having faced financial struggles in recent months, this announcement couldn’t have come at a better time.

Writing in an official joint press release, the two shows revealed they will “join forces in an unprecedented, one-off special episode to launch the broadcaster’s new power hour of soap, which begins on ITV1 and STV in January 2026.”

The ‘power hour’ is part of the channel’s plans to readjust its approach to its regular programming laid out earlier this year, with this serving as an eye-catching way to promote the new schedule.

Put it this way, provided they keep the crossovers up North and avoid you know where, this is the kind of thing we can get behind…

The statement goes on to read: “The distinctive worlds of Emmerdale and Coronation Street will merge for one night only in a ‘mash-up’ of our two favourite communities.”

ITV believe they have come up with an “ingenious way of linking the two universes” before having them return to Greater Manchester and the Dales, respectively.

The episode will be a self-contained one-off special, but one that sees them canonically grounded in the same entertainment world forever and, you never know, if the idea is a hit then it could be the first of many to come.

As if that wasn’t enough, to make the prospect even more interesting, the producers are inviting members of the audience to choose which two characters they would like to meet and interact with in the scene – keep your eyes peeled on their social media for more information.

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Coming in January 2026 (specific release date yet to be confirmed), this is not one you want to miss.

We’re also glad to see the pair of long-standing soaps and institutions of British telly have got off to a strong start this year, raking in 124 million streams on ITVX with each episode now available on the streaming platform ahead of each night’s episode.

You can expect a big viewer spike when this one goes out, that’s for sure.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — ITV (press shot)/The Manc Group

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