TV & Showbiz

Manc comedian Jason Manford is hosting a new ‘fast-paced’ BBC quiz show

'The Answer Run' will hit our TV screens very soon.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 7th August 2024

A brand-new “fast-paced” quiz show is set to air on the BBC later this month, and a famous Manc face will be fronting it.

That’s right – Jason Manford has got himself another new gig.

The Manc comedian is putting his stand-up comedy, on-stage musical theatre work, and new-found acting career to one side yet again, as fresh off-the-back of taking up the role of new headteacher on Waterloo Road, he’s now set to become the face of another BBC show hitting our screens in a couple of weeks time.

Manford will stand front and centre as the host of the new quiz show called The Answer Run.

The Answer Run will see contestants given two answers and then asked to take a 50/50 swipe at which one of the two is right.

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Three pairs of contestants will compete in each episode, and they’ll be tasked with swiping their way through the fast-paced general knowledge questions in the hopes of banking a cash prize to take home with them at the end of them.

Answer categories will range from things like ‘Dolly Parton or Barbie’ and ‘Venus or Saturn’, right through to ‘Eastenders or Coronation Street’ and everything in between, so it really is a mixed bag.

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As the show progresses, two teams out of the three are eliminated, leaving the final pair facing what’s known as ‘The Final Run’, and it’s in this last round that they’ll battle to take home the money they’ve banked during the episode.

“We had so much fun filming The Answer Run earlier this year,” Jason Manford said ahead of the new show airing. “And the contestants across each episode were brilliant, so I can’t wait for audiences to see it on screen this month and play along themselves at home.”

Read more:

The Answer Run will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this month, so keep your eyes peeled for actual release dates.

Featured Image – BBC

TV & Showbiz

Cultplex’s annual horror film festival returns to GRUB next month

Danny Jones Danny Jones horror film festival manchester cultplex

A much-loved staple of Manchester’s spooky season is returning this autumn as the STAB Season film festival lands back at Cultplex next month.

Part of GRUB over at Red Bank, Cultplex is one of the best small-screen cinemas and hidden gems full stop to be found in the city centre; as the name would suggest, they celebrate fan favourite films, video games, cool nerd stuff and all things culty.

And don’t worry, by culty we mean the stuff people are obsessed with – there’s no risk of stumbling across old people donning hooded cloaks like in Hot Fuzz or anything, we promise.

However, that film is a very good example of the kind of fandom this Manchester ‘mini-cini’ champions, and this October it will once again be taken over by a whole host of horror movies and more as part of the month-long festival.

Promising to deliver “a month of sinister cinema that isn’t for the faint of heart” and be “the biggest yet”, the 2024 STAB Film Season over at Cultplex kicks off on Wednesday, 2 October and doesn’t stop until the start of November.

With this year’s lineup featuring sci-fi and supernatural classics such as The Exorcist (1973) and Alien (1979) – and that’s just the double-bill they’ve booked in for Halloween night – as well as full-on movie marathons, special spooky one-offs and other events.

We’re talking quizzes, Q&A and binging of TV box sets just to name a few. Basically, it’s going to be equal parts terrifying and terrific.

Kicking off the city’s longest-lasting horror movie festival with their annual airing of 1974’s locally-shot-yet-criminally-underseen The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (now THAT is what you call a cult film), before swinging headlong into Wes Craven’s hit slasher franchise Scream and Korean zombie hit Train to Busan (2016), this thing is going to move at a mile a minute.

It’ll be Halloween before you know it. You can find the full STAB Film Season 2024 line-up below:

DateWhat’s on at STAB Film Season – Cultplex @ GRUB
Wednesday, 2 October19:30 – The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)
Thursday, 3 October20:30 – Sprechen: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari + live score
Friday, 4 October20:30 – Double-bill: Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) + Shiva Baby (2020)
Sunday, 6 October13:00 – Scream Stab-a-Thon
Wednesday, 9 October19:30 – Interference Film Club: Martyrs (2015)
Saturday, 12 October13:30 – The Addams Family (1991)
16:00 – The Blob (1988)
19:00 – Zombie All-Nighter ft. Train to Busan (2016), Return of the Living Dead (1985), REC (2007) and Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)
Sunday, 13 October16:00 – Interview With The Vampire (1994)
Wednesday, 16 October19:30 – Halloween Quiz Show
Friday, 18 October18:00 – Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004 — and our pick of the bunch*)
Sunday, 20 October13:00 – TRASHFEST with Andrew Leovald Q&A
16:00 – CULT CLUB: The Mummy (1999)
Wednesday, 23 October19:30 – GASP: Suspiria (1977)
Thursday, 24 October19:30 – MAGHOUL (amateur video game night – but scary)
Friday, 25 October18:00 – Double-bill: Thirteen Ghosts (2001) + Ghost Ship (2002)
Saturday, 26 October13:00 – A Lovely Time: The Simpsons ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Quiz
13:30 – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
16:00 – In The Mouth of Madness (1994) + Nick Helm Podcast
20:00 – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) for Freddy K’s 40th B-Day Party
Sunday, 27 October13:00 – Movie Church: Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
16:00 – Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout (1990)
19:00 – Tetsuo The Iron Man (1989)
Wednesday, 30 October19:30 – Arrow Film Club: Ju-on The Grudge (2002)
Thursday, 31 October – HALLOWEEN!19:30 – Double-bill: The Exorcist (1973) + Alien (1979)
Friday, 1 November19:30 – Slumber Party Massacre Double Bill
Saturday, 2 November – The Finale16:00 – Death Becomes Her (1992)

Read more:

Halloween and horror fans won’t need convincing on this one, you already know the drill.

You can expect all this and loads more surprises we wouldn’t dare spoil for you when STAB Film Season kicks off at Cultplex next month.

And the best part is, you’re already at GRUB, so proper good food and drink is right on your doorstep. Just try not to throw it all in the air when the jumpscares start.

Full-season listings can be found HERE with tickets for all events available to book now – if you’re brave
enough. It’s not the only thing fright fans can look forward to this year either…

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

Featured Images — Cultplex/GRUB MCR (supplied)

TV & Showbiz

Waterloo Road has boosted Greater Manchester’s economy by a staggering £6.5 million

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Waterloo Road has boosted Greater Manchester’s economy by a staggering £6.5 million, according to the BBC.

The British high school classic has seen strength after strength following the new BBC reboot.

Waterloo Road first reached our TV screens in 2006, where we saw Salford’s-own Chelsee Healey burst onto the scene as the fiery Janeece Bryant, a disruptive but loveable student who always found herself getting into trouble. 

Since then, the school-based drama has gone on to see 14 seasons and more than 200 episodes, with an eight year interval in between, befoore returning to our screens again in 2023.

And with a new season dropping just yesterday (10 September), the love for the show certainly isn’t over yet.

The show has been filmed in Greater Manchester since airing, with three seasons retreating to the Scottish lowlands of Greenock in Scotland. 

The first seven series of the TV drama were filmed in the former Hill Top Community Primary School in Rochdale, with the filming location for the most recent season taking place at a former Manchester College building in the city centre.

The newest series sees famous faces like comedian Jason Manford, and ex-Coronation Street star Kym Marsh join the cast.

In new statistics provided by the BBC, it was revealed that the production of the first three new series generated more than £9.5 million for the broader North West area, and at least £6.5 million for Greater Manchester’s economy alone.

“It’s a series that helps nurture and champion local talent and directly supports the economy in the North West,” commented Charlotte Moore, who is the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, “and it’s also part of a much bigger story.

“The BBC now invests more than 60% of its TV budget outside of London – supporting hundreds of production companies and suppliers.”

Read more:

You can catch Season 14 of Waterloo Road on BBC one every Tuesday at 9pm, or all episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer here.

Featured Image – BBC

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