The BBC has just dropped a new horror series that was filmed and is set around Bolton.
Red Rose has already been receiving rave reviews, with The Guardian comparing it to a ‘creepier Black Mirror‘.
The series has been created by Bolton-born twins Michael and Paul Clarkson, who also worked on The Haunting of Bly Manor and See.
The eight-part programme explores the relationship between teenagers and their online lives, with a mysterious smartphone app slowly unravelling their lives – and it’s chilling enough that it will make you want to lob your phone out the window.
Red Rose. Credit: BBC
The BBC synopsis says: “School is about to finish for the last time. For many teenagers, this signals the beginning of the next stage of their lives.
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“For a group of working-class friends in Bolton, there is no next stage. The summer stretches out in front of them with an infinite sense of possibilities, but when one of the gang downloads the mysterious Red Rose app, plans change.
“What starts innocently as a game of admiration rapidly descends into something much darker.”
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Despite the terrifying storyline, Paul Clarkson said they’d created the series as a ‘love letter to Bolton’.
Scenes were filmed around the borough, including on Bridge Street, Churchgate, Le Mans Crescent, and at a quarry near Scouts Road.
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The cast of Red Rose includes a number of young rising stars, such as Amelia Clarkson, Isis Hainsworth, Ali Khan, Ellis Howard, and Ashna Rabheru.
Episodes will air on BBC Three on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Featured image: BBC
TV & Showbiz
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.
The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat.
Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of.
Daisy Jackson -
16th August 2022 
