The Midland Hotel - Morecambe
Home Page / Art Deco Home / Midland 1933 / Midland Home Page / Gallery / Our Visits
The Midland Hotel in Film, Television, Magazines and the Press and on the radio
The Architecture the Railways Built
Evocative screenshot of the entrance to the Midland Hotel from series 2 episode 9 of The Architecture the Railways Built
Tim Dunn enjoying the view from the roof of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe - image sourced from and © of the Radio Times
The Architecture The Railways Built
Series 2 - Episode 9 - Huddersfield
Historian and railway nut Tim Dunn smartens himself up with a jacket and tie, packs his wheelie suitcase and trundles off to the seaside, to Morecambe and its splendid Art Deco Midland Hotel. It's a sumptuous place, though like many railway hotels it's had a difficult past, falling into dereliction before being rescued from oblivion by investors in a £10m renovation project, re-opening in 2008.
More prosaically Dunn visits Huddersfield, where he climbs an unprepossessing set of stairs to take a look behind its station clock. "This is a real treat… I'm fascinated by clocks." And in Cologne we hear why a curious trend involving padlocks clipped to its railings makes the Hohenzollern Bridge vibrate.
Summary : Tim Dunn explores Huddersfield's Grade I listed station and examines the station's clock, and visits Cologne's magnificent Hohenzollern Bridge in Germany. Documentary
Season 3 of 'The Bay' Announced
Glasgow Evening Times
News - 15th February 2021 | By Hamish Morrison @HMorrison97 | Trainee Reporter
Morven Christie replaced on ITV's The Bay as third season ordered
MORVEN Christie's replacement on the ITV's The Bay has been announced as the channel ordered a third season of the hit show. Marsha Thompson will replace the Glasgow-based star for a new upcoming season of the cop drama. Christie was the lead role in the Daragh Carville-penned show, which is due to resume filming this spring. Daniel Ryan, Erin Shanagher, Thomas Law and Andrew Dowbiggin will all reprise their roles for the new season of the Morecambe-set story.
Catherine Oldfield, The Bay's executive producer said: "Daragh and I couldn't be more delighted by the audience response to The Bay. "That ITV has recommissioned the show is fantastic and to get a talent as bright and brilliant as Marsha to lead the new series is beyond exciting. We can't wait to get back to Morecambe to start filming again in that beautiful part of the world."
Digital Spy
ITV's The Bay announces major cast exit ahead of season 3 return - A replacement has already been revealed.
By Amy West 15th February 2021
The Bay has announced that actress Morven Christie has exited the show ahead of season three.
Following the news that the popular crime drama has been renewed for a third outing, ITV confirmed that Christie would not be back as DS Lisa Armstrong, despite the character leading the previous two instalments. She is set to be replaced by Marsha Thomason, who is perhaps best known for her roles in Lost and White Collar. The third series is set to start shooting in the spring, as Thomason's character – Family Liaison Officer Jenn Townsend – gets thrown into the deep end when the body of an aspiring young boxer is found on her first day. Daniel Ryan, Erin Shanagher, Thomas Law and Andrew Dowbiggin will be back as DI Anthony 'Tony' Manning, DS Karen Hobson, DC Eddie Martin and DS James Clarke, respectively.
The Bay's first season, which premiered in March 2019, saw Armstrong assigned to a missing persons investigation in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. As she dug deeper into the case though, she discovered that she had a personal, potentially compromising, link to the family involved. Its second series, which kicked off in January, saw her dealing with the fallout, as well as trying to prove herself when she's asked to help solve a murder. "[Writer] Daragh [Carville] and I couldn't be more delighted by the audience response to The Bay," executive producer Catherine Oldfield said. "That ITV have recommissioned the show is fantastic and to get a talent as bright and brilliant as Marsha to lead the new series is beyond exciting. We can't wait to get back to Morecambe to start filming again in that beautiful part of the world."
The Bay writer talks future of the show
"There are certainly other stories that I want to tell."
By Amy West and Abby Robinson 21st January 2021
The Bay writer Daragh Carville has opened up about the future of the ITV crime drama.
The show, which premiered in March 2019, saw protagonist DS Lisa Armstrong (Morven Christie) assigned to a missing persons investigation in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. As she dug deeper and deeper into the case though, she was shocked to discover that she had a personal, potentially compromising link to the family involved. Its eight-episode second series, which kicked off last night (January 20), sees Lisa dealing with the fallout, as well as trying to prove herself when she's asked to help solve a murder.
"It was always conceived of as a show that could return and there are certainly other stories that I want to tell in The Bay," Carville recently told Digital Spy and other press. "Let's see how things go, as ever. Everything's in the lap of the Gods. But certainly, there are other stories that I'd like to tell and I'd like to continue exploring these characters and exploring the world. So I would certainly hope it will run and run."
Elsewhere in the interview, the scribe went on to say that he knew early on that The Bay's second series couldn't lean on Lisa's private life as much as the first, so set about "creating a new kind of story where our team would be plunged in at the deep end with a sudden shocking crime that shatters a family." He continued: "What happens in the first series, the fact that Lisa is involved with the guy who's part of the family, I absolutely knew that we could never do that kind of story again, where there's that kind of deep personal compromise involved."
'The Bay' - 2021
The Bay returned to our screens in January 2021 as the pandemic raged and continues to rage around us - the opening episode certainly made us sit up and take notice!
Making excellent use of the Midlands' natural interior (stairwell) and exterior (rear of hotel) attributes - screenshots from ITV
Not so successful (for me at any rate) was the re-arranged foyer area. The top image shows an additional reception 'island' which although sensitive to the surroundings this subsequent design is surplus to requirement. The original reception 'island' is clearly seen in the image above and with the additional furniture the Gill masterpiece is completely obscured by using additional 'art deco' screens and fronded plants!
The stairwell has been left more or less untouched as can be seen from the image featuring the three police officers making their way up to the first or second floor. Not seen in the images, but visible on the television programme is the fact that the front entrance is not used at all and yet another set of props (screens and more fronded plants) conceals one of the more interesting aspects at the Midland. There must be reasons, but they do not enhance the whole! The Midland is Morecambe's showcase and has been preserved after a long struggle - make it work for its living!
It looks as if a 'themed' room has been provided for this scene - it added nothing to the plot and again, in my opinion, it is a poor representation of such an elitist hotel - this was the 'crème de la crème' in 1933!
When, as part of the 'Friends of the Midland' we campaigned for the hotel to be saved (not demolished), we also hope that there would be some nod to the original décor and possibly a room or suite set aside for this purpose. Urban Splash however decided against that and gave the décor a thoroughly modern touch - they were right. For beautifully themed interiors visit Burgh Island! So, is this room a permanent 'themed' space for those unable to live without art deco or is it a nod by the production designers to make believe the space was still occupied by the 'beautiful young things of the 30s?' Well with the exception of the dancing lady (I have lots of them myself so can spot a real one) I don't think anything is original. The wallpapered wall and matching lampshade feature a modern design based on the style of the day and let's face it 'anything goes' with the right mood 'lighting' to obfuscate. The window table and bed 'throw' are modern designs incorporating deco design features. The armchair may have been found in a junk shop or be a modern one covered in deco-inspired fabric ... it's a bit of disappointment all around, not even a brave effort, I think I'd have preferred the plants and screens from the foyer!
'The Bay' - 2019
Announcing a new TV Drama coming to our screens in March 2019
Screen shot from episode 1 of 'The Bay' which features the Midland Hotel as a backdrop at every opportunity
When is The Bay on TV? Everything you need to know about ITV's new crime drama with Morven Christie
Morven Christie stars as DS Lisa Armstrong in ITV's six-part crime drama set in Morecambe. If you're looking for a twisty crime drama set in an English coastal town and starring an excellent actress as a brilliant but flawed detective, look no further – because The Bay ticks all those boxes. ITV's new drama stars Morven Christie as Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong, who is assigned as Family Liaison Officer after teenage twins go missing in Morecambe in Lancashire. But she soon realises she has a personal connection to the case "that could compromise her and the investigation."
What is The Bay about?
According to the official synopsis, "When Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong is assigned to a missing persons investigation in Morecambe Bay, at first it seems like any other – tragic, but all too familiar. As a police Family Liaison Officer, she's trained never to get emotionally involved. Her job is to support families during the worst time of their lives whilst also to be the eyes and ears of the police investigation; a cuckoo in the nest. "But there's something very different about this particular case. With horror Lisa realises she's got a personal connection with this frightened family; one that could compromise her and the investigation. As she grapples to get justice for the grieving family, Lisa discovers it could come at the cost of her own."
The drama has been penned by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Daragh Carville, and is set and filmed in the coastal town of Morecambe Bay. "Lisa is such a refreshingly real character – brilliant and flawed, trying to make everything work, and often failing," Christie said. "I adore her. And I loved Daragh's scripts, rooted in the families and community of this distinctive town." ITV's Head of Drama Polly Hill said: "It's always a challenge to find a fresh take on crime, but Daragh Carville has written a very real crime story about family and community, which is distinctive, compelling and beautifully crafted." Source : BBC
'Tea at the Midland' - 2010
I only spotted this recently so was very sorry to have missed the opportunity of listening to this short story featuring the Midland Hotel - since then I have found a website where the recording is still available to listen to - The Times Literary supplement. Unfortunately the content did not do an awful lot for me as it was an excuse to bestialise Eric Gill by someone who perhaps does not appreciate his specific artform. However it appears to have been well received as it won the 2010 National Short Story Award!
From The Guardian - 14th December 2012
Tea at the Midland by David Constantine – review
Alfred Hickling welcomes a collection of tales both moving and disturbing
A good short story captures a moment in time, but a great one captures the temper of the times. David Constantine's "Tea at the Midland", which won the 2010 BBC National Short Story award, could be credited with having achieved that: its subject, with fateful irony, is a fierce argument over the dubious sexual tastes of a dead celebrity emblematic of the BBC.
Whatever opprobrium has been heaped on Jimmy Savile, no one has yet accused him of having sex with his pets. In that sense he had some way to go to match the carnal appetites of Eric Gill, who was revealed in Fiona MacCarthy's 1989 biography as having intimate relations with his sisters, his daughters and practically anything else that took his fancy. Yet his artistic reputation remains largely undiminished, and his iconic sculpture of Prospero and Ariel still stands above the entrance to Broadcasting House.
If one were to erase all traces of Eric Gill from the BBC one would presumably also have to do severe damage to the recently restored Midland Hotel, an art deco gem overlooking Morecambe Bay for which Gill designed a set of reliefs. In Constantine's story, a man and a woman in the tea room of the hotel are debating the works. She admires them as objects of exquisite beauty; he cannot bear to look at them. "A paedophile is a paedophile," he says. "That's all there is to it." The woman persists: "Would you have liked it if you hadn't known it was by Eric Gill? Or if you hadn't known that Eric Gill was a paedophile?" "That's not the point," comes the reply. It's a masterful story, pregnant with fluctuating interpretations and concealed motives, in which Constantine allows the argument to erupt out of nothing. Prior to the outburst the woman has been quietly contemplating the sight of windsurfers in the bay, though even the restless, unsettled weather suggests that this relationship is doomed: "The afternoon winter sky was torn and holed by the wind and a troubled golden light flung down at all angles, abiding nowhere, flashing out and vanishing."
Constantine's prose and poetry contain many such instances of gazing out towards the horizon. It happens in a significant poem, "Watching for Dolphins", in which a crowd of expectant holiday-makers line up on a cruise ship: "Every face after its character implored the sea / All unaccustomed wanted epiphany." And it happens often in this collection, whose protagonists are frequently loners, such as the narrator of the long tale "The Island", who exchanges life in a monastery ("being amongst monks killed even my desire to believe in God") for the greater isolation of a remote Cornish promontory: "I could hear the sounds of it, the breathing of water over shingle, and this morning I felt something had been added to my stock of resources against disintegration: an ocean entering quietly and giving bearably."
Constantine's characters are generally engaged in a losing battle to shore up their resources against disintegration. It is impossible not to be moved by undemonstrative, desperate souls such as Mr Barlow, who puts on his best suit to read poetry, despite a growing awareness that his careful routine "henceforth would not be able to hold out the flood of loneliness of the years still needing to be lived"; or the more spirited Alphonse, who breaks out of a nursing home and cycles to France knowing he only has six months to live. But the most troubling narrative concerns a soon-to-be-defrocked canon who spends Christmas Eve in a derelict schoolhouse with a vagrant known as Goat, on account of the horn-like nubs on his forehead and delight in exposing himself. The story climaxes with a frenzied pagan dance during which "the canon unbuttoned his immaculate collar, removed it, buttoned it again and with unrepeatable sureness of aim, with the skill suddenly given you in dreams, hoopla-ed it over the risen vicar of Goat". Whatever this perverse hallucination might signify is left to the reader's imagination. But it seems a fair bet that Eric Gill would have relished coming up with the illustrations.
National Short Story award goes to David Constantine
Judges praise Tea at the Midland for its 'rich poetry' and 'deep understanding of the form'
The story of a relationship foundering over a quarrel in a Morecambe hotel has bagged poet and translator David Constantine the 2010 BBC National Short Story award. Constantine, who has published three critically acclaimed short story collections, most recently The Shieling, was described as a "master craftsman" of the form as he took the £15,000 prize for his story, Tea at the Midland, at a ceremony broadcast live on BBC Radio 4's Front Row this evening. The £3,000 runner-up prize went to novelist Jon McGregor for If It Keeps On Raining.
Constantine said his win was "deeply satisfying. I don't think I write in a way that's realistic, naturalistic, streetwise, and modern, so it's a confirmation of what I do – and I couldn't do it any other way." He also called the award "an immense boost" to his publisher, Comma Press, which had sought him out specifically because they wanted to publish short stories, a form often neglected by publishers.
Chair of the judges James Naughtie said Tea at the Midland was "remarkable for the rich poetry at its heart and the economy with which Constantine creates a story with fully-formed characters and a memorable setting." Fellow judge Di Spiers, who is head of readings on Radio 4, described the story as "layered, thoughtful, and written with grace and a deep understanding of the form".
Constantine said his stories come from the same impulse as his poetry and are "almost an attitude of mind", far removed from writing novels. "I loathe the word 'closure', and hate the idea of exhaustiveness," he explained. "I don't write the sort of short stories that people who are interested in plot do. It starts with an image that is potent to me and I don't know where that will take me." Tea at the Midland started with two images, he said: The Frieze by Eric Gill, in the foyer of a Morecambe hotel, and the kitesurfers in Morecambe Bay. "The story is about a quarrel that is ostensibly about Eric Gill, but actually about other things," Constantine said. He also praised the ability of short stories to be "very open", offering glimpses of their subject, adding: "I hate short stories where all the ends get tied."
Jon McGregor, whose novels, including If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, have twice been longlisted for the Man Booker prize, said he was "deeply honoured" to have won second place for his story. If It Keeps on Raining tells of a man living on a leaking boat on the River Trent and McGregor described it as "about rain, and floods and damaged men". "What interests me about writing is to give the reader just enough to enable them to use their own imagination – hints and glimpses – that's what short stories are all about," he said. He added that he started out writing short stories, and only embarked on a novel when persuaded by his agent that "novels sell and short stories don't". Even now, he said, his novels are written first as fragments, then later assembled towards a full-length work. Both writers paid tribute to the impact of the BBC National Short Story award, now in its fifth year, which has seen all of the shortlisted stories receive readings on Radio 4. Constantine said outlets for short story publishing had begun to open up, thanks to the BBC. "The space it has given short stories, and the seriousness with which it has treated them, is exemplary," Constantine said. McGregor added that "the last few weeks have been fantastic".
Also shortlisted were Aminatta Forna's story Haywards Heath, Butcher's Perfume by Sarah Hall and My Daughter the Racist by Helen Oyeyemi.
**Selected as one of the Books of the Year 2012 by the TLS and the London Evening Standard** **WINNER of the BBC National Short Story Prize**
To the woman watching they looked like grace itself, the heart and soul of which is freedom. It pleased her particularly that they were attached by invisible strings to colourful curves of rapidly moving air. How clean and clever that was! You throw up something like a handkerchief, you tether it and by its headlong wish to fly away, you are towed along... Like the kite-surfers in this opening scene, the characters in David Constantine s fourth collection are often delicately caught in moments of defiance. Disregarding their age, their family, or the prevailing political winds, they show us a way of marking out a space for resistance and taking an honest delight in it. Witness Alphonse having broken out of an old people s home, changed his name, and fled the country now pedalling down the length of the Rhône, despite knowing he has barely six months to live. Or the clergyman who chooses to spend Christmas Eve and the last few hours in his job in a frozen, derelict school, dancing a wild jig with a vagrant called Goat. Key to these characters defiance is the power of fiction, the act of holding real life at arm's length and simply telling a story be it of the future they might claim for themselves, or the imagined lives of others. Like them, Constantine's bewitching, finely-wrought stories give us permission to escape, they allow us to side-step the inexorable traffic of our lives, and beseech us to take possession of the moment.
Poirot in 'Double Sin' - 1990
David Suchet as Poirot accompanied by Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) and Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) at the Midland Hotel in Morecambe in the episode entitled 'Double Sin.' Image courtesy of the Lancashire Evening Post.
l to r - one of the many book covers attributed to 'Double Sin' which is only a short story and one of many DVD covers for the television show
IMDB summarise this episode to "A young woman is delivering a set of antique Napoleon miniatures to an American collector when they are stolen from her suitcase. Captain Hastings, under Poirot's guidance, sets out to find the thief."
As can be seen from this IMDB poster - Morecambe has been thinly disguised as 'Whitcombe' - Poirot and Hastings are actually standing on the promenade at the rear (looking out to see) of the hotel and the board (a prop) shows various announcements including incoming and outgoing tide timings.
With thanks to the Lancashire Evening Post for this image of the Mermaid gracing the Midland Hotel car park - this statue was specially commissioned for the episode and is not a permanent feature.
I received a very interesting email from the University of Western Ontario expressing an interest in this page specifically and requesting images of the 'Double Sin' mermaid which I have happily provided, however a quick 'refresh search' brought to my attention the four images above this comment from the account of 'bayonnejoe' on Pinterest. I can only assume that they are screenshots from the TV/DVD. I am grateful for them as they show interesting angles and a few areas that may otherwise be lost for posterity. From top to bottom : The first image is very nearly an exact reconstruction of one of the original promotional architectural views, the second gives us a good close-up of the mermaid sculpture, the third allows us to scrutinise her ethereal face and the fourth reminds us of the appalling 'paint job' they did on the most famous Shrimps/Seahorses in Morecambe!
Although set in the fictional 'Whitcombe', the Midland's name was never obscured. Image courtesy and © of Rex Features via the BBC website.
'The Entertainer' - 1960
The steady heroism of a 'standup' (comedian)… Laurence Olivier in the 1957 stage version of The Entertainer. Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via The Guardian
The Entertainer uses Morecambe as a backdrop and this rare film poster showcases the Super Swimming Stadium during a beauty pageant.
From 'Rotten Tomatoes' - "London schoolteacher Jean Rice (Joan Plowright) returns to her seaside resort hometown at a time of personal crisis. Her father, Archie (Laurence Olivier), is a star on the music hall circuit, but, in the television age, that old-fashioned entertainment is dying out. His second wife, Phoebe (Brenda De Banzie), is openly contemptuous of her husband's many affairs, and his son, Mick (Albert Finney), is a soldier fighting in the Suez. Despite Archie's unflagging optimism, tragic events unfold."
I took these three stills from the film and although they are not of the best quality the top image is clearly at the Super Swimming Stadium, the crowds on the beach have a clear backdrop of the Midland and the bottom still shows Alan Bates and Joan Plowright strolling along the promenade moving away from the Midland which is clearly visible in the backdrop.
Laurence Olivier recreates his stage role of Archie Rice in this in-your-face film adaptation of John Osborne's play. The son of a legendary music hall comedian (Roger Livesey), Archie is strictly a third-rater, headlining a tacky music hall revue in a seedy seaside resort town. Archie can't admit that he's a failure, and his grim insouciance destroys everyone around him. Archie finagles his dying father into financing one last revue; he cheats shamelessly on his alcoholic wife (Brenda De Banzie); and he all but forces one of his sons (Albert Finney) to run off to join the army, only to die in the Suez. Through all his personal crises, Archie jigs and jabbers before his ever-diminishing audience, but by the end of the film he isn't even entertaining himself. Joan Plowright, who married Olivier shortly after completing The Entertainer, plays the film's one sympathetic character: Archie's daughter, whose love for her father blinds her to his flaws. The Entertainer was remade for television in 1976, with Jack Lemmon as Archie Rice and original songs by Marvin Hamlisch.
From IMDB - "Archie Rice, an old-time British music hall performer sinking into final defeat, schemes to stay in show business."
Honour Restored
It has to be said - Lancashire & North West magazine responded swiftly and magnificently!
Honour restored - appropriate credit given.
I try to avoid plagiarism at all costs, if I do 'borrow' or 'use' someone else's information it is chronicled scrupulously by links (in the page it appears on) either to the original or on occasion links to the original via my copyright page where I explain the use of the material and how it is protected by copyright law - so it's a bit mean to steal from me!
The article as it has been seen on the web for over a year with no effort to credit me with the image and/or information relating to 'Double Sin' as seen on my 'Court on Canvas' page.
In the event that the comment is refused by the moderators - it will remain visible on my website and Fb page.
Page refreshed : 19th March 2021 (G)