Browse content similar to 26/07/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening. Welcome to NorthWest Tonight with Ranvir Singh and | :00:04. | :00:07. | |
Stuart Flinders. Our top story. The Government is ordered to hand | :00:07. | :00:10. | |
over secret files on the Hillsborough disaster to the BBC. | :00:10. | :00:13. | |
They are to be released under the Freedom of Information Act and will | :00:13. | :00:16. | |
throw light on how the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher viewed | :00:16. | :00:21. | |
the disaster. Guilty of child cruelty. A couple | :00:21. | :00:24. | |
from Blackburn abused one of their twins until she died at just seven | :00:24. | :00:30. | |
months old. Quite what the poor child suffered | :00:30. | :00:33. | |
in the last 12 hours of life goes beyond imagining. | :00:33. | :00:36. | |
Come back to class. The parents campaigning to reinstate the | :00:36. | :00:44. | |
headteacher who restrained their son. | :00:44. | :00:47. | |
First Abbey Road, now Pete Best Drive, the former Beatle, gets a | :00:47. | :00:57. | |
:00:57. | :01:09. | ||
street named after him. And Jayne Barrett with some | :01:09. | :01:14. | |
illuminating things we didn't know about Blackpool. | :01:14. | :01:18. | |
Could you spend your main holiday here in Blackpool? That is the | :01:18. | :01:21. | |
question they want you to answer as they start a countdown to the | :01:21. | :01:25. | |
relaunch of the tower and brand new attractions inside. But is it | :01:25. | :01:32. | |
realistic? Confidential files about the | :01:32. | :01:34. | |
Hillsborough Disaster detailing discussions with the then Prime | :01:34. | :01:37. | |
Minister, Margaret Thatcher, are to be made public for the first time. | :01:37. | :01:39. | |
Some Hillsborough campaigners believe the Prime Minister was keen | :01:39. | :01:42. | |
to protect the reputation of the police in the days after 96 | :01:42. | :01:47. | |
Liverpool fans died in 1989. The Information Commissioner has | :01:47. | :01:50. | |
ordered the documents to be released in response to a BBC | :01:50. | :01:56. | |
request under the Freedom of Information Act. The Cabinet Office | :01:56. | :01:59. | |
has been reluctant to hand over the documents. Earlier, I spoke to the | :01:59. | :02:01. | |
BBC's Freedom of Information specialist Martin Rosenbaum and | :02:01. | :02:11. | |
:02:11. | :02:15. | ||
asked what he expected the documents to show. You never know | :02:15. | :02:18. | |
for sure with a Freedom of Information application what | :02:18. | :02:21. | |
information you are going to get. But there is quite a lot of | :02:21. | :02:23. | |
discussion, with regard to the Hillsborough disaster, what | :02:23. | :02:26. | |
Margaret Thatcher's attitude was in the immediate wake of it and | :02:26. | :02:29. | |
whether in particular she did not want the police to be criticised | :02:29. | :02:32. | |
for the disaster. Some of the families have said that they think | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
she might have wanted to ensure that did not happen. We do not know | :02:35. | :02:38. | |
if that happened or not. But by getting these documents out into | :02:38. | :02:42. | |
the open, we can shed more light on that question. It may shed more | :02:42. | :02:46. | |
light in other ways, on how the government reacted in the few days | :02:46. | :02:49. | |
after the disaster happened. Why has it taken two years for | :02:49. | :02:52. | |
these documents to be released? Does that add weight to the | :02:52. | :02:59. | |
suspicions of a cover-up? I would not necessarily say that. | :02:59. | :03:02. | |
The Cabinet Office has a very bad record on responding to a Freedom | :03:02. | :03:05. | |
of Information requests generally. This one is certainly worse than | :03:05. | :03:10. | |
most. It took 16 months to turn it down, then we got the information | :03:10. | :03:15. | |
officer to over-rule them. But the Cabinet Office does have a bad | :03:15. | :03:22. | |
record in general. The information commissioner has got the Cabinet | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
Office to sign an undertaking to improve its performance in future. | :03:25. | :03:28. | |
It is not only with regard to this particular case that there has been | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
serious delays. How long before we actually get to hear what is in | :03:32. | :03:34. | |
these papers? I hope by the end of next month, | :03:34. | :03:37. | |
because the Cabinet Office has to release the documentation or decide | :03:37. | :03:40. | |
whether to appeal. If they appeal, the process will take longer. If | :03:40. | :03:48. | |
they do not appeal, we should know within a month or so. We've been | :03:48. | :03:51. | |
getting reaction to the news from some of the victims' families. They | :03:51. | :03:53. | |
have told us they are pleased and surprised at the Information | :03:53. | :03:55. | |
Commissioner's decision. Ann Williams, who lost her 15-year-old | :03:55. | :03:58. | |
son at Hillsborough said, "This is good news. I thought the Government | :03:58. | :04:03. | |
would block it. At least now we may get to the truth." And if you want | :04:03. | :04:06. | |
to hear more from them, tune into Radio Merseyside's Breakfast Show | :04:06. | :04:16. | |
:04:16. | :04:22. | ||
from 7 tomorrow. The parents of twins have been found guilty of | :04:22. | :04:25. | |
child cruelty after subjecting one of their baby daughters to a | :04:25. | :04:27. | |
catalogue of horrific abuse. Police believe that Mohammed and Nafisa | :04:27. | :04:30. | |
Karolia from Blackburn went to extraordinary lengths to hide the | :04:30. | :04:33. | |
abuse, swapping the child with her identical twin to fool social | :04:33. | :04:36. | |
workers. The child later died and it is thought the couple even | :04:36. | :04:38. | |
changed the name on her death certificate. Mohammed and Nafisa | :04:38. | :04:42. | |
Karolia had twin baby daughters. But one of the girls was singled | :04:42. | :04:46. | |
out for the most appalling abuse. In 2009, aged seven months, the | :04:46. | :04:51. | |
child died from a lung infection. A post-mortem then uncovered over 20 | :04:51. | :04:57. | |
injuries to her body. A broken rib. Five arm and leg fractures. | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
Bleeding to her eyes. A brain haemorrhage. And the cartilage in | :05:01. | :05:06. | |
her nose was exposed, caused by pinching it with a clip or clasp. | :05:07. | :05:15. | |
Her treatment was bestial. Quite what the poor child suffered | :05:15. | :05:21. | |
in the last hours have for life is beyond imagination. How anybody can | :05:21. | :05:27. | |
inflict a level of violence on the on child is beyond me. They do not | :05:27. | :05:32. | |
deserve to be parents. Police believe Mohammed and Nafisa Karolia | :05:32. | :05:35. | |
tried everything possible to cover up the abuse. It is thought they | :05:35. | :05:38. | |
swapped the twins to fool health and social workers and, after the | :05:38. | :05:40. | |
death, switched the name on the death certificate. The surviving | :05:40. | :05:49. | |
child may never know who she is. That must be an appalling legacy | :05:49. | :05:55. | |
for her. After the inquest, neighbours came forward to say that | :05:55. | :06:00. | |
they had will never seen the parents with one baby. One woman | :06:00. | :06:06. | |
said she had heard a female voice screaming at night. I read it in | :06:06. | :06:12. | |
the paper that they had twin girls. I ran the paper to say they had got | :06:12. | :06:19. | |
it wrong. I had only ever seen one baby. But they did not get it wrong, | :06:19. | :06:26. | |
they were twin girls. Blackburn with Darwen Council say | :06:26. | :06:29. | |
the social worker who visited was assigned to the mother, who had | :06:29. | :06:32. | |
herself been in care, not the twins. Police say they may never know why | :06:33. | :06:35. | |
the Karolias rejected one of their little girls. Both were told they | :06:35. | :06:41. | |
face considerable sentences. Psychologist Dr David Holmes is | :06:41. | :06:49. | |
here. Very disturbing details. How unusual is it for parents to target | :06:49. | :06:55. | |
one child for abuse? It is very unusual. I have never come across | :06:55. | :07:03. | |
this. Abuse usually can be traced through the family, through older | :07:03. | :07:11. | |
siblings. In the case of twins, discerning one from the other, it | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
needs some kind of further explanation. Twins are awed. They | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
are odd in terms of they have a more psychiatric problems than | :07:20. | :07:26. | |
normal individuals. They can have a strange a reaction on parents. | :07:26. | :07:35. | |
may never know why, but from your point of view, of -- what could be | :07:35. | :07:43. | |
an explanation? I am grasping at straws, to be honest. It could be | :07:43. | :07:50. | |
posed little problems, psychosis even more than depression. In a | :07:50. | :07:54. | |
case of twins, you could see one twin as being antagonistic towards | :07:54. | :08:02. | |
the other, sucking the life out of the other in some way or other. In | :08:02. | :08:06. | |
this case, there were a few phrases that were used it that might | :08:06. | :08:14. | |
indicate some think like that. of the twins has survived, but what | :08:14. | :08:19. | |
is the likelihood of her growing up and do not being sure of her on | :08:19. | :08:29. | |
identity and having survivor's guilt? People do survive things and | :08:29. | :08:39. | |
:08:39. | :08:39. | ||
they suffer this post dramatic the blame of why her and not me? Severe | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
animosity could be carried forward towards the parents. The they have | :08:44. | :08:51. | |
destroyed part of the other twin. With twins, it is almost as if you | :08:51. | :08:59. | |
are destroying that person. British holidaymakers in Spain are | :08:59. | :09:03. | |
being asked to look out for two men who escaped from a prison van in | :09:03. | :09:06. | |
Manchester last week. Kirk Bradley and Anthony Downes had been on | :09:06. | :09:08. | |
trial in Liverpool in connection with a series of shootings. Police | :09:08. | :09:12. | |
say the men have links in Spain and may be on their way there or | :09:12. | :09:14. | |
already in the country. The British National Party's Nick | :09:14. | :09:17. | |
Griffin has narrowly survived a leadership challenge. Mr Griffin, | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
who is a North West Euro MP, won by just nine votes. The election | :09:21. | :09:24. | |
follows splits within the party and allows Nick Griffin to stay in | :09:24. | :09:30. | |
charge for another four years. The parents of a boy who was | :09:30. | :09:32. | |
allegedly manhandled by his headteacher are backing a campaign | :09:32. | :09:38. | |
to reinstate him. James Gallogly was suspended from his post at St | :09:38. | :09:40. | |
Benedicts Catholic Primary after it was alleged he pinned 8-year-old | :09:40. | :09:44. | |
Ryan Johns against a wall. But Ryan's parents say Mr Gallogly's | :09:44. | :09:54. | |
:09:54. | :09:57. | ||
resignation was the last thing they wanted. Kate Simms reports. Ryan | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
has epilepsy. He is awaiting a diagnosis for ADHD. Even his | :10:00. | :10:03. | |
parents admit that he is a handful. But they trusted his head teacher | :10:03. | :10:10. | |
with him. I could see him restraining Ryan, but I could not | :10:10. | :10:19. | |
see him doing that. They were told that James Gallogly grabbed Ryan | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
and pinned him against a wall. It is something they find hard to | :10:23. | :10:26. | |
believe. The way that he ran that school, and the way that the | :10:26. | :10:29. | |
children and parents responded to him, you could not wish for a | :10:29. | :10:35. | |
better person. How do you feel now the it he has left? Gutted. I'd | :10:35. | :10:45. | |
:10:45. | :10:53. | ||
like to him. That sentiment is echoed by other parents. Parents at | :10:53. | :10:56. | |
the school have backed him with a 100 strong petition. But in a | :10:56. | :10:58. | |
statement, Cheshire East Council said that the school governors | :10:59. | :11:08. | |
:11:09. | :11:21. | ||
Ryan has now left St Benedict's Catholic Primary School. His | :11:21. | :11:31. | |
:11:31. | :11:33. | ||
behaviour got worse after the head teacher left. His parents have also | :11:33. | :11:39. | |
removed his siblings from the school. If he comes back, I would | :11:39. | :11:42. | |
like to send my children back. But only if he returned. It is a shame | :11:42. | :11:50. | |
if he does not. Gary Skelly was on his way home | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
after a few drinks with friends, but he never made it. A stranger | :11:53. | :11:56. | |
punched him for no reason, sending him crashing to the floor. That | :11:56. | :11:59. | |
single blow took his life. Now his mum is joining forces with | :11:59. | :12:02. | |
Merseyside Police to let everyone know that just one punch can wreck | :12:02. | :12:08. | |
lives. Our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest, has more. | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
They are loud and lively, but not causing any trouble. But it is easy | :12:12. | :12:15. | |
for a situation like this to become violent. When fists fly, there can | :12:15. | :12:21. | |
be fatal consequences. This young man died as a result of this punch. | :12:21. | :12:24. | |
Gary Skelly was another victim of drunken violence while minding his | :12:24. | :12:30. | |
own business. A single punch cost his life. It killed him instantly. | :12:30. | :12:37. | |
It was not the fall on the floor. It was the punch. Over the past | :12:37. | :12:41. | |
five years, 24 people have died from alcohol related violence here. | :12:41. | :12:44. | |
Seven of them died from a single punch. But it is not a problem | :12:44. | :12:47. | |
confined to Merseyside. In Greater Manchester, in the same period, 13 | :12:48. | :12:55. | |
people have died, and 14 in Lancashire. Merseyside Police have | :12:55. | :12:58. | |
teamed up with Gary Skelly's mum to highlight the dangers of a single | :12:59. | :13:04. | |
punch. The campaign is called One Punch Can Kill, and that is the | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
message we want to get across. To get people to realise that in a | :13:08. | :13:18. | |
:13:18. | :13:18. | ||
split-second, you can ruin lives. If one person just things before | :13:18. | :13:26. | |
they plunge, -- thinks before the punch, we will have achieved | :13:26. | :13:32. | |
something. Consultant neurosurgeon Paul | :13:32. | :13:37. | |
Eldrige has treated the victims of such senseless violence. It is a | :13:37. | :13:42. | |
disaster, they are usually very young. Gary's mum hopes that the | :13:42. | :13:52. | |
:13:52. | :13:54. | ||
message can get across before Holidaymakers from the Isle of Man | :13:55. | :13:57. | |
have been speaking of their terror after a plane's engine burst into | :13:58. | :14:00. | |
flames moments after take-off. The flight operated by Jet 2 from Ibiza | :14:01. | :14:06. | |
to Manchester had 186 passengers on board. It was forced to make an | :14:06. | :14:12. | |
emergency landing in Majorca on Thursday. It sounded like fireworks. | :14:12. | :14:16. | |
The whole plane shook and the lights went out on the left hand | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
side of the plane. People were crying and it was 20 minutes before | :14:19. | :14:25. | |
the stewardess came on the Tannoy and told us anything. | :14:25. | :14:35. | |
:14:35. | :14:36. | ||
Still to come in North West Tonight. Honouring the beetle who was there | :14:37. | :14:39. | |
before the big time. A bookings bonanza, marriage | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
proposals and even an album - we catch up with the Lake District | :14:42. | :14:44. | |
hotelier enjoying life in the limelight. | :14:44. | :14:47. | |
But when they got into the programme and when they saw how | :14:47. | :14:57. | |
:14:57. | :15:01. | ||
Figures out this morning revealed the growth of the UK economy slowed | :15:01. | :15:08. | |
between April and June this year. It's now just 0.2% compared to 0.5% | :15:08. | :15:11. | |
in the last quarter. But the Chancellor George Osborne | :15:11. | :15:14. | |
has said it could be much worse and described Britain as a safe haven | :15:14. | :15:16. | |
in the storm. So how financially secure are his | :15:16. | :15:19. | |
Tatton constituents feeling? Nina Warhurst has spent the day in | :15:19. | :15:24. | |
Knutsford. Welcome to sunny Knutsford. The constituency of the | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
Chancellor, and one of the richest constituencies in the country If | :15:29. | :15:32. | |
the economy is effectively flat mining, he must have forgotten to | :15:32. | :15:40. | |
tell them here. This is a luxury sports car Shop with a waiting list | :15:40. | :15:48. | |
of 18 months. Just opposite is a more traditional business, a family | :15:48. | :15:54. | |
run barbers that has been here since 1978. Business is very good. | :15:54. | :16:01. | |
It is arriving. Everybody needs a haircut. It is good. The Chancellor | :16:01. | :16:09. | |
is just pleased that their economy is just growing at all. He will | :16:09. | :16:13. | |
press on with the cuts believing it will give the economy more room to | :16:13. | :16:20. | |
grow. Not everybody agrees. Trade has dropped off. We have had to put | :16:20. | :16:30. | |
staff -- had to cut staff are as. The trade is not there. People are | :16:30. | :16:36. | |
not spending money. Everything has gone up. It is terrible. The | :16:36. | :16:43. | |
pension is not worth it. I only get �120. Once you have paid utilities, | :16:43. | :16:47. | |
there is nothing left. Growth may have slowed it to a virtual stop, | :16:47. | :16:57. | |
:16:57. | :17:01. | ||
but there are still cuts to come. Now, can you imagine this as | :17:01. | :17:03. | |
Britain's answer to Orlando? Blackpool's tourism bosses | :17:03. | :17:06. | |
certainly hope you can. In 40 days' time, they will be opening eight | :17:06. | :17:09. | |
new and improved attractions, but will that be enough? | :17:09. | :17:12. | |
The resort desperately needs families to ditch the cheap holiday | :17:12. | :17:15. | |
abroad and stay put here in the north west. They are hoping the | :17:15. | :17:17. | |
facelift will make Blackpool the country's number one family | :17:17. | :17:27. | |
:17:27. | :17:28. | ||
destination. Let's join Jayne Barrett on North Pier now. | :17:28. | :17:33. | |
It is wonderful weather. This family has come from Kent and they | :17:34. | :17:39. | |
are like goal dust for the tourist chiefs in Blackpool. Behind us is | :17:39. | :17:48. | |
the new head land, and then you Madam Tussauds. The new tower will | :17:48. | :17:52. | |
open with brand new attractions inside. It is all good stuff. They | :17:52. | :17:56. | |
thought that will be enough to convince families to stay not just | :17:56. | :18:06. | |
for a weekend but to come for their main holiday. Welcome to | :18:06. | :18:15. | |
Blackpool's new dungeon. It is grim. As grim as recent tourist figures | :18:15. | :18:19. | |
for Blackpool. They have dropped over the last few years. You are | :18:20. | :18:27. | |
hoping that this will help to improve visitor numbers? Yes, we | :18:27. | :18:36. | |
are already up 22% on the numbers. It is all about family so, bringing | :18:36. | :18:40. | |
more families here. Hoping the stay longer and spend more. If there was | :18:40. | :18:46. | |
more to do, I would probably consider it. They gone are the | :18:46. | :18:49. | |
roadworks. Up goes the new Waterfront wedding chapel. Things | :18:49. | :18:59. | |
:18:59. | :19:01. | ||
are changing here. But for these hotelier's, change is a challenge. | :19:01. | :19:10. | |
We cannot compete with the travel lodges. We will have to try. | :19:10. | :19:15. | |
Tourist chiefs say investment is crucial. Back in the Tower, | :19:16. | :19:24. | |
renovation and restoration goes on. This year, it will be all going | :19:24. | :19:30. | |
Blackpool. Do you think this season might still be quite tough for you? | :19:30. | :19:39. | |
It is always tough. All was tough, black -- or was toff, but Blackpool | :19:39. | :19:44. | |
hopes Blackpool will be a true family destination. But can | :19:44. | :19:51. | |
families afford it? A family ticket for four or to the dungeon is �50. | :19:51. | :19:57. | |
I asked if people can afford it, they reckon that they can. And you | :19:57. | :20:03. | |
will be back? Yes! We wondered if you were going to | :20:03. | :20:11. | |
speak to them! Bags very much. 30 years ago, Liverpool named four | :20:11. | :20:13. | |
new streets after its four most famous sons. Lennon, McCartney, | :20:13. | :20:17. | |
Harrison, Starr. No mention though of the man who played with the Fab | :20:17. | :20:20. | |
Four more than 1,000 times and who left just before they hit the big | :20:20. | :20:26. | |
time. But that was put right today. The city announced that it's naming | :20:26. | :20:28. | |
a new street after the former Beatles drummer, Pete Best. And | :20:28. | :20:31. | |
it's honouring the part Pete's mum played in Liverpool's musical | :20:31. | :20:36. | |
history. Andy Gill reports. Pete Best and builder chums | :20:36. | :20:39. | |
recreate the Abbey Road pose for the cameras. A Beatles episode long | :20:39. | :20:47. | |
after Pete left. But he's delighted at seeing his name on a street sign. | :20:47. | :20:51. | |
Whatever my contribution has been to the music industry, it has been | :20:51. | :20:59. | |
realised. People will know I have had a street named after me. | :20:59. | :21:02. | |
Pete drummed with Beatles for two years in Liverpool, Hamburg and | :21:02. | :21:05. | |
elsewhere. He was sacked in August 1962. One fan has fought for more | :21:05. | :21:10. | |
than 30 years to get him recognition. He is a great | :21:10. | :21:20. | |
ambassador for Liverpool. I think he is deserving of this. | :21:20. | :21:23. | |
The new estate will also have a street called Casbah Close. Named | :21:23. | :21:26. | |
after the nearby basement club where the Beatles played some of | :21:26. | :21:30. | |
their first shows. It was Liverpool's first rock and roll | :21:30. | :21:35. | |
club. It was started in the basement of a home owned by Peter's | :21:35. | :21:39. | |
mum. The family say their mum, Mona, | :21:39. | :21:47. | |
would have been very proud. She did not know when she started the club | :21:47. | :21:54. | |
that it would be the catalyst of the Mersey beat a sound. | :21:54. | :21:57. | |
The new street is on the site of Everton's old training ground. Good | :21:57. | :22:03. | |
job Pete's a Blue. I used to watch them training through the fence. I | :22:03. | :22:08. | |
never thought my name would be up here. Andy Gill BBC North West | :22:08. | :22:16. | |
Tonight Liverpool. He seemed quite emotional. | :22:16. | :22:19. | |
Just one bit of sport now, and the shock decision of Celtic Crusaders | :22:19. | :22:22. | |
to withdraw from Rugby League's top division meant there were no | :22:22. | :22:24. | |
worries for any North West clubs over the renewal of their | :22:24. | :22:27. | |
Superleague licences. Salford Reds, who move into a new stadium next | :22:27. | :22:30. | |
year, are safe for the next two years. Widnes Vikings, whose | :22:30. | :22:33. | |
application was confirmed six weeks ago, will join them in the top | :22:33. | :22:43. | |
:22:43. | :22:44. | ||
flight. The sign is shining -- of the sun | :22:44. | :22:54. | |
:22:54. | :22:58. | ||
Yes, it is the best place to be in the United Kingdom and this week. | :22:58. | :23:05. | |
We have been sandwiched between two weather fronts. We have had | :23:05. | :23:09. | |
sunshine all afternoon. The western fringes have seen the best of that | :23:09. | :23:15. | |
sunshine so far today. Two weather fronts, we are in between. But they | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
will fizzle out as we go through tonight. Another fairly decent day | :23:19. | :23:23. | |
for us tomorrow. But this weather front is more determined as we go | :23:23. | :23:33. | |
:23:33. | :23:34. | ||
into the stiff. We will see a few splashes of rain. -- into Thursday. | :23:34. | :23:39. | |
Cloud will increase through the night, but mostly dry. Not | :23:39. | :23:42. | |
particularly called again. Temperatures the Billy similar to | :23:42. | :23:49. | |
last night -- not cold again, temperatures are fairly similar to | :23:49. | :23:56. | |
last night. The Isle of Man will see the best of the sunshine | :23:56. | :24:00. | |
tomorrow. For the afternoon, but cloud will be increasing for the | :24:00. | :24:09. | |
majority of us. Not as much sunshine as we have had today, but | :24:09. | :24:19. | |
:24:19. | :24:21. | ||
temperatures of 22 or 23 degrees. On Thursday, a little bit damp. The | :24:21. | :24:26. | |
showers will fizzle out as we go through the day. But this settled | :24:26. | :24:36. | |
:24:36. | :24:36. | ||
weather will return to was on Friday. Temperatures of 22 degrees. | :24:36. | :24:41. | |
It could be worse! Now is all publicity good | :24:41. | :24:45. | |
publicity? If you'd asked staff at one Lake District hotel earlier | :24:45. | :24:47. | |
this year, the answer would probably have been no. | :24:47. | :24:51. | |
The Damson Dene was dubbed the new Fawlty Towers after it starred in | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
Channel 4's fly-on-the-wall series The Hotel. But over two million | :24:54. | :24:57. | |
people watched the show, so was fame good or bad for business? | :24:57. | :25:07. | |
:25:07. | :25:09. | ||
Naomi Cornwall checked in to find out. | :25:09. | :25:16. | |
Upstairs and downstairs. 60 cameras recording 24 hours a day for six | :25:16. | :25:20. | |
weeks. There was no escape for the staff and guests at the Damson Dene | :25:20. | :25:22. | |
Hotel during last year's summer season. Not a very pleasant | :25:22. | :25:27. | |
season. Not a very pleasant experience. But I think it amused | :25:27. | :25:37. | |
:25:37. | :25:39. | ||
people. They took a risk, but it seems to have paid off. We have | :25:39. | :25:42. | |
seen searches for the hotel increase markedly. But over the | :25:42. | :25:45. | |
first few weeks of the series, that increase in interest did not | :25:45. | :25:47. | |
translate into the increase in bookings that they had been | :25:47. | :25:50. | |
expecting. When the first two episodes appeared, we thought we | :25:50. | :26:00. | |
:26:00. | :26:10. | ||
had made a bad mistake. We did not feel that they portrayed the hotel | :26:10. | :26:14. | |
in the correct light. But when they got into the programme and when | :26:14. | :26:17. | |
they saw how close and hard we work, it improved. Room bookings have now | :26:17. | :26:23. | |
tripled. Even more people are coming in just to meet the staff. | :26:23. | :26:28. | |
Does it feel strange to be recognised? It does, yes. We were | :26:28. | :26:32. | |
watching the series and I felt that coming in here, it was almost like | :26:32. | :26:35. | |
you knew them. Fame has brought some surprises. I have had quite a | :26:35. | :26:42. | |
few letters from people proposing. People know that I used to sing | :26:42. | :26:48. | |
years ago and they have asked me to make a CD. He is now in talks with | :26:48. | :26:58. | |
:26:58. | :27:02. | ||
TV producers about further projects. He is loving it. | :27:02. | :27:05. | |
Pink and yellow oyster mushrooms from Ormskirk are going on sale in | :27:05. | :27:14. | |
supermarkets across the country today. They've been farmed in | :27:14. | :27:17. | |
Lancashire for 20 years now and it's hoped they'll boost demand for | :27:17. | :27:25. | |
gourmet mushrooms. Are you a good cook? | :27:25. | :27:35. |