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Blackpool was a town on the coast of Lancashire, England, which looked out over the Irish Sea. It was a seaside resort famous for the Blackpool Tower.
Blackpool was the home town of two of the Doctor's companions: Lucie Miller and Clara Oswald.
Attractions
Blackpool was a seaside resort which benefitted from a range of attractions, most prominent of which was the Blackpool Tower: an observation tower complete with a ballroom and a circus. (AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair, PROSE: All the Empty Towers) Other attractions included Blackpool Pleasure Beach - a local amusement park, (AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair) Blackpool beach (COMIC: Seaside Rendezvous, TV: The Rings of Akhaten) and the Golden Mile. (PROSE: All the Empty Towers) The town also had its own football team, which competed in tournaments including the FA Cup, (TV: Out of Time) and its own rugby team. (PROSE: Harvest of Time)
Fish and chips were commonly served in Blackpool. (AUDIO: The Skull of Sobek) Local attractions sold toffee apples and candy floss. (PROSE: The Nightmare Fair, AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair) Merchandise was also available, including "Kiss me quick" hats. (PROSE: All the Empty Towers)
Geography
Blackpool was located on the coast of Lancashire, (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Robot of Sherwood) beside the Irish Sea. (COMIC: Seaside Rendezvous) Nearby cities included Preston to the east. There was a motorway from Preston which terminated at Blackpool. (TV: The Categories of Life)
The town's hospital was Blackpool General. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool) Waterloo Road and the Palatine were located there. (AUDIO: The Revolution Game)
History
20th century
At some point in the latter half of the 20th century, the Third Doctor magnetised Blackpool Tower to stop a swarm of metal-eating insects. (COMIC: The Metal-Eaters)
1930s
In the summer of 1936, Tom Wake met his future wife Alice in Blackpool. (PROSE: The Hopes and Fears of All the Years)
1960s
In the late 1960s, Mary Wake and her husband, an Indian lawyer, moved to Blackpool. (PROSE: The Hopes and Fears of All the Years)
1980s
In 1981, Ellie Ravenwood saved Dave Oswald from being hit by a car in the town after a leaf blew into his face. They later married and had a daughter, Clara Oswald, (TV: The Rings of Akhaten) who was born on 23 November 1986. (TV: Death in Heaven)
The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown visited Blackpool in 1985 where they encountered the Mandarin. (PROSE: The Nightmare Fair, AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair)
In the mid-80s, Iris Wildthyme was lured to Blackpool by the Cosmic Puppet Master, who tried to kill her with real Space Invaders brought to life from an arcade game. (PROSE: From Wildthyme with Love)
Lucie Miller, companion of the Eighth Doctor, was born in Blackpool on 31 July 1988. (AUDIO: Brave New Town)
1990s
In 1991, the Seventh Doctor and Ace encountered an Ogri on Blackpool beach. (COMIC: Seaside Rendezvous)
As a child, Clara Oswald got lost on Blackpool beach on a bank holiday and was terrified until her mother found her and helped her to conquer her fear of getting lost. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)
The Eleventh Doctor unknowingly talked to a young Clara at a Blackpool park, while searching for her. (WC: The Bells of Saint John: A Prequel)
21st century
Ellie Oswald died in Blackpool on 5 March 2005. The Eleventh Doctor watched from a distance as Clara and Dave mourned at her graveside. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)
After a series of adventures with the Eighth Doctor, Lucie Miller asked him to return her to Blackpool for Christmas. However the Doctor accidentally arrived a year early, in 2008. While spending her Christmas in Blackpool, she discovered that her Auntie Pat was a Zygon. Learning that the Doctor had deceived her after Pat's death in the Lake District, Lucie declined the Doctor's offer to continue her travels with him. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool)
In 2009, calls to the emergency services from Blackpool suggested that children were frozen. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three)
In Summer 2009, (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool) after being returned home to Blackpool, Lucie received a late night visit from an old foe. The Headhunter raised an alien gun and threatened to kill her. When Lucie protested, she was shot. (AUDIO: The Vengeance of Morbius) The Headhunter later revealed that she had used quantum-tipped time bullets to shoot Lucie and then un-shoot her. (AUDIO: Orbis)
In the 2010s, residents of council flats on the South Bank of the River Thames were temporarily moved to Blackpool due to an unexplained gas leak. (PROSE: Dismemberment)
By 2089, climate change had caused Blackpool to be overtaken by jungle and abandoned. The animals from the circus ran loose and Blackpool Pleasure Beach could be rented out for hunting. The Twelfth Doctor and Clara arrived there by accident and were nearly killed by Triss's hunting party. The Doctor indicated to Clara this future was not fixed. (PROSE: All the Empty Towers)
References
The Fourth Doctor recalled a previous visit to the town when Leela told him that the Trogs ate processed rock. (TV: Underworld) The Sixth Doctor attempted to return to Blackpool with Evelyn Smythe after she suggested he needed a holiday; a suggestion which the Doctor reluctantly accepted. The TARDIS instead materialised in Brighton. (AUDIO: Pier Pressure) The Eighth Doctor once ushered Charlotte Pollard and C'rizz back into his TARDIS with an offer to take them to Blackpool, after bursting into a room full of Daleks. (AUDIO: Terror Firma) The Tenth Doctor once attempted to take Donna Noble to Blackpool but they instead arrived in the French Riviera in the 1780s. (AUDIO: Death and the Queen)
Returning to consciousness after being starved of oxygen aboard Space Station Nerva, Harry Sullivan commented that he felt that "Convalescent", then grinned "All I need now is a couple of weeks in Blackpool". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Ark in Space)
The Sixth Doctor once commented that a replica of the town was being built on the rim of the Crab Nebula. (PROSE: The Nightmare Fair; AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair)
Lucie Miller told the Eighth Doctor that she didn't mind the cold, dark atmosphere of Red Rocket Rising as she was used to going clubbing in Blackpool on a November Saturday night. (AUDIO: Blood of the Daleks) When Zeus suggested that the Eighth Doctor was a knowledgable man, Lucie replied "Pheugh! You try getting him to take you to Blackpool". The Doctor later agreed with her stating "You know me - I can't even find Blackpool in a TARDIS". (AUDIO: Immortal Beloved) Hearing that Sash had taken on the mantle of "Glaswegian Kiss" at the Retro Roller Derby, Lucie suggested that her skating name could be "Blackpool Rock". (AUDIO: The Revolution Game) Later, while travelling with the Monk, Lucie threatened to break a sculpture by Michelangelo if he did not return her to Blackpool. He abandoned her on Deimos instead. (AUDIO: The Resurrection of Mars) The Monk would let slip to the Third Doctor that his companions included "brassy birds from Blackpool". (AUDIO: The Rise of the New Humans)
The Timey-Wimey Detector was made up of items including a Blackpool postcard. (TV: Blink)
Blackpool appeared on Mary Cooper's map of overflow camps in and around Wales. (TV: The Categories of Life)
When questioned by the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1190, Clara Oswald implied that she gained her feistiness from the town, telling him that "you can take the girl out of Blackpool...". (TV: Robot of Sherwood) Both the Eleventh Doctor and the War Doctor recognised her voice by her Blackpool accent - an accent which the Moment had thus far never carried. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) Danny Pink later thought Clara had lied to him about being from Blackpool upon finding out about her other life with the Doctor, instead believing her to be a "space woman". Clara replied that she was telling the truth about being from the town. (TV: The Caretaker) The Twelfth Doctor commented that in Blackpool, nobody ever wore a coat. (PROSE: All the Empty Towers)
When River Song suggested that Elvis have "one last hurrah" before deactivating himself, she thought he might choose "Graceland", "Las Vegas", "Hawaii" or "maybe even the bright lights of Blackpool". (PROSE: Suspicious Minds)
Hex was fond of Blackpool. (AUDIO: Shadow Planet, World Apart)
Individuals from Blackpool
Blackpool was the home town of two of the Doctor's companions: Lucie Miller (AUDIO: Brave New Town) and Clara Oswald. (TV: Robot of Sherwood) The family of Lucie Miller lived in the town in at least the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including her mother - Mary Miller - and her father. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool) The family of Clara Oswald also lived in the town in at least the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including her mother - Ellie Oswald, her father - Dave Oswald, and her gran. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten, The Caretaker, The Time of the Doctor)
Other individuals who have lived in the town include Mary Wake, (PROSE: The Hopes and Fears of All the Years) Meghan (PROSE: All the Empty Towers) and Bonnie. (PROSE: Exodus Code)
Other realities
The Daft Dimension
Blackpool of the Daft Dimension was the hometown of that reality's Clara Oswald. The Twelfth Doctor and Clara visited Blackpool in 1894, the same year the Blackpool Tower was opened. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 487)
A Dalek family were holidaying at Blackpool beach. After clearing away all the human visitors, they attempted to enjoy their day, but a Macra family showed up to take their spot. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 542)
The Spy Master drove a group of the Doctor's enemies to Blackpool in the hope that they could spend time getting to know each other so as to combine forces. He quickly realised on the coach that it was not a good idea for a bonding session, as the monsters made for some irritating passengers. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 567)
A trio of Daleks overheated on Blackpool beach, while two sunbathers used Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17 as a windbreak, and three Weeping Angels were unable to tell if a group of beachgoers were blinking behind their sunglasses. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 580)
Behind the scenes
Cancelled filming
The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown were to visit Blackpool on screen in a script written for the 1986 season of Doctor Who called The Nightmare Fair. However, the series was placed on hiatus and a dialogue reference to Blackpool intended to close Revelation of the Daleks was replaced by a freeze frame. The intended story was later novelised and adapted as a Big Finish audio play.
Exhibitions
Blackpool was once the location of a Doctor Who Exhibition which featured a range of costumes and props from the classic series.[1] The Exhibition was located at 111 Central Promenade Blackpool,[source needed] and was first opened by Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen[1] on 14th April 1974. From the outside, the huge crowds that gathered that day, could see only a blue police telephone box, next to a building, but once the doors were opened they found themselves, descending a flight of stairs into a basement exhibition full of the most exciting monsters, aliens, props, costumes and models from the series.[source needed] As a publicity stunt, ten giant spiders stopped traffic on Blackpool Promenade.[1]
These originally included a Draconian, Silurian, Axon, Yeti, Cyberman,[source needed] Alpha Centauri,[1] Aggedor[source needed] and several Eight Legs from TV: Planet of the Spiders. They also featured the Daleks[1] and later with their creator Davros. In time K9, the Ice Warriors,[source needed] Sontarans, Sea Devils, [1] Morbius, the Keeler-Krynoid were added.[source needed] The exhibition also included Garm from the stage play Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday.[1]
Visitors walked around a winding corridor with exhibits to either side, most that were changed annually. Eventually, they would arrive in the TARDIS console room, where pictures of the Doctors looked down on a console that had working switches with flashing lights, a feature that also surrounded the main Dalek exhibits, which moved on a track as they yelled out words of extermination. The exhibition was left via a gift shop and a café.[source needed]
Tom Baker, Elizabeth Sladen and Ian Marter met the Blackpool Gazette's prize winning Junior Reporters in 1975.[1]
The Doctor Who Exhibition closed after the 1985 season,[1] and was torn down in 1986.[source needed]
The Doctor Who Exhibition was reinvented and reopened in 2004 for a further five years. On the opening day, a Dalek was pictured on Blackpool promenade. As the new series evolved on TV, exhibits included the Steward, a Surgeon and Hop Pyleen from Platform One, a Bronze Dalek, and a member of the Brethren.[1] The exhibition was owned by David Boyle between 2004 and 2009.[2] It was finally abandoned when the BBC decided it wanted it's costumes back - but had made its mark as one of Blackpool's most memorable attractions.[1]
In 2018, Madame Tussauds in Blackpool displayed a waxwork of the Thirteenth Doctor, complete with the actual TARDIS used in Series 11.
Fan groups
The first Doctor Who fan group was formed in Blackpool in early 1986. The first meeting was held at the Central Library, Queen Street Blackpool FY 1PX, with 50 people in attendance, to watch Jon Pertwee in TV: The Dæmons. The Blackpool Gazette, further interviewed the group's founder Andrew Ross Hay, about a story writing contest and the group's efforts to raise money for Sports Aid.[source needed]
The meetings eventually moved to the Butlins Metropole Hotel, Princess Parade, Promenade, Blackpool FY1 1RQ, where they became, "The Good Companions Society", a group specialising in showing Doctor Who videos, including fan films worldwide.[source needed]
Other information
- In an online video in which Bradley Walsh talks about his character, Graham O'Brien, Brad states that Graham has lived a life on the move; he moved from London to Blackpool, then back to London, moved to Sheffield then back to London and then returned to Sheffield where he became a bus driver.
- Actors Jenna Coleman and Nicola Sian were born in Blackpool.
- Skegpool, a portmanteau of both Skegness and Blackpool, is a reoccurring location in various works by Lew Stringer.
Location information
Though it's possible that a real world location doesn't exist in the same geographic space in the Doctor Who universe, such cases are few and far between. Thus, the map to the right is probably a good indicator of the DWU location of Blackpool.
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/23-retro-scenes-of-blackpools-dr-who-exhibition-before-the-cult-sci-fi-attraction-was-abandoned-and-forced-to-close-3972189
- ↑ https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/tardis-send-man-who-ran-blackpools-doctor-who-exhibition-938145