VOTE: Filmmakers have to rely on special effects to make the north 'grim' (From This Is Lancashire)

VOTE: Filmmakers have to rely on special effects to make the north 'grim'

7:50am Wednesday 25th November 2009 in

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Producers from a BBC television programme arrived in Bolton on a sunny day expecting to see a grim town - but they had to use a range of props for the desired effect.

The makers of Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain II filmed in Back Mornington Road East, Heaton, for a programme about life in the 1930s.

They said they were only trying to show how the streets would have looked more than 70 years ago, when Bolton’s slums were riddled with poverty and mass unemployment was rife.

Bolton features on tonight’s episode of the popular documentary series charting the history of modern Britain. But only the most eagle-eyed of viewers will be able to tell the cobbled street is in Bolton as the town is not referred to in the programme.

The makers wanted to depict life in a pre-war terraced street — but had to use props to make the setting appear more grimy because they filmed in June, on a glorious sunny day.

Francis Whately, the director and producer of the programme, said: “The back-to-backs in Bolton were particularly appropriate for what we were doing.

“We were doing a story about a book called Love on the Dole. Bolton had back streets which visualised the story perfectly. “Our art director put up 1930s-style washing and we had someone put water down the street.”

The series explores British History from 1900 to 1945, following the success of the BAFTA award-winning first series which took viewers from the Second World War to 2007. Tonight’s programme, called Little Britain, tells the story of how people in Britain reacted to the rise of totalitarianism in other European countries.

Most people wanted to ignore the difficulties abroad and carry on as usual at home.

Butlins will also feature on the programme, as the first of its iconic holiday parks opened in the 1936.

Mr Marr’s visit to the town comes just weeks after fellow BBC heavyweight David Dimbleby filmed a programme in Bolton all about the 1930s Mass Observation project.

* Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain is on BBC 2 at 9pm today, and will be repeated on BBC 2 at 7pm on Friday.