| Director: | Simon Delaney |
| Starring: | Johnny Vegas Sian Gibson Sheila Reid Una Stubbs Katy Cavanagh Nina Wadia Kimberley Nixon Nigel Havers Griff Rhys Jones Susie Blake Kevin Eldon |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Jim Poyser |
| Runtime: | 91 minutes |
Murder on the Blackpool Express is a 2017 comedy drama television film created by Jason Cook. Starring Johnny Vegas, Sian Gibson, Sheila Reid, Una Stubbs (in her final role), Griff Rhys Jones, Nina Wadia, Nigel Havers, Kimberley Nixon and Kevin Eldon.[1] [2] [3]
Broadcast in 2017, it became Gold's highest-rated show at the time, later rebroadcast on BBC Two.[4]
Old-age pensioners and mystery novel fans are on a budget bus tour to visit all the murder locations in a novel series, led by the books' author. Members of the tour start turning up dead and the police initially discount the deaths as accidents, leaving the tour guests to fend for themselves.[5] [6] The title is a parody of Murder on the Orient Express.[7]
Locations include "Bartleby Cathedral" (Ascot Priory), a stately home "Clesperley Manor" (Stoke Court),[8] a scenic country park with a cliff: Castle Rock,[9] Nether Alderley, Alderley Edge, United Kingdom and Blackpool: tower, ballroom, seafront.
In December 2018, a sequel, Death on the Tyne (a spoof of another Hercule Poirot story by Agatha Christie, 'Death on the Nile'), aired on Gold, followed by a third film titled Dial M for Middlesbrough (a play on Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder) the following year.
In May 2021, Murder They Hope (this time parodying the series Murder She Wrote), a three-part follow-up series, aired on Gold as well.[10] Lee Mack appeared in the last episode as the character Willy Watkins.
Its success prompted the airing of a second series, Murder They Hope Too with Mack reprising his role as Watkins.[11]
A 2023 Christmas Special Blood Actually guest starred Martin Kemp, Peter Davison and Robert Webb.[12]