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Debbie Leigh: Passionate about Kay's new drama
WE'RE all entitled to a grumble about where we live once in a while.
But that was last week, this week I'm practically bursting with pride at being able to call Leeds my home.
That's because I was one of the privileged few to be invited to the premiere of Kay Mellor's new drama A Passionate Woman, starring none other than Belle du Jour Billie Piper, on the big screen at Hyde Park Picture House.
And it was an evening full of fantastic surprises.
First I'd forgotten how adorable the cinema itself is – at almost 100 years old and the self-proclaimed "cosiest in Leeds".
Then there were the supercute retro outfits of the ushers on duty that night, holding old-fashioned trays out in front of the screen, although I was slightly disappointment they contained canaps rather than ice-creams – still, you can't have everything.
Then there was the film itself.
It's a two-parter, and it was only the first part that was screened – focusing on a Leeds mother's affair in the 50s.
The second 90-minute episode is set in the 80s and looks at the consequences of the fling 30 years on. And both will be on the BBC in April.
It's been filmed in and around Leeds so it's great for spotting locations you recognise, like the steps of Leeds Town Hall, Chapel Allerton and Roundhay Park – although all given a 50s makeover – not forgetting the numerous appearances of the picture house itself – ridiculously exciting when you're sitting inside that very venue and simultaneously watching it on the cinema screen.
Hooked
I won't spoil the story but it reels you in from the opening scene and keeps you well and truly hooked for the full 90 minutes.
I was understandably unsure about the idea of Billie playing a northerner but she's is utterly, heart-breakingly believable as Betty.
And as for her lover, played by newbie actor Theo James, I can only praise the lord and every other deity that I was one of the few who got to see this perfection personified magnified on the big screen.
Ladies, prepare to fall in love.
But the star that outshone everyone – even the Adonis-like Theo – is Leeds's own Kay Mellor, for writing such an incredible, touching, gripping film based on her own mother's confessions.
We should all thank our lucky stars she's decided to stay up here, writing about and revealing the greatness of God's Own Country to the rest of the UK.
I've only got one gripe about this whole thing….I don't think I can stand waiting until April to find out what happens next…
Rufus source of amusement
I THINK it's brilliant how Sport Relief has really captured the public's imagination this year.
It's such a refreshing change from tired old Comic Relief and yawnathon Children in Need.
The celebs have just done truly amazing things – Eddie Izzard and his unbelievable 43 marathons in 51 days, the lovely Christine Bleakley and her cross-Channel water ski and tiny blonde Helen Skelton's awe-inspiring 2,010-mile kayak down the Amazon.
I guess it all comes down to David Walliams for setting the bar ridiculously high with his Cross-Channel swim four years ago.
Still, while the stars he inspired have all undergone gruelling training regimes and generally put themselves through hell in the name of charity, I must admit I have almost as much respect for the famous faces who have taken part in Let's Dance for Sport Relief.
It was hard to imagine anyone could come close to stealing Robert Webb's crown after his jaw-dropping Flashdance routine last year but 2010 champ Rufus Hound's parody of Cheryl Cole's Fight For This Love was pure genius.
I found myself actually crying with laughter – and I mean at the dance, not the lyrics.
But even funnier, when I tried to describe to a friend who it was that had "done" Cheryl in the contest I could only remember Rufus' first name, not his second.
Someone very close to me, who I'm rather honorably refusing to name and shame, helpfully piped up "Rufus Wainwright" – as in the Canadian-American singer-songwriter with a rich folksy musical pedigree and cult following.
Imagining him dressed in Chez's cheeky military outfit, pumping out the dance moves, now that would be worth paying to see.
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Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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