Stars of the silver screen brought some showbiz glamour to Dewsbury when they shot scenes for a new movie in the town.
Now locals involved with the filming will be able to see the results for themselves when the film hits the big screen next month.
Funny Cow stars Maxine Peake and charts the rise of a woman battling her way through the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy in the 1970s and 1980s.
The film is set against the backdrop of working men’s clubs and the stand-up comedy circuit of the North of England.
Maxine stars as Funny Cow, a comedienne taking on the men at their own game and on their home ground.
Some scenes were filmed at Westborough Ratepayers Working Men’s Club in Dewsbury.
The club was sent back in time for filming with props including an old till, furnishings and even boxes of Golden Wonder crisps brought in to give the premises an authentic 1970s look.
Bar manager Malcolm Scott said that a location scout approached the club about being used for the film and he has already seen a glimpse of it in the official movie trailer.
He said: “It was very interesting to be a part of. There was a circle of lights outside the club with cables running everywhere.
“They took my pumps off the bar and replaced them with old ones and brought a very old-fashioned till.
“Maxine Peake came in and was in the background and the actor who played the comedian was on stage.
“I never left the premises while they were filming and they asked before doing everything, even putting a nail in the wall.
“I enjoyed it as it was something different and I’ll definitely be watching for it when the film comes out.”
The film sees Peake’s character compete with a singer, a ventriloquist and an Elvis impersonator and his dog.
Richard Hawley is the singer, Vic Reeves plays the ventriloquist and Liverpudlian comic John Bishop is Elvis-mad Colin Pile.
Other stars include Paddy Considine, Stephen Graham, former Emmerdale actor Tony Pitts – who also wrote the script – and Kevin Eldon as the agent.
The film is directed by BAFTA nominated filmmaker Adrian Shergold.
The cast and crew spent weeks filming scenes in the town, including Dewsbury Moor Crematorium for a funeral scene, as well as locations in Harrogate and Leeds.
Producer Kevin Proctor said he’d never worked on a film where all the cast and crew had been so happy.
He said: “It’s been one of the kindest shoots I’ve ever worked on. Yorkshire has really embraced us and we want to represent working men’s clubs faithfully.”
The film is out in cinemas on April 20.
