''Murder on the Blackpool Express'' is a 2017 comedy drama television film created by Jason Cook. Starring

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour. Ve ...

, Sian Gibson,

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress. An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film version of ''Othello'', with Laurence Olivier in the title role. Her other film a ...

Una Stubbs Una Stubbs (1 May 1937 – 12 August 2021) was a British actress, television personality, and dancer who appeared on British television, in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film '' Summer Holiday'' ...

(in her final role),

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

Nina Wadia Nina Wadia (born 18 December 1968) is a British actress. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Aunty Noor in '' Citizen Khan'', Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy ''Still Open All Hours'' and for starring i ...

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielb ...

Kimberley Nixon Kimberley Nixon (born 24 September 1985) is a Welsh actress. Nixon is known for her role as Sophy Hutton in the BBC One period drama '' Cranford'', and appearances in various films such as '' Wild Child'' and '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snoggi ...

and

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV ...

. Broadcast in 2017, it became Gold's highest-rated show at the time, later rebroadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

Synopsis

Old-age pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

s 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. The title is a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of ''

Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...

''.

Cast

as Terry * Sian Gibson as Gemma Draper *

as Peggy *

as Mildred *

as Laura Bishop *

as Moira Colliston *

as Doc *

as Kevin *

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is a British actor and comedian. Television credits include '' Ghost Train'' (1991), '' Smith & Jones'' (1997–1998), '' Brass Eye'' (1997–2001), '' Kiss Me Kate'' (1998), '' The Zig and Zag Show'' (1998), '' Ho ...

as Graham *

Katy Cavanagh Kathryn Sarah Collins Jupe (born 12 December 1973), known professionally as Katy Cavanagh, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Julie Carp in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2008–2015, 2025). She also had ...

as Grace *

Matthew Cottle Matthew Cottle (born 16 February 1967) is an English film, stage, radio and television actor. Early life Cottle was born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1990 with an Acting ...

as George *

Javone Prince Javone Prince is a British comedian and actor. He has appeared in many British comedy television shows, such as ''Horrible Histories'', ''Sorry, I've Got No Head'' and ''Little Miss Jocelyn.'' He also Featured in The Dumping Ground as the charac ...

as Ben *

as David *

Susie Blake Susie Blake (born 19 April 1950) is an English television, radio and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the snobbish TV announcer in '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' and of Bev Unwin in ''Coronation Street'', a role she p ...

as Marge Grimshaw * Jason Cook as Arcade Attendant * Layla Cook as Young Laura Bishop * Catherine Harvey as Mary * Steve Brody as Barry * Peter Singh as PC Collins * Chris Anderson as Medic 1 * Chris Ramsey as Medic 2

Production

Locations include "Bartleby Cathedral" (

Ascot Priory Ascot Priory is a former priory in Berkshire, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of island ...

), a stately home "Clesperley Manor" ( Stoke Court), a scenic country park with a cliff: Castle Rock, Nether Alderley,

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, England, north-west of Macclesfield and south of Manchester. It lies at the base of a wooded sandstone escarpment, ''The Edge'', overlooking the Cheshire Plai ...

, United Kingdom and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

: tower, ballroom, seafront.

Episode Guide

Sequels and spin-offs

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 Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

’s ''

Dial M for Murder ''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was ...

'') the following year. In May 2021, ''Murder They Hope'' (this time parodying the series ''

Murder She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The s ...

''), a three-part follow-up series, aired on Gold as well.

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian and actor, famed for his quick wit. Mack’s better known work includes creating, writing and starring in sitcom ''Not Going Out'', and featuring ...

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. A 2023 Christmas Special ''Blood Actually'' guest starred

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...

and

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show' ...

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2018 2017 television films 2017 comedy-drama films 2010s serial killer films British serial killer films British comedy-drama television films 2010s English-language films Films about vacationing 2017 films English-language comedy-drama films English-language crime films