''Drop Dead Gorgeous'' is a British

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

for

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

. Set in

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

, it tells the story of 15-year-old Ashley Webb (played by

Sinéad Moynihan Sinéad Bernadette Moynihan (born March 1982 in Salford, Greater Manchester) is an English model and actress, best known for her roles as Ashley Webb in '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'', Beth Clement in ''Hollyoaks'', and Abby Jones in ''How Not to Live Y ...

), whose life is turned upside-down when she is approached by a spotter from a local modelling agency. Events move at lightning speed and the whole family, including Ashley's non-identical twin sister Jade (played by

Linzey Cocker Linzey is the family name of *Andrew Linzey Andrew Linzey (born 2 February 1952) is an English Anglican priest, theologian, and prominent figure in Christian vegetarianism. He is a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, an ...

), are affected. The first episode was shown on

on Sunday, 11 June 2006 at 10pm, with weekly episodes until the finale, which aired on 2 July 2006. The first series was shown for the first time on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

in August 2007, in the run up to the premiere of the second series on BBC Three. The second series began on 16 September 2007 at 9pm, again with weekly episodes until the finale on 22 October 2007.

Cast

*Pauline Webb played by

Kathryn Hunt Kathryn Hunt is a British actress best known for her roles as Angela Harris in ''Coronation Street'' and Val Lorrimer in Series 1–2 of ''Fat Friends''. She also appeared in '' Waterloo Road'' and ''The Royal''. Kathryn also starred in the B ...

*Terry Webb played by

Connor McIntyre Connor McIntyre (born 30 November 1960) is an English actor, best known for playing Pat Phelan in the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'' from 2013 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2018, but has also had large roles in TV shows such as ''Al ...

*Ashley Webb played by

*Jade Webb played by

*Mikey Webb played by Lee Worswick *Val Duggan played by

Elizabeth Berrington Elizabeth Berrington (born 3 August 1970) is an English actress and graduate of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art; she is best known for her roles as Ruby Fry in '' Waterloo Road'', Paula Kosh in '' Stella'', Mel Debrou in ''Moving Wall ...

*Ben McIntyre played by

Andrew Knott Andrew Knott (born 22 November 1979) is a British actor. He played Dirtbox in ''Gavin & Stacey'', and Dickon Sowerby in the 1993 film ''The Secret Garden''. Life and career Knott was born in Salford. His first acting was done in British televis ...

*Murray Priestman played by

Lee Boardman Lee Boardman (born 2 July 1972) is an English actor and narrator. He has appeared in the films ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' and ''Love's Kitchen'', and the television series ''Rome''. Career Boardman played Murray Priestman in '' Drop Dead Gorge ...

*Tiggsy Willis played by Dominic Carter

Score

The music was especially commissioned and composed by

Tristin Norwell Tristin Norwell is a British music composer, producer, mixer, arranger, and musician. He recorded & mixed the Mercury Prize winning Talvin Singh, album ''O.K.,'' and has worked with Neneh Cherry, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Madonna, Embrace, Tricky and ...

& Nick Green.

Locations

Although the series itself is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, the school used is

Philips High School , established = ''Stand GS'': 1688''Stand GSG'': 1937''As Philips HS'': 1979 , type = Community school , head_label = Headteacher , head = T. OwenBEd(Hons) NPQH , chair_label = Chairma ...

in Whitefield, which is situated about 20–30 miles away from Runcorn, and is a pleasant, leafy suburb of northwest Manchester near the market town of

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. In the first series, some scenes set in London were actually recorded in Manchester. In one scene, the famous London Eye big wheel, had been digitally added using CGI methods, and was seen behind Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, the home of Manchester's Hallé Orchestra. Some of the second series was filmed at

The Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

, Salford Quays and M2 Nightclub in Manchester. Most of the interiors were shot at The Pie Factory sound stage complex, also on Salford Quays.

Episodes

Series 1 (2006)

Series 2 (2007)

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0493383, Drop Dead Gorgeous BBC television dramas 2000s British drama television series 2006 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings Television shows set in Manchester