BACUP's Co-op store became Hammonds for the day as the BBC2 comedy The League of Gentlemen was filmed in the town.

Producer Jemma Rodgers revealed she had been planning to use Bacup as the fictional town of Royston Vasey, but Hadfield near Glossop in Derbyshire was eventually selected.

But she said: "When we needed a supermarket location for filming I took the chance to come back to Bacup and use the Co-op store."

The League of Gentlemen are Mark Gattiss, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson. They all write the series of sketches and all but Jeremy appear in the comedy.

Jemma said: "They met at college and have been performing their humour at fringe festivals for about five or six years.

"They also did a series on Radio Four which won an award and the first TV series, which was shown in January and will be repeated starting on November 12, won the prestigious Golden Rose of Montreux Award.

"They take everyday situations and bring out the natural comedy. In the first series, The League created more than 60 characters. In the second series, the three actors take on the roles of 80 different people."

Jeremy said: "The first series exceeded all our hopes, both in its reception and the success with which the production team brought our vision to the screen.

"It's very exciting being on the edge of making series two because now we're introducing some completely new characters as well as visiting parts of Royston Vasey we've never seen before."

The Bacup scenes will be used in episodes five and six and the second series begins on January 14.

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