Bolton School lands itself a new TV role-this time for a new coffee chain commercial
Cool beans!
Bolton School has another starring role on TV - this time in the new Costa Coffee advert.
The beautiful facade of the building and the interior of the historic school is used to depict a university in the commercial for the popular coffee chain.
It is the latest role for the Chorley New Road school, which has been a go to location for production teams in recent years, and featured on some of the biggest TV dramas.
In the new advertisement entitled 'Made with Heart", filming takes place outside and inside of the school, one of the best in the country.
The minute long video follows the journey of a young girl, who is beginning life at university and finds solace and friendship in a Costa Coffee shop.
A spokesperson for Bolton School said: 'We know that filming in iconic Bolton locations is great for the town in terms of civic pride and the local economy and we are pleased that the beautiful buildings at our school, both old and new, are attractive to a wide range of film makers.
(Image: Bolton School) Filming at Bolton School
READ MORE:
'So many alumni have noticed their school on the advert - it is great to see their comments.'
This is not the first time the school has hit the silver screen. Bolton School is a popular filming location in Bolton, frequently used as a backdrop for various television dramas and films.
The money earned from filming is used to support the school's bursary scheme, enabling bright students from all backgrounds to attend.
Currently one in five students are on the bursary fund scheme but the school would like this to be one in three.
In recent years, the school has provided the backdrop for Netflix's hit TV series, Fool Me Once, BBC's teenage detective drama, Get Even and BBC one drama starring Michelle Keegan, Our Girl.
Elsewhere in Bolton, Le Mans Crescent is famous for Peaky Blinders, Alma's Not Normal, It's A Sin, Ridley and Nolly, which featured Hollywood star Helena Bonham Carter.
And Bolton Town Hall became a winter backdrop for A Gentleman in Moscow with A-lister Ewan McGregor coming to town.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Vibes Nation
6 hours ago
- Geek Vibes Nation
'Doctor Who' Season 2 Finale Review - A Hollowly Nostalgic Trainwreck
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf Well, that sure was a mess of a finale. After eight weeks, the Doctor and Belinda's journey back to May 24, 2025 ends in more of a whimper than a bang. Written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai, 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' form a two-part finale that promises answers to lingering questions from across the Fifteenth Doctor's era and satisfying conclusions to a string of character arcs. But instead, it's a two-hour trainwreck from start to finish; an unsatisfying combination of strong premises, hollow nostalgia, and desperate ratings grabs that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and gives Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor the worst send-off of any modern Doctor so far. Note: major spoilers for 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' follow. A Wish Gone Wrong After the explosive end of 'The Interstellar Song Contest', the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) wake up in their idyllic suburban home, their young daughter, Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps) calling to them. But this isn't the Earth Belinda's been trying to return to. No, this is a world wished up by Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King); a nuclear family-inspired callback to the heteronormative suburbs of yesteryear. It's a world devoid of identity and self-expression. Except the Doctor's doubt may literally crack the universe in two. Meanwhile, the Rani (Archi Panjabi) and Mrs. Flood hope to utilize all this doubt to free the First Time Lord, Omega, from his prison so they can create a new Gallifrey. Can the Doctor remember who he is and put a stop to the Unholy Trinity's evil plans? Or is this the end of everything the Doctor and his friends have ever known? 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' offer a mixed bag of missed opportunities and hollow nostalgia. On the one hand, most of 'Wish World' serves as a timely satire of dystopian societies that idolize a heteronormative past that never existed, complete with a knowing wink at the fragilities of such fantasies. On the other hand, you've got an endless list of self-indulgent callbacks to Doctor Who 's past that form the rest of the finale. It's nostalgic nonsense that feels empty and devoid of any meaning. And the finale throws all of that goodwill generated by the first half of 'Wish World' out the window in favor of hollow fan service that goes nowhere, says nothing, and does little. Based on this finale, Doctor Who feels like a show trapped in its own shadow, terrified to truly try something new—despite 62 years spent proving the value of constantly innovating. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf A Mixed Bag of Character Beats The finale's character beats make for a similarly mixed bag. The Doctor's continued longing for a family takes center stage, a wish that's finally granted to him with Belinda and Poppy in 'Wish World'. But that joy gets cruelly taken away as the Doctor realizes his paradise is fake. Still, his endless longing leads him to quite literally give up his life in the sheer hopes of saving Poppy (who ends up being Belinda's child in the real world); a true act of heroism in this mess of a story. Otherwise, it's Millie Gibson's Ruby who shines the brighest, as she's the only person who seems to remember the world before Conrad's wish took over. And it's Ruby who defeats Conrad and remembers Poppy after she disappears from reality following that defeat In a way, she's more crucial to the story than either Doctor or Belinda. Which brings us to the biggest flawed character beat: Belinda Chandra feels like a former shell of herself. Gone is the Belinda who faced off against cartoon gods and unknowable horrors. Instead, she largely fades into the background as she hides away in a crate with Poppy and allows the Doctor to, later, go off on his own to save Poppy after the wish's end erases her from existence. A disapponting turn of events for a character so strongly introduced eight weeks ago. It's not that Belinda being a mother is a bad thing. It's that she's never once mentioned it in all of her time with the Doctor, despite the episode's final minutes suggesting she'd done just that in scenes never previously shown. Instead of the season using Belinda's daughter as a driving motivation, her existence feels tacked on in a way that ignores everything the show's previously told us. Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf An Exercise in Hollow Nostalgia The root of these problems is Doctor Who 's current obsession with hollow nostalgia. Like several other legacy franchises, Doctor Who seems to think the mere existence of legacy characters offers a strong enough draw to entice fans into overlooking any narrative deficiencies. At least, that's certainly how this finale feels because there's just not a story here. You've got legacy Doctor Who villain, the Rani, trying to find legacy Doctor Who villain, Omega, so they can bring back legacy Doctor Who location, Gallifrey. But there's no drama and no emotional connection. In fact, the Rani and Omega don't even feel like themselves. Gatwa, Panjabi, and Dobson can try as hard as they like to sell their characters' pasts—and they do try—but there's just nothing there. So, what's the point? 'Freaky Tales' Review - A Lot Happening, But Leaves Us Wanting More Without a cohesive narrative or a group of characters to emotionally invest in, what's left to care about? A Wikipedia-style list of plot points and callbacks to past stories that were both more inventive and more enjoyable? No amount of mustache-twirling, scenery-chewing energy from Panjabi and Dobson can make up for the narrative's fundamental disinterest in exploring anything about their characters as fully rounded people. Their existence is just fan service in chase of a story rather than an exciting, innovative story delighting in playing with fan-favorite characters from the past. Say what you will about Davies' finales from his first tenure as showrunner but at least he knew then that if the character drama works, then the audience will forgive a wonky plot. But here, he chases solely after plot twists and cameos and winks at the expense of meaningful conclusions to the characters' arcs, and it shows. A Future Obsessed with its Past All of this hollow nostalgia comes to a head in the final twenty minutes or so of 'The Reality War'—an ending that feels as though it was changed months after the fact in a series of reshoots. Having defeated the Unholy Trinity, the Doctor, Belinda, and Poppy prepare to continue traveling. Except as Conrad's wish fades away, so too does Poppy. But the Doctor vows to save her at any cost. But in doing so, he begins to regenerate. As far as regeneration-prompting events go, it's ho-hum; somewhat emotionally satisfying, perhaps, but one that doesn't feel remotely alluded to. Aided by a surprise cameo from Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor, Gatwa's Doctor begins the process of saying goodbye, complete with the speech we've all grown to expect. And despite the fact that Gatwa's departure's been kept a secret and the episode as a whole does a terrible job at even hinting at his departure, it's a decent enough send off. Until the regeneration itself. Plagued by special effects that look barely finished (and significantly worse than those twenty years ago), Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor regenerates into…Billie Piper, last seen on Doctor Who as Rose Tyler, companion to Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant's 9th and 10th Doctors. And no disrespect to Piper, but for a show defined by its ability to move forward, two of the past three Doctors being David Tennant and Billie Piper both returning to the show feels hopelessly backward-looking. It's all very 'Somehow, Palpatine returned' of the show in the worst way possible. And with Doctor Who 's future looking quite uncertain, it feels desperate in the most cynical of ways; a last-ditch attempt to goose the ratings and earn the show a third reprive. But if this is the cost, perhaps Doctor Who may indeed be due for another rest. The 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and The 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf Final Thoughts And with that, Doctor Who 's second season comes to a whimper of an end. After a strong run of episodes, Doctor Who just couldn't nail the landing. It's as if the show decided midway through the finale to completely ignore everything that's made the rest of the season so good and lean into its very worst habits. 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' offer up an exercise in hollow nostalgia in search of a meaningful story. It's a collection of things happening with no real connective tissue. A surprise regeneration episode in the worst possible way and, perhaps most damningly, a perfect example of why Doctor Who might just need a rest. Say what you will about the finales of seasons' past but at least they tried to do something new, regardless of how well they accomplished it. But this finale? It's a whole lot of disappointing nothing. Doctor Who season two is available now on Disney+.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Unpacking the South African land law that so inflames Trump
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is at the centre of a political firestorm after he approved a law that gives the state the power to expropriate some privately owned land without compensation for owners. The law, which is yet to be implemented, has drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump, who sees it as discriminating against white farmers. Centre-right political parties and lobby groups in South Africa have also opposed it, saying they will challenge the Expropriation Act – as the law is named – in court on the grounds that it threatens property rights. Ramaphosa's government says the law provides for compensation to be paid in the vast majority of cases – and the changes are needed to increase black ownership of land. Most private farmland is still owned by white people. When Nelson Mandela came to power more than 30 years ago, ending the racist system of apartheid, it was promised that this would be rectified through a willing-buyer, willing-seller land reform programme – but critics say this has proved too slow and too costly. In rare circumstances it would be land that was needed for the "public interest", legal experts told the BBC. According to South African law firm Werksmans Attorneys, this suggested it would mainly, or perhaps only, happen in relation to the land reform programme. Although it could also be used to access natural resources such as minerals and water, the firm added, in an opinion written by its experts in the field, Bulelwa Mabasa and Thomas Karberg. Mabasa and Karberg told the BBC that in their view, productive agricultural land could not be expropriated without compensation. They said any expropriation without compensation – known as EWC – could take place only in a few circumstances: For example, when an owner was not using the land and was holding it for "speculative purposes" Or when an owner "abandoned the land by failing to exercise control over it despite being reasonably capable of doing so". Owners would probably still get compensation for the buildings on the land and for the natural resources, the lawyers said. Mabasa and Karberg added that EWC was "not aimed at rural land or farmland specifically, and could include land in urban areas". However, in cases where compensation is paid, the rules are set to change, with owners likely to get less money. The plan is for owners to receive "just-and-equitable" compensation – a departure from the higher "market value" they have been getting up to now, Mabasa and Karberg said. The government had been paying market-value compensation despite the fact that this was "at odds" with the constitution, adopted after white-minority rule ended in 1994, they added. The lawyers said that all expropriations had "extensive procedural fairness requirements", including the owner's right to go to court if they were not happy. The move away from market-value compensation will also apply to land expropriated for a "public purpose" – like building state schools or railways. This has not been a major point of controversy, possibly because it is "hardly a novel concept" – a point made by JURISTnews, a legal website run by law students from around the world. "The US Constitution, for instance, provides that the government can seize private property for public use so long as 'just compensation' is provided," it added. The government hopes so. University of Western Cape land expert Prof Ruth Hall told the BBC that more than 80,000 land claims remain unsettled. In the eastern regions of South Africa, many black people work on farms for free – in exchange they are allowed to live there and keep their livestock on a portion of the owners' land, she said. The government wants to transfer ownership of this land to the workers, and it was "unfair" to expect it to pay the market value, Prof Hall added. Over the last three decades, the government has used existing powers to expropriate property–- with less than market-value compensation – in fewer than 20 cases, she said. The new law was aimed at making it easier and cheaper to restore land to black people who were "dispossessed" of it during white-minority rule or were forced to be "long-term tenants" as they could not own land, Prof Hall added. "It's a bargaining chip," she said. But she doubts that the government will press ahead with implementing the law in the foreseeable future as the "political cost" has become too high. The academic was referring to the fact that Trump has opposed the law, saying it discriminates against white farmers and their land was being "seized" – a charge the government denies. In February, Trump cut aid to South Africa, and in April he announced a 30% tariff on South African goods and agricultural products, although this was later paused for 90 days. This was followed by last month's infamous Oval Office showdown when Trump ambushed Ramaphosa with a video and printouts of stories alleging white people were being persecuted – much of his dossier has been discredited. Fact-checking Trump's Oval Office confrontation with Ramaphosa Like Trump, the second-biggest party in Ramaphosa's coalition government, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is opposed to the legislation. In a statement on 26 May, the party said that its top leadership body had rejected the notion of "nil compensation". However, it has agreed with the concept of just-and-equitable compensation rather than market-value compensation, adding it should be "adjudicated by a court of law". Surprisingly, Jaco Kleynhans of the Solidarity Movement, an influential Afrikaner lobby group, said that while the new law could "destroy" some businesses and he was opposed to it, he did not believe it would lead to the "large-scale expropriation of farmland". "I don't see within the wording of this text that that will happen," he said in a recent panel discussion at an agricultural exhibition held in South Africa's Free State province – where a large number of conservative Afrikaner farmers live. The South African Property Owners Association said it was "irrational" to give "nil compensation" to an owner who held land for speculative purposes. "There are many landowners whose sole purpose of business is to speculate in land. They do not get the land for free and they have significant holding costs," the association said, adding it had no doubt the law would be "abundantly tested" in the courts. Mabasa and Karberg said one view was that the concept of EWC was a "legal absurdity" because "intrinsic in the legal definition of expropriation, is a requirement for compensation to be paid". However, the lawyers pointed out the alternative view was that South Africa's constitution "implicitly recognises that it would in some circumstances be just and equitable for compensation to be nil". South Africa's Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson has defended the legislation, breaking ranks with his party, the DA. In fact he is in charge of the new legalisation and, on a discussion panel, he explained that while he had some concerns about the law, it was a "dramatic improvement" on the previous Expropriation Act, with greater safeguards for land-owners. He said the law could also help end extortionist demands on the state, and in some cases "nil compensation" could be justified. He gave as an example the problems being faced by the state-owned power utility Eskom. It plans to roll out a transmission network over about 4,500km (28,000 miles) of land to boost electricity supplies to end the power crisis in the country. Ahead of the roll-out, some individuals colluded with Eskom officials to buy land for 1m rand ($56,000; £41,000), and then demanded R20m for it, he said. "Is it just and equitable to give them what they want? I don't think that's in the interest of the broader community or the state," Macpherson said. Giving another example, Macpherson said that some of South Africa's inner cities were in a "disastrous" condition. After owners left, buildings were "over-run" and "hijacked" for illegal occupation. The cost to the state to rebuild them could exceed their value, and in such cases the courts could rule that an owner qualified for "nil compensation", he said. "Nil is a form of compensation," Macpherson added, while ruling it out for farms. Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero told South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper that he wanted to use the buildings for the "public good", like accommodating around 300,000 people on the housing waiting list. He added the owners of nearly 100 buildings could not be located. "They have abandoned the buildings," he said, adding some of the owners were from the UK and Germany. But Mabasa and Karberg told the BBC that in such cases compensation would probably still have to be paid for the buildings, though not the land. If the state could not locate the owners, it "must deposit the compensation with the Master of the High Court" in case they returned or could be traced later, they said. The law is in limbo, as Ramaphosa – about four months after giving his assent to it – has still not set a date for its implementation. Nor is he likely to do so anytime soon, as he would not want to further antagonise Trump while South Africa was trying to negotiate a trade deal with the US. And on the domestic front, the DA is spearheading opposition to the legislation. It said it wanted a "judicial review" of it, while at the same time it was pressing ahead with court action to challenge the law's constitutionality. The DA's tough line is in contrast with that of Macpherson, who, a few weeks ago, warned that if the law was struck down in its entirety: "I don't know what's going to come after that. "In politics, sometimes you must be careful what you wish for because often you can get it," he said. His comments highlight the deep fissures in South African politics, with some parties, such as Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), believing that the legislation did not go far enough to tackle racial inequality in land ownership. With land such an emotive issue, there is no easy solution to the dispute – and it is likely to continue to cause tensions within South Africa, as well as with the US president. Rebuked by Trump but praised at home: How Ramaphosa might gain from US showdown Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims? South Africans' anger over land set to explode Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former Race Across the World contestant dies in crash
Former Race Across the World contestant Sam Gardiner has died after a crash. The 24-year-old had been driving on the A34 near Manchester on Monday night when his car left the road and rolled before landing on its side, Greater Manchester Police said. He was the only person in the vehicle and was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries on Thursday, his family said in a recent statement. The landscape gardener appeared with his mother Jo as they travelled across South America in the second series of the BBC show, which aired in 2020. They were unable to compete in the final leg after running out of money, but Sam described it as a "life-changing" experience. While filming for the BBC series, Sam said: "Mum and I are very close - we often think or say the same things. "She has travelled a lot in her life, so I think it would be fun to do it with her." In a statement issued by a family member, Sam's parents Jo and Andrew said they were "devastated". "Sam left us far too soon, and while words will never fully capture the light, joy and energy he brought into our lives, we hold on to the memories that made him so special," they added. Sam's parents said he was "adored by his family" and described him as "loyal, funny and fiercely protective". They added the Race Across the World experience "opened Sam's eyes to the wonder of adventure". Sam's uncle Jonny Gray told the BBC: "What you saw was what you got. Sam loved gardening, animals and doing physical activity." Mr Gray said his sister Jo and Sam had a "special relationship" and were an "enormous hit on the show", adding: "The public really loved them." Emon Choudhury, who won the second series with his nephew Jamiul, posted on social media that Sam was "pure sunshine in human form" whose "kindness was a beacon for anyone lucky enough to cross his path". He added that Sam and his mother "showed us what it truly means to live fully, love fiercely, and embrace every moment with an open heart". In a statement, a Race Across the World spokeswoman said: "Everyone who worked with him and indeed everyone who watched Sam could see just how precious and transformative the trip was for both him and his mum, Jo. "Sam embraced the seven-week trip with an energy, love and a determination that saw the pair enjoy adventures across Mexico to Argentina making audiences fall in love with them and their special bond as a result. "Since filming, both Sam and Jo have been an integral part of the Race Across the World cast family and on behalf of us all from the BBC, production and the rest of the cast, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to his parents, Andrew and Jo; his brothers, William and Charlie; his step mum Justine; his family and friends." Sam had been recently working on the west coast of Scotland and travelled down to Stockport in Greater Manchester to attend a family birthday celebration earlier this week, according to his uncle. The family have asked for privacy to grieve for his death. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
