Rarely seen archive footage charting Preston Guilds of the 20th Century will be screened at a theatre next month.
Preston-born actor Roy Barraclough, best known for playing Rovers Return landlord Alec Gilroy in Coronation Street, narrates the DVD ‘Preston and Its Guild 1902 to 1992’.
Mr Barraclough, 76, who starred alongside Julie Goodyear’s character Bet Lynch before leaving the soap in 1998, is set to attend the first showing of the hour-long film.
A spokesman for the Harris Museum said: “Be one of the first to see this fascinating and rarely seen archive footage from the North West Film Archive, including film from the Harris Museum and Art Gallery collection.”
The film observes Preston’s transformation during the 20th century, from its industrial roots to a city, through the eyes of professional and amateur film-makers.
By day, the former Corrie star spent 12 years as a draughtsman in a Preston engineering factory.
But in the evenings, he began his acting career at The Preston Playhouse in Market Street West, and the proud Prestonian went on to be awarded an MBE for services to drama in 2006.
Between Coronation Street appearances, he famously played Cissie against comedian Les Dawson’s Ada, a pair of old Northern gossips and battle-axes.
The North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Harris Museum and Art Gallery will host the event at the Charter Theatre on Tuesday, March 13 at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £5, plus booking fee, and are available from Preston Guild Hall on 0845 344 2026 or via the website www.prestonguildhall.com.
Following the premiere of the film, a DVD will be released on March 14.
It will be official Harris Museum and Art Gallery and Preston Guild 2012 merchandise and will be available to buy from the museum shop for £12.
Plans for the 2012 Guild are beginning to be unveiled with an exciting programme of events lined up for the main Guild fortnight in September, including the G-volution pop, rock and indie music festival.
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