Burnley hotel's starring role in TV comedy

Superstar comics Jon Richardson and his real wife Lucy Beaumont star as fictional versions of themselves in the smash hit cult comedy Meet the Richardsons.

The show is currently airing on Dave, yet when the Lancashire-based Second Act Productions needed to film their farcical escapades at a ‘London’ hotel, they looked much closer to home.

Instead of heading to the capital, the hilarious stars checked themselves into the Holiday Inn Express on Pendle Way – where they met their comedic match sitting on reception.

Hotel owners Starboard Hotels very own Katie Peel, a senior manager at the Best Western Carlton in Blackpool, acted as receptionist during the filming of the mockumentary last year, and had the stars and crew in stitches.

Second Act productions Lee Hupfield said: “The filming went really well at the hotel. The receptionist Katie who took part in the episode is very funny in it. She’s a natural. We were made to feel really welcome at the hotel too which made filming really easy.”

During the episode, which aired at 10pm on Thursday, Jon and Lucy travell to London to attend one of Jonathan Ross’ legendary Hallowe'en parties.

A production company spokesperson said the plot called for the couple to travel to London to attend a star-studded party, where they checked in to a Holiday Inn.

They added that TV magic means they could pretend the Lancashire hotel was actually situated on the North Circular – one of the busiest roads in London.

As well as Jonathan Ross, the episode featured 90s heartthrob Jason Donovan – and the Holiday Inn Express’s very sparky ’receptionist’, mum of two Katie Peel.

Katie said: “The filming was great fun. The show is based on their lives, so the director just asked me to be myself. I really did not know what to expect.

“I never thought I was funny before, but I ended up having everyone in stitches.

"It’s great to know that crews can use our Holiday Inn Express in Burnley as a filming location in London – especially because we have far less traffic to disrupt the shots.”