John Godber working on Hull’s version of TV series Brookside

Playwright John Godber said he is “so close” to bringing a TV series set and filmed in Hull.

The 68-year-old said he has been working on the idea “for years and years” and said if it was to come off it will be a “big television drama”.

Having played a part in setting up Brookside in the 1980s, Godber has seen first-hand what the show did for the city of Liverpool and would love to create one to have a similar impact for Hull.

“I’d be delighted [if it came off], because it would mean the actors who live here could stay here and work here,” he told BBC Radio Humberside.

The dramatist said he was superstitious and didn’t want to mention too much.

“I was one of the people who set up Brookside a long, long time ago and saw what it did for Liverpool,” he said.

“We have been trying to do that in the city for a long time. We’re edging closer.

“I feel if I’ve said it now, it won’t happen!

“I don’t know why it’s such an effort.

“You seem to be able to make a television series in every other city in the country, but every time I talk about making the series actually set in Hull and filmed in Hull – not filmed in Leeds pretending it’s in Hull – that seems to be beyond the imagination of some television producers and I don’t understand why.”

In the meantime, he has started rehearsals for his new play, The Highwayman, which is going on tour from 23 October.

Godber, who has lived in Hull since he became artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre Company in 1984, is known for his observational comedies that reflect ordinary people’s lives.

Plays such as Bouncers, Shakers and Perfect Pitch were inspired by the people and places of Yorkshire and Humberside.

The Highwayman is based on accounts of Dick Turpin and John Nevison and their exploits in the Yorkshire region.

It was said that Dick Turpin never robbed a poor man – a theme that Godber picks up on in the play.

“It’s one of my favourite hobby-horses; it’s the haves and the have nots,” he said.

“If you’ve got eyes in your head and you walk about anywhere, the haves and the have nots are very clearly defined.”

He described the play as being very, very funny.

The play is going on tour to Richmond, Beverley and York.

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