Ray Winstone comes to town

Ray Winston rehearses an action scene at College Bank

Actor Ray Winstone has been in Rochdale filming a new television drama series for ITV.

He spent two days at College Bank filming scenes for ‘The Trials of Jimmy Rose’, a three-part series which sees Winstone in the title role.

Much of the filming took place around Tentercroft at College Bank while the inside of a flat was also used. 

RBH teams including housing officers, caretakers and electricians all rallied round to ensure that the filming went smoothly.

Neighbourhood Housing Officer Kirsty Wild who, along with caretaker Sam Lawton organised much of the work, is a huge Ray Winstone fan and was thrilled when he posed for a photo with her.

Kirsty said: “Preparing for the filming and then making sure everything went to plan was quite a task but it was all worthwhile.

“We all enjoyed it immensely and would also like to say a big thank you to the residents of College Bank who were very welcoming to the TV crew.

“It was fascinating to see what happens behind the scenes to get a programme to the screen and, of course, I was delighted to meet Ray.

“We’ve all got some great memories and are now looking forward to watching it on television.”

ITV Location Manager Anna Lee said: “All the cast and crew really enjoyed their time in Rochdale. We would like to thank RBH for being so positive and professional and the residents for being so helpful.

“We were all impressed by what a friendly neighbourhood College Bank is and hope everyone enjoys watching the series.”