Production crews filming scenes for Coronation Street have today turned the Jolly Carter pub in Winton into ‘The Blue Ghost’.
Residents passing by the popular boozer on Worsley Road had feared a chain pub had taken over their local.
But it turns out that it’s ITV film crews up to their old tricks again.
Thirsty locals need fear not – the pub will only be closed until 7pm tonight, Wednesday 13 January.
Crews were tight-lipped about exactly what was being filmed, and large, heavy black screens were up to block out noise, nosy neighbours, and natural light.
The new name of ‘The Blue Ghost’ has been plastered across the front door.
This nod to spirits of a more ghostly than liquid nature is not without precedent at the Winton pub.
Dating back as far as the early 1800s, The Jolly Carter was built on the site of a previous pub, originally called the Sun Inn, but which changed its name to the Jolly Carter around 1820.
The pub was the scene of a violent murder which shocked not only the people of Lancashire, but also came to the attention of Thomas De Quincey – the author famous for Confessions of an English Opium Eater.
He included the details of this murder in a book of short essays entitled On Murder Considered As One Of The Fine Arts in 1827.
Watch our ‘Horrible History’ video about this most gruesome tale below,
Watch: Horrible History – The Murder at Winton, 1826
Eccles is a becoming quite the hotspot for television and film location scouts looking for historic pub interiors.
In March 2015 the Eccles Liberal Club was transformed into ‘Lady Gomm Hall’ for the filming of Danny Baker biopic ‘Cradle To Grave’, starring Peter Kay.
Watch: Film crews turn Eccles Liberal Club into Lady Gomm Hall for Peter Kay TV series
The Grapes Hotel in Peel Green played host to the cast of hit Channel 4 student comedy Fresh Meat in April last year.
Objective Productions, the team behind Chris Morris’ terrorist comedy Four Lions, blacked out windows for a two-day shoot at the Liverpool Road pub.
WATCH: Jack Whitehall to appear at Eccles pub as Fresh Meat take over The Grapes
In October 2014, gruff-voiced cockernee actor Ray Winstone delighted locals when he appeared on Church Street in Eccles to film part of ITV drama The Trials of Jimmy Rose.
His talented set dressers transformed the street into the setting for a north London caff.
Pictured: Ray Winstone turns Eccles into Lewisham High Street for ITV series
And with two of our favourite locals, The Lamb Hotel in Eccles, and the Queens Arms in Patricroft, both winning the Neil Richardson Award for Best Traditional Pub, it can’t be long until there’s a TV production crew on every corner.
Read more: Queen’s Arms scoops CAMRA Traditional Pub of the Year 2016
Just make sure if you accidentally walk into shot you get pay and credit as an extra…
