Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (Image: Getty)
The notorious pub where one of the most shocking films of the 1980s was penned could be transformed into high-quality flats for the UK’s upcoming City of Culture.
The Beacon pub on Bradford’s Buttershaw Estate found national fame thanks to the work of Andrea Dunbar, and features in key scenes of her modern classic Rita, Sue and Bob Too.
The play-turned film and other pieces by Dunbar are based on the sprawling council estate, one of Britain’s most deprived neighbourhoods, and her work was praised for shining a light on the dark underbelly of British society.
The gritty film adaption by Alan Clarke, was straplined as “Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down” and critics subsequently labelled the comedy drama “the unsexiest movie of all time”.
The Beacon Pub before it’s demolition (Image: stock)
Bradford will become the UK city of culture in 2025 (Image: Getty)
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Dunbar often used the pub as an office to carry out her writing, and it was in the Beacon that she suffered a brain haemorrhage that led to her death aged just 29 in 1990.
The 1960s pub closed its doors in 2016, and was demolished in 2019. But five years after the pub was pulled down, the plot of land remains empty and is a magnet anti-social behaviour and fly tipping.
But now a proposal had been submitted by housing group Collaborate Living to build a development of 40 “high quality” flats, resplendent with on-site parking and landscaped areas.
The flats would be a mix of one and two bed properties and a green planning light is expected early in the new year as Bradford becomes the 2025 UK City of Culture.
Writer Andrea Dunbar (Image: Stock)
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Rita and Sue (Image: Stock)
As well as featuring in Dunbar’s plays, the Beacon is seen in the film adaptation of Rita, Sue and Bob too which was released in 1987.
This tells the story of wealthy predator Bob, 27, (George Costigan) who begins a sexual relationship with two 15-year-old schoolgirl babysitters Rita (Siobhan Finneran) and Sue (Michelle Holmes) and the subsequent fall-out on all their lives.
The film amassed a cult following worldwide for its tough take on working class lives in northern England, as well as for its 1980s style and fashions.
In a 2020 review The Film Magazine wrote: “Mostly it’s the humour that keeps Rita, Sue and Bob Too from becoming sordid – the sex in the film truly is the least sexy sex of all time.”
In 2017, Rita, Sue and Bob Too was given a digital restoration by the British Film Institute and remains synonymous with Bradford, which was earlier this month named the second most miserable place to live in the UK by the Rightmove index.
City leaders however claim that Bradford is ready to be re-born having been selected as the UK’s City of Culture for 2025, with the promise of regeneration through 1,000 planned events and performances aiming to bring visitors and investment flooding in.
But there is already a crisis with the city’s flagship £50.5m Bradford Live venue failing to open its doors as planned.
Original partners The NEC Group pulled out of the multi-million pound project with “immediate effect” in September and despite the venue and Bradford Council insisting a process was underway to appoint a new operator for the former Odeon cinema site, nothing has been forthcoming.
The historic building, sporting distinctive twin domes and newly-installed huge display screen, was due to open as a “world-class entertainment venue” in the autumn following the £50.5 million taxpayer-backed redevelopment.
But critics now fear Bradford residents will be left “paying a hefty bill” with the venue standing dormant and no acts scheduled for the city’s year in the spotlight.