The BBC has announces its very first feature-length comedy drama film for iPlayer, entitled The Rack Pack, which is set to star Luke Treadaway (Fortitude, Clash of the Titans), Will Merrick (About Time, Skins), Kevin Bishop (The Kevin Bishop Show, A Few Best Men), Nichola Burley (Death Comes To Pemberley, Downton Abbey) and James Bailey (Downton Abbey).
Directed by Brian Welsh (Glasgow Girls, Black Mirror) the film explores the glory days of the Seventies and Eighties snooker scene, when huge characters became household names and Snooker Loopy troubled the pop charts. The story tells of the rivalry between Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins (Treadaway), whose natural talent and showmanship transformed the image of the traditional game and captivated audiences across the country, and Steve ‘The Nugget’ Davis (Merrick) who under the guidance of manager Barry Hearn (Bishop) dominated the sport throughout the Eighties and ushered in a new era of professionalism.
“The Rack Pack is our very first comedy drama feature film made exclusively for BBC iPlayer and builds on the success of our original commissions, which have attracted over 29 million requests in the last six months,” states Victoria Jay, Head of TV Content for BBC iPlayer. “Snooker is a much-loved British sport, and The Rack Pack celebrates its glory days in the Seventies and Eighties in a thrilling and brilliantly written story which will be the centre piece of our film offer over the Christmas period.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=qvTY7eXXIMg
Originally published September 27, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
