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David Morrissey plays Ripley Holden

Ripley Holden is a man with a lot of bravado - outspoken, brash and quick-witted.

David Morrissey explains why he became obsessed with the larger-than-life character after reading Pete Bowker's bold, imaginative and witty scripts.

"The reason I wanted to do it is that the character kept coming back to me - the lines he said, the situation he got himself into, his philosophy; I kept picturing how he would look in my head and that obviously meant that I really wanted to play him," explains the 40-year-old actor.

"The character is very funny which is something that I don't get to play now," he enthuses.

"There's nothing subtle about Ripley when you meet him, and he sings and dances! When I read the scripts it really frightened me. I thought, 'Oh my God, how am I going to do this!'

"And that's why I really decided to take the part because it was a brave piece of writing and a brave piece of commissioning.

"Ripley is a man who wakes up in the morning and says, 'You're a winner'. And what that means is that everyone else is a loser.

"The term 'put-downs' was invented for Ripley because it's all about put-downs. So he is bully. He's bombastic.

"Ripley has invented this persona for himself; through the piece we see that he is a guy who has a rule book about how you live your life and through the piece, suddenly, the rule book starts to disintegrate in front of him and he has to gain some humility, and that's the hardest lesson he learns.

"He's very recognisable, I think. He surrounds himself with people that he can dominate and he saps energy from people - his friends, his wife, his associates, his employees - but he does it with a bravado which is like a whirlwind of energy.

"He thinks that if he stops and thinks for a second, he will be defeated, so he has to keep going - 'Chop, chop' is the catchphrase which he uses all the time. And that's what I liked about him."

In a film and television career spanning over 20 years, Morrissey has been cast in a number of memorable roles including: Holding On; Big Cat; Fanny And Elvis; Hilary And Jackie; Born Romantic; and more recently, Channel 4's The Deal and 成人论坛 ONE's critically-acclaimed drama series State Of Play.

However, he says that the opportunity to sing and dance was the realisation of a childhood dream.

"I must say when I was a kid, before I got introduced to Brando and De Niro or any of those, it was Gene Kelly and the musicals that really inspired me to look at films in a different way.

"On The Town is still one of my favourite movies of all time. So it's something that I've loved watching, but never imagined myself ever doing!

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"It really was a realisation of an ambition of mine to sing and dance. I never thought I could do it, and now I'm dreading every wedding I go to.

"The songs are very integral to the story. One of my favourite songs of all time is in Blackpool - it was a total coincidence. The track is Ooh La La by The Faces which is in episode four; it's a great, great song and one I have been singing in my bedroom for years.

"It was quite exposing to boogie on down in front of people when you're not a dancer and singer, but the crew were very supportive, and entered into the spirit of it. The atmosphere created on set was one that made you brave," says Morrissey.

A consummate professional, Morrissey wanted to ensure he brought an authenticity to the role, so he travelled to Blackpool to soak up the atmosphere before filming began.

"I went up to Blackpool and spent a few days there speaking to arcade managers and punters.

"The arcade managers were able to give me an insight into what it takes to run an arcade and the type of shenanigans the punters get up to. That was really important to me.

"As a kid we always went to Southport for day trips and our family holidays were spent in North Wales, we never really went to Blackpool.

"So it was important that I went and had a look around because it wasn't a place I was familiar with before.

"Blackpool is a resort that has the promenade, B&Bs and then there's the town itself. It does have this kind of tacky exterior, but you had to go beneath that.

"In the end I was quite affectionate towards Blackpool; it's a place where people go to have fun, and how they did that it was up to them.

"The Pleasure Beach is a brilliant place to be although I hate rollercoasters!

"What I think the series captures well is that Blackpool is a different world. It's not a town like any other.

"It has a history. There are museums to George Formby, posters of old musicals and end-of-the-pier shows all over the place, so there's a nostalgic feel about Blackpool that's fighting against the lap dancing bars and very risqu茅 sex toys that are in gift shops, which they're trying to clean up."

The Liverpool-born actor says he believes people should watch Blackpool because "it's very different telly, it's not like anything they've seen before. I also think it's fun, with real characters going through real emotions, and brave writing."