Tennant Delights: 'Blackpool'

The 'Tennant Delights' series will consist almost entirely of reviews of his television and film work, as well as audiobooks, documentaries and anything that takes my fancy - Tennant related!

So, first up: 'Blackpool'. I chose this 6 drama parter because it was one of the roles that really catapulted David into the British spotlight... and one of his most delightful (and sexy) performances, if I am allowed to say. 

I'll try not to go too much into detail here, as this is supposed to incite people to watch it. I've seen a million times and honestly, his performance just keeps getting better. David plays a Detective Inspector called Peter Carlisle, who is in charge of solving a mysterious murder case; the body in case was dumped in Ripley Holden's (David Morrissey) arcade, a wealthy businessman who has two children and a partner that is supposed to be the perfect wife, Natalie (Sarah Parish). Being in charge of the case, Peter starts to dig up all the evidence he can possible find, namely by talking to Ripley's friends, foes and family... including Natalie. It doesn't take too long before the two of them fall deeply in love with each other, which promptly casts a whole new light on how Peter sees the case and those involved in it. Despite being professional and dedicated to his job, he is, as we all are, prone to love... and as he proudly tells Blythe, his work colleague, 'I am good with wives'. 'Blackpool' revolves around an undeniable love that may or may not influence the workings of Holden and his views on life themselves.

This is one of Tennant's finest performances, one in which he is able to convey true, heartfelt angst and hand his heart to both Sarah's character and the audience. In fact, David is so believable you actually think the love between the two of them is real: all kisses seem genuine, all lines are delivered in a way that truly makes your heart ache when the two of them suddenly don't get along as well. I have to mention the singing, of course, which is pivotal to this show: I was amazed at how clear David's voice is! His voice is lovely, and boy, can he hit those high notes! (SOOO, Cupid... - remember that?) The dancing is, like the singing, absolutely great: David says he isn't very good at dancing (he admits he struggled to learn his moves for the dancing scenes in 'Casanova'), but I am think he is too humble. Way too humble. He made us all scream with excitement during his musical performances...!