Russell T Davies' new series on Channel 4 - It's A Sin - has already proved a big hit with viewers, with Tameside's very own Hyde Fundraisers having played a part.
The five-part drama started on January 22 and follows the story of the 1980s, the story of AIDS, and charts the joy and heartbreak of a group of friends across a decade in which everything changed.
Olly Alexander leads the cast which also features Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Neil Patrick Harris, Tracy Ann Oberman, Shaun Dooley, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells, Nathaniel Curtis and Lydia West.
It was back in 2019 that the Hyde Fundraisers were first contacted about getting involved in one of the episodes recreating a classic Dalek story that the lead character is involved in.
Filming took place in Manchester and two of the group’s silver Daleks (created by the Fundraisers for their own events) took centre stage along with an original BBC Dalek provided by Mark Barton Hill.
Members SP Bowling and Steve Haines were delighted to be onset during the filming where experienced TV Dalek operators Nicholas Pegg and Barnaby Edwards brought them to life.
Steve said: “They were nice chaps and really complimentary. I think they said the Daleks were technically better than the BBC ones. A heavy day, but interesting.
“My favourite memory of this is high fiving the special effects lads when they blew the polystyrene screen (a second time) and everyone’s ear drums.”
Co-ordinating the appearance of the Daleks from Hyde Fundraisers was SP who provided one of the iconic villains – the other courtesy of member Wayne Broughton – and he added: “I appreciated the positive comments we received on our Daleks with voice modulators from the operators Nicholas and Barnaby.”
The group was delighted to be involved in the project with producer Phil Collinson who worked with Russell T Davies on Doctor Who when David Tennant played the role.
The group’s Daleks make their appearance in episode 4 of the Channel 4 drama so watch out for them!
The Hyde Fundraisers create replica characters from Dr Who, Star Wars etc to raise funds for BBC Children In Need and other charities.
First established in 1985, the Fundraisers have raised many thousands of pounds throughout the years.
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