Blackburn residents are unhappy with portrayal of their village on ITV show

Dec 17 2009 by Debbie Hall, West Lothian Courier

WHILE everyone would agree that Susan Boyle made the people of Blackburn proud on Sunday night, some are not too pleased with the shots of the village used by ITV.

At the beginning of the show viewers saw footage of Blackburn, close to where Susan stays.

But many villagers say producers painted a grim and unfair picture of their home.

Doreen Richardson, secretary of Blackburn Community Council, said she was disappointed with the opening scenes of the show and said she spoke for most people in Blackburn, who shared her view.

She said: “The first few minutes of the programme showed in pictures that Blackburn is an extremely run down area, and we as a community council consider that this is a very unfair reflection of our village.

“We know that there was extensive filming of Blackburn as we as residents were the ones who endured this intrusion into our everyday lives and we would like to ask why this was the area that was shown to the world when these could be viewed to be the worst possible pictures that could have been shown.

“There has been an enormous amount of work carried out in Blackburn to improve the living conditions for residents, this along with environmental projects and the hard voluntary work carried out by active groups in the community have ensured that Blackburn has become a desirable place to live.

“You will appreciate our frustrations when this was not reflected in the programme in the opening scenes.”

Doreen said that everybody in Blackburn supported Susan and are delighted with her success, but that the programme makers should have depicted her hometown in a more positive light.

She continued: “It was evident in the content of the show that Susan was having an amazing experience and loving every minute of her exciting journey and we are positive that this would have been perceived and enjoyed by everyone who watched the programme.

“We would only have asked that Blackburn should have been depicted in the way that the residents see it and not in the way that the producer would consider would play on the heart strings of those who viewed it.

“In conclusion Blackburn Community Council on behalf of all residents in the village would like to wish Susan all the very best for the future, which we know will be filled with happiness and contentment as she lives the dream while remembering, as we know that she will, where her roots belong.”