Blackpool

Blackpool was a town on the coast of Lancashire, England, which looked out over the Irish Sea. It was a seaside resort famous for the Blackpool Tower.

Blackpool was the home town of two of the Doctor's companions: Lucie Miller and Clara Oswald.

Attractions
Blackpool was a seaside resort which benefitted from a range of attractions, most prominent of which was the Blackpool Tower: an observation tower complete with a ballroom and a circus. (AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair, PROSE: All the Empty Towers) Other attractions included Blackpool Pleasure Beach - a local amusement park, (AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair) Blackpool beach (COMIC: Seaside Rendezvous, TV: The Rings of Akhaten) and the Golden Mile. (PROSE: Autonomy) The town also had its own football team, which competed in tournaments including the FA Cup. (TV: Out of Time)

Fish and chips were commonly served in Blackpool. (AUDIO: The Skull of Sobek) Local attractions sold toffee apples and candy floss. (PROSE: The Nightmare Fair, AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair) Merchandise was also available, including "Kiss me quick" hats. (PROSE: All the Empty Towers)

Geography
Blackpool was located on the coast of Lancashire, (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Robot of Sherwood) beside the Irish Sea. (COMIC: Seaside Rendezvous) Nearby cities included Preston to the east. There was a motorway from Preston which terminated at Blackpool. (TV: The Categories of Life)

The town's hospital was Blackpool General. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool)

20th century
At some point in the latter half of the 20th century, the Third Doctor magnetised Blackpool Tower to stop a swarm of metal-eating insects. (COMIC: The Metal-Eaters)

1930s
In the summer of 1936, Tom Wake met his future wife Alice in Blackpool. (PROSE: The Hopes and Fears of All the Years)

1960s
In the late 1960s, Mary Wake and her husband, an Indian lawyer, moved to Blackpool. (PROSE: The Hopes and Fears of All the Years)

1980s
In 1981, Ellie Ravenwood saved Dave Oswald from being hit by a car in the town after a leaf blew into his face. They later married and had a daughter, Clara Oswald, (TV: The Rings of Akhaten) who was born on 23 November 1986. (TV: Death in Heaven)

The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown visited Blackpool in 1985 where they encountered the Mandarin. (PROSE: The Nightmare Fair, AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair)

In the mid-80s, Iris Wildthyme was lured to Blackpool by the Cosmic Puppet Master, who tried to kill her with real Space Invaders brought to life from an arcade game. (PROSE: From Wildthyme with Love)

Lucie Miller, companion of the Eighth Doctor, was born in Blackpool on 31 July 1988. (AUDIO: Brave New Town)

1990s
In 1991, the Seventh Doctor and Ace encountered an Ogri on Blackpool beach. (COMIC: Seaside Rendezvous)

As a child, Clara Oswald got lost on Blackpool beach on a bank holiday and was terrified until her mother found her and helped her to conquer her fear of getting lost. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)

The Eleventh Doctor unknowingly talked to a young Clara at a Blackpool park, while searching for her. (WC: The Bells of Saint John: A Prequel)

21st century
Ellie Oswald died in Blackpool on 5 March 2005. The Eleventh Doctor watched from a distance as Clara and Dave mourned at her graveside. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)

After a series of adventures with the Eighth Doctor, Lucie Miller asked him to return her to Blackpool for Christmas. However the Doctor accidentally arrived a year early, in 2008. While spending her Christmas in Blackpool, she discovered that her Auntie Pat was a Zygon. Learning that the Doctor had deceived her after Pat's death in the Lake District, Lucie declined the Doctor's offer to continue her travels with him. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool)

In 2009, calls to the emergency services from Blackpool suggested that children were frozen. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three)

In Summer 2009, (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool) after being returned home to Blackpool, Lucie received a late night visit from an old foe. The Headhunter raised an alien gun and threatened to kill her. When Lucie protested, she was shot. (AUDIO: The Vengeance of Morbius) The Headhunter later revealed that she had used quantum-tipped time bullets to shoot Lucie and then un-shoot her. (AUDIO: Orbis)

By 2089, climate change had caused Blackpool to be overtaken by jungle and abandoned. The animals from the circus ran loose and Blackpool Pleasure Beach could be rented out for hunting. The Twelfth Doctor and Clara arrived there by accident and were nearly killed by Triss's hunting party. The Doctor indicated to Clara this future was not fixed. (PROSE: All the Empty Towers)

Behind the scenes
The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown were to visit Blackpool on screen in a script written for the 1986 season of Doctor Who called The Nightmare Fair. However, the series was placed on hiatus and a dialogue reference to Blackpool intended to close Revelation of the Daleks was replaced by a freeze frame. The intended story was later novelised and adapted as a Big Finish audio play.

Blackpool was once the location of a Doctor Who Exhibition which featured a range of costumes and props from the classic series. In 2018, Madame Tussauds in Blackpool displayed a waxwork of the Thirteenth Doctor, complete with the actual TARDIS used in Series 11.

Actors Jenna Coleman and Nicola Sian were born in Blackpool.