Blackpool, fit for a Queen.. Coleen Nolan FAMILY NEWS AND VIEWS EVERY WEEK, ONLY IN YOUR LIFE.

Byline: Coleen Nolan

So, the Queen is coming back to Blackpool. Hurrah!

For only the second time in the history of the Royal Variety Performance Her Maj is heading up the M6 to the real throne of British entertainment.

The last time the Royal Variety Performance was staged in Blackpool in front of the Queen it was 1955 and George Formby and Arthur Askey were on the bill.

So it'll be a different treat in store for her this time with the amazing boys from Diversity performing their Britain's Got Talent winning act.

There's been a fair bit of change in Blackpool since then too. It went from being the jewel in the British showbiz crown to a cheap and tacky piece of costume jewellery.

But Blackpool is on its way back up - and a visit from the Queen is just what we need.

I grew up in Blackpool and lived there until our family moved to London when I was about 10.

As a kid I never wanted to be anywhere else in the whole world. Blackpool had everything.

There were so many theatres all staging different summer shows - including the Opera House which I still think is one of the most magnificent theatres in Britain. Then there was the pleasure beach, three different piers, a fantastic park and a beach that went on for miles and miles.

When the Nolans were on the touring circuit, everyone wanted to play Blackpool. While other resorts had an eight-week season, Blackpool's went on for 22 weeks.

But as the years rolled by it became cheaper for people to go on a package holiday abroad for a week than to come to Blackpool for a weekend.

When I moved back to Blackpool as an adult it was a very different place. It became a centre for stag and hen dos and gradually, like a lot of British seaside towns, the sparkle and splendour faded. Now Blackpool doesn't even have a summer season - just different shows which come and go.

In the past few years there have been various attempts to spruce up the town - there is a new shopping centre and other plans are under way. But it is going to take a very long time.

I do really believe Blackpool can regain its glory days. The Nolans are back at the Opera House in October and I just hope more and more groups choose to perform there.

But even if the town is looking a bit rough around the edges when the Queen arrives in December, I guarantee her reception will be 24-carat. There is nothing like the hospitality and spirit of the people of Blackpool to make people feel at home.

She'll get a proper northern welcome. And I for one can't wait to see Her Maj in a Kiss Me Quick hat and eating a plate of chips!

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GLORIOUS HERITAGE: Blackpool and the Queen