Burnley's Shameless star to run Blackpool hotel (From Blackpool Citizen)

Burnley's Shameless star to run Blackpool hotel

4:41pm Monday 11th January 2010

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‘SHAMELESS’ star Alice Barry is swapping the terraced streets of Burnley for the bright lights of Blackpool – to run a hotel.

Alice, who plays thick-rimmed, spectacle-wearing brothel-owner, Lillian in the comedy drama is a born and bred Burnley lass.

But she made the cross-county trip to the ‘Vegas of the North’ last month to start the next chapter of her life in running the venutre.

The actress said she planned to draw on her showbiz experience to make the establishment a success.

Alice said she had always been a regular visitor to the Fylde coast and was persuaded to make the move by Blackpool-based friends.

Despite admitting it was a wrench to leave her home town, she said the lure of her ‘spiritual home’ was too great to ignore.

The hotel, called Barry’s, is a joint venture between Alice and her partner and best mate, Jeff Hewitt, who also works in TV.

According to Alice, Pat Mancini who owns the Queens Hotel on the seafront, convinced them to embark on the adventure.

She said: “We’ve been coming to Blackpool for months because we’re friends with Bobby Ball, Joe Longthorne and Pat Mancini. They kept asking us why we didn’t just move there and in the end we decided to invest. We were going to buy a club but changed our minds.”

Alice and Jeff moved into Barry’s, in Charnley Road, off Central Drive, on December 17. It has 13 bedrooms, each with a TV.

The lounge has already been redecorated and plans are now in place to give the rest of the building a revamp.

Alice said: “We’re going to make it theatrical with lots of pictures of stars and ourselves of course.

“I’ve never run a hotel before and we were thrown in at the deep end but we’re very excited and looking forward to the summer.

“A lot of actors have already been as well as lots of other really nice people. We have a great circle of friends here.”

Shameless is set to return to TV screens later this month.

Alice, who has also starred in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights, said she would divide her time between the hotel and her acting career.

The official launch party, which Alice said would include a number of celebrity appearances, is scheduled for the end of this month.

For booking information at Barry’s Hotel call 01253 290920.

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