Our bid's the one and only

Oct 13 2002 By Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

The makers and stars of a new North-based film reckon the region should be the one and only winner of the European Capital of Culture 2008 prize.

Bookies William Hill have already stopped taking bets on the competition, with Newcastle-Gateshead as 3-1 favourites.

And it's a one-horse race in the eyes of the cast and crew of new Brit flick The One and Only.

Producer Leslee (ok) Udwin, who has just finished shooting the film in Newcastle, said: "We were all blown away by the beauty of the region.

"This glamorous, stunning place that we all fell in love with has only really been portrayed as a downtrodden, poor place in films like Billy Elliot, so I hope that this film will finally do it justice."

Actress Justine Waddell loved sampling the North's nightlife. She said: "There's a very European attitude to going out and having a good time, wearing as few clothes as possible.

"I got some wolf whistles, which made me feel great until I realised that the lads were whistling at everyone . . . but it was still great for my ego.

"I had a voice coach to help me with the Geordie accent, and when I thought I'd cracked it I tried it out while shopping in a department store. But the assistant smiled and said, 'Oh, what part of Cardiff are you from?' and I was mortified!"

The film - starring Justine, Patsy Kensit, Jonathan Cake and Moulin Rouge star Richard Roxburgh - is a romantic comedy about two people with very different lives who fall in love at first sight but are stuck in unhappy relationships.

It portrays Newcastle as a glamorous, cosmopolitan city and is the first major movie to feature the Millennium Bridge and Baltic arts centre.

Leslee, who also made the hit comedy East is East, said: "The people were incredibly welcoming and madly, stupidly generous, almost to a fault!

"For example, the Baltic was still a building site when we were there, with just one lift working.

"But they advanced building work in some areas to help us with our filming.

"And we were the first people on the Millennium Bridge when it was finished.

"I don't think anyone will forget the summer we spent there."

* The shortlist for European Capital of Culture 2008 will be announced within the next month, and the winner will be revealed next year. The One and Only (15) will be in cinemas in February next year.