Palace Pier snubbed in video trailer

When is a pier not a pier?

It seems Channel 4 has decided that Brighton’s Palace Pier is not pretty enough to appear in publicity for its drama series The Fear.

The show, starring Richard E Grant, is set in Brighton and has been filmed extensively in the city.

But for its promotional video, the team behind the series decided to film scenes at Worthing Pier instead of the Palace Pier.

Guy Weller-Poley, locations manager for the show, said: “We chose Worthing because it is a more aesthetically pleasing pier than the Palace Pier.

“I looked at a number of piers along the coast and thought this was best.”

It is believed they will use CGI to alter the background to make it look like Brighton.

Anne Martin, general manager of the Palace Pier, said she was surprised Brighton’s pier had been snubbed.

She said: “Some people’s idea of ‘aesthetically pleasing’ is ‘different’.

“We offered the Palace Pier for the filming, as, with all due respect to Worthing there really is no comparison.

Their CGI better be good.”

Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby, whose constituency includes the pier, said he hoped the show would boost the profile of the city, despite the apparent snub.

He said: “The Palace Pier is one of the many fantastic things that make my Brighton Kemptown constituency so very different from others.

“It is a huge tourist attraction and has appeared in many films and TV programmes.

“I am disappointed that Channel 4 will be using Worthing Pier but am sure that the drama series will enhance Brighton's standing as a world class tourist resort and a great place to live and to do business."

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: “Brighton plays a huge role in the drama and we had a wonderful time filming on the iconic seafront.”

It is not the first time other piers have been used to imitate Brighton’s own.

The film version of Graham Greene’s classic Brighton Rock decided to use Eastbourne Pier when filming in 2009.

Comments(35)

Hove Actually says...
9:25am Thu 4 Oct 12

Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?
I write this as I am eating a "Snickers" bar cleaning with "Cif" looking at some "M&Ms" along with a myriad of other name changes that happen as is the want of the OWNERS whose right it is

sunnysea says...
9:31am Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually says...
9:25am Thu 4 Oct 12
Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?



It's forever the Palace Pier for people who grew up in Brighton.

Nitrous_McBread says...
9:35am Thu 4 Oct 12

Well done, Channel 4, for this decision. Anybody who's lived in Brighton for any length of time knows the pier is wholly unrepresentative of the city, offering none of the quality, value and vibe to be found in the rest of the town, as well as being Anyone been on the log flume recently? When it's actually working it costs a family of 4 £16 for a ride which lasts less than two minutes. It is to culture what Jimmy Savile is to childcare. And don't get me started on how they treat their staff...

Nitrous_McBread says...
9:36am Thu 4 Oct 12

^whoops, meant to say "as well as being visually disgusting..."

brightonian57 says...
9:37am Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Why doe this paper insist in calling BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier? I write this as I am eating a "Snickers" bar cleaning with "Cif" looking at some "M&Ms" along with a myriad of other name changes that happen as is the want of the OWNERS whose right it is
For once the Argus calls it the Palace Pier thoughout this article

Hoarder12345444 says...
9:37am Thu 4 Oct 12

sunnysea wrote:
Hove Actually says... 9:25am Thu 4 Oct 12 Why doe this paper insist in calling BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier? It's forever the Palace Pier for people who grew up in Brighton.
Indeed it is, that's how I always know it. It was called that when i was a boy.

Goldenwight says...
9:52am Thu 4 Oct 12

This isn't unusual (What is unusual is that it was reported in the Worthing Herald a week before the Argus, rather than vice versa.)

The film 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves' for example was shot in a different forest because the makers did not think the real Sherwood Forest looked authentic enough.

Film makers often do this. Who cares about historical accuracy when you are aiming for cinematic greatness?

Cabin fever says...
9:55am Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?
I write this as I am eating a "Snickers" bar cleaning with "Cif" looking at some "M&Ms" along with a myriad of other name changes that happen as is the want of the OWNERS whose right it is
From that font of all knowledge, Wikipedia:

"The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier is a pleasure pier in Brighton, England. It is generally known as the Palace Pier for short, but has been informally renamed Brighton Pier since 2000 by its owners, the Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier."

The key word there being "informally", as opposed to "officially".

Further down the page:

"The pier had signs reading "Brighton Pier" attached to it in 2000, although this change is not recognised by the National Piers Society or many of the residents of Brighton and Hove. The local newspaper, The Argus, still generally refers to the structure as the Palace Pier."

You're welcome...

jamus77 says...
10:03am Thu 4 Oct 12

Worthing Pier is lovely; classic Art Deco, beautifully proportioned, and not spoilt by loud music and tack. It is highly illustrative of the uselessness of Worthing Borough Council, however, that the end-of-the-pier building remains bereft of an occupier.

Hove Actually says...
10:22am Thu 4 Oct 12

Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier."

Is there another one we don't know about then?

Archie Bun says...
10:29am Thu 4 Oct 12

Interesting that the staff refer to it as the Palace Pier.

nemenator says...
10:30am Thu 4 Oct 12

I trust the series will also snub the pubs which have renamed themselves to go upmarket.

Fight_Back says...
10:39am Thu 4 Oct 12

Archie Bun wrote:
Interesting that the staff refer to it as the Palace Pier.
I have a feeling that, quite correctly, The Argus probably changed her words !

@Hove Actually - clearly showing your ignorance of local history.

Quite funny that this Noble owned attraction was overlooked - they seem to overlooked re-building the theatre on the pier that was a condition placed on them by the council.

Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit says...
10:51am Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?
I write this as I am eating a "Snickers" bar cleaning with "Cif" looking at some "M&Ms" along with a myriad of other name changes that happen as is the want of the OWNERS whose right it is
Because, 'Brighton Actually', it's the principle. No one gives a monkeys about the names of cleaning products or chocolate bars, but the Palace Pier was part of Brighton's identity. The current owners also 'lost' the theatre as well. It's a bit like when pubs change their names, the always end up with a current name and a 'real' name (so we know where it is).

Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit says...
10:54am Thu 4 Oct 12

Anyway, back on topic: it's quite common for location shots not to be in the place they're purporting to be. The opening shots of 'Brighton' in Quadrophenia are actually views of Eastbourne!

MarkBrighton says...
11:15am Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?
I write this as I am eating a "Snickers" bar cleaning with "Cif" looking at some "M&Ms" along with a myriad of other name changes that happen as is the want of the OWNERS whose right it is
Its OUR pier.. Its the PALACE PIER.. always was.. always will be :-)

F in L says...
11:56am Thu 4 Oct 12

Why does the Evening Argus not use its name we all know it by?

fredaj says...
12:53pm Thu 4 Oct 12

F in L wrote:
Why does the Evening Argus not use its name we all know it by?
But they do.

P.Dant says...
1:59pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Media people decide what is photogenic.It is not for real people to question that.As for the name of the Pier,I feel pride when I see "Brighton Pier".It`s the Pier in Brighton."Palace" refes to a time when the the royal family owned Brighton and its residents.Nothing to be proud of there.

Thumper Hove says...
4:02pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier."

Is there another one we don't know about then?
When 'Noble' changed the name in 2000, West Pier was still a viable restoration project.

It was only when those "mysterious" fires broke out in 2003 that Brighton's listed pier was deemed to be too badly damaged to be restored. The police never did catch who started either/both fires.....funny that.

Dealing with idiots says...
4:03pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Yes, whatever happened to the theatre? I know a dome mysteriously appeared on a building in what is now the New England quarter. I believe the rest was destroyed in an 'unfortunate' fire in a warehouse that stood on the site of Jubilee Library. Also I thought the pier was leased by the Noble org and not their personal property.

boo2005 says...
4:08pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?
I write this as I am eating a "Snickers" bar cleaning with "Cif" looking at some "M&Ms" along with a myriad of other name changes that happen as is the want of the OWNERS whose right it is
possibly, there are many of us that still remember and want to think of this monument, historically, as, 'The palace Pier', which is a totally different thing to re-naming consumables, do you understand that?

boo2005 says...
4:18pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Nitrous_McBread wrote:
Well done, Channel 4, for this decision. Anybody who's lived in Brighton for any length of time knows the pier is wholly unrepresentative of the city, offering none of the quality, value and vibe to be found in the rest of the town, as well as being Anyone been on the log flume recently? When it's actually working it costs a family of 4 £16 for a ride which lasts less than two minutes. It is to culture what Jimmy Savile is to childcare. And don't get me started on how they treat their staff...
why do people have to bring their personal feelings into these debates?

it obviously wasn't chosen, because the 'owners' of it, who changed the name, destroyed the whole look of the monument, with nasty looking updates!

....so, 'Nitrous', please keep your personal views aside!

and by the way, I was born near the promenade in 1951, and then, the Palace Pier was very attractive!

boo2005 says...
4:18pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Nitrous_McBread wrote:
Well done, Channel 4, for this decision. Anybody who's lived in Brighton for any length of time knows the pier is wholly unrepresentative of the city, offering none of the quality, value and vibe to be found in the rest of the town, as well as being Anyone been on the log flume recently? When it's actually working it costs a family of 4 £16 for a ride which lasts less than two minutes. It is to culture what Jimmy Savile is to childcare. And don't get me started on how they treat their staff...
why do people have to bring their personal feelings into these debates?

it obviously wasn't chosen, because the 'owners' of it, who changed the name, destroyed the whole look of the monument, with nasty looking updates!

....so, 'Nitrous', please keep your personal views aside!

and by the way, I was born near the promenade in 1951, and then, the Palace Pier was very attractive!

boo2005 says...
4:33pm Thu 4 Oct 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier."

Is there another one we don't know about then?
well yes, 'Hove Actually', it was called the 'West Pier', it was built shortly after the 'Palace Pier', but in my hey-day, in the fifties, it was superior,entertainme
nt-wise and more popular, but some of us are still wondering how or by whom it was eventually burnt down, when it was due for complete restoration!

paulbton says...
7:13pm Thu 4 Oct 12

the new version of Brighton Rock used Eastbourne as Brighton
its called artistic licence that and Brighton looks like a s**t hole these days....

Nitrous_McBread says...
7:15pm Thu 4 Oct 12

boo2005 wrote:
Nitrous_McBread wrote:
Well done, Channel 4, for this decision. Anybody who's lived in Brighton for any length of time knows the pier is wholly unrepresentative of the city, offering none of the quality, value and vibe to be found in the rest of the town, as well as being Anyone been on the log flume recently? When it's actually working it costs a family of 4 £16 for a ride which lasts less than two minutes. It is to culture what Jimmy Savile is to childcare. And don't get me started on how they treat their staff...
why do people have to bring their personal feelings into these debates?

it obviously wasn't chosen, because the 'owners' of it, who changed the name, destroyed the whole look of the monument, with nasty looking updates!

....so, 'Nitrous', please keep your personal views aside!

and by the way, I was born near the promenade in 1951, and then, the Palace Pier was very attractive!
Why do people bring their personal views into these debates? Perhaps because this is a forum for personal views. You expressed a few yourself. It's not a hard concept to grasp, is it? Do keep up x

Sussex jim says...
7:46pm Thu 4 Oct 12

The film crew were probably not prepared to pay the parking charges near the Palace Pier.

Fight_Back says...
8:34pm Thu 4 Oct 12

P.Dant wrote:
Media people decide what is photogenic.It is not for real people to question that.As for the name of the Pier,I feel pride when I see "Brighton Pier".It`s the Pier in Brighton."Palace" refes to a time when the the royal family owned Brighton and its residents.Nothing to be proud of there.
I've lived here all my life, read many books on the history of the city / town, been taught a lot of local history and I've never ever seen anything that stated the town has EVER been been owned by the Royal Family - care to provide the evidence ?

If you really think the Palace Pier was named because of town "ownership" then you might want to educate yourself by walking a few hundred feet from the sea.

chrisso says...
12:42am Fri 5 Oct 12

I've just read this after a night out in Worthing - for a town of that size, on a Thursday night it's deader than the moon. Give me Brighton anytime, aesthetically pleasing pier or not . .

Goldenwight says...
8:02am Fri 5 Oct 12

chrisso wrote:
I've just read this after a night out in Worthing - for a town of that size, on a Thursday night it's deader than the moon. Give me Brighton anytime, aesthetically pleasing pier or not . .
Yeah, it wat surprisingly busy in Worthing last night. Must be everyone escaping their from Eastbourne to avoid the gang warfare on the streets there...

And another example of film-makers faking locations is Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo and Juliet'- there is NO WAY that was filmed in Verona...

Kate234 says...
8:52am Fri 5 Oct 12

What has happened to the pier sale?

twosugars says...
10:36am Fri 5 Oct 12

P.Dant wrote:
Media people decide what is photogenic.It is not for real people to question that.As for the name of the Pier,I feel pride when I see "Brighton Pier".It`s the Pier in Brighton."Palace" refes to a time when the the royal family owned Brighton and its residents.Nothing to be proud of there.
I wouldn't say that the royal family "owned" Brighton, just a smallish holiday home! I would say the Prince Regent did a lot for Brighton. He and Richard Russel (Doctor Brighton) certainly put it on the map as a resort town which then developed into the vibrant city it is today, instead of being some insignifigant fishing village, like Skegness for instance.

Flippin Burghers says...
4:44pm Fri 5 Oct 12

sunnysea wrote:
Hove Actually says...
9:25am Thu 4 Oct 12
Why doe this paper insist in calling
BRIGHTON PIER the palace pier?



It's forever the Palace Pier for people who grew up in Brighton.
It's Palace Pier.

fubsy says...
1:32pm Sun 28 Oct 12

It may be called the Brighton pier for the moment, but i wish i had the original letters for the palace pier. In a few years time the owners will want to change the name back and will pay a fortune for the original lettering.

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