The Last Trip: Former trawlermen and MPs star in new film

FILM STARS: From left to right, Ray Hawker, Mason Redfearn, Ray Coles (with back to camera), Ron Bateman and Stan Fenton

They were key cabinet members in Tony Blair’s Labour government.

Now former MPs John Prescott and Alan Johnson are set to hit the big screen as unlikely film stars.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Mr Prescott plays himself in new comedy The Last Trip about a crew of retired deep-sea fishermen who steal a trawler for one final adventure.

Ex-Home Secretary and former postal workers union leader Mr Johnson turns the clock back to play a postman unwittingly delivering trawler parts to the gang as they bring their rusting old ship back to life.

He said: “It was great fun to be a postman again after all these years.

“As well as being a comedy, the film is also a tribute to generations of courageous trawler men who sailed from Hull to fish in the freezing waters of Arctic but sadly never returned to their home port.”

It’s estimated around 6,000 men from Hull died over the years when the city was home to the world’s largest deep-water fishing fleet.

Other well-known faces appearing in the film include former Archbishop of York John Sentamu in a cameo role, while ex-UKIP MEP Mike Hookem plays a pub landlord.

He lost his brother in what became known as the Triple Trawler Tragedy in 1968 when 58 crew members perished after three Hull ships were lost in storm-lashed seas off Iceland.

He said: “One of the greatest pains for my mother was that she had nowhere to go to grieve. I am sure many of the families who lost loved ones still feel the same today.”

TRIBUTE: The Last Trip stars real former trawlermen

The stars of the film are real-life retired Hull trawlermen in their first ever acting roles.

They include ex-trawler skipper Mason Redfearn, former chairman of the Hull branch of the British Fishermen’s Association Ron Bateman, leading members of the Hull Bullnose Heritage Group Ray Coles and Ray Hawker, and the late Stan Fenton, who sadly died recently.

Despite having no previous acting experience between them, all five were chosen to play old crewmates united for a last trip to sea.

The film is the brainchild of writer and director Andrew Fenton.

A trawlerman’s son, he persuaded his late father to join the film’s fictional crew.

He said: “Sadly, my Dad died recently but along with his shipmates in the film he really threw himself into the role and was able to achieve something he never did while he was on the trawlers – sailing under the Humber Bridge.

“I wanted to make a film using ordinary people rather than actors because it’s a story about real people. Luckily, I was very fortunate that the likes of John Prescott and Alan Johnson agreed to appear in it too.

“I also wanted to make a comedy to make people laugh even though there’s also a serious message in there about the importance Hull’s fishing industry and how a lot of it has largely been forgotten.”

He said the veteran trawlermen had been a joy to work with.

“At first, some of them took a bit of persuading but eventually the guys took to it like ducks to water,” said Mr Fenton.

SETTING: St Andrew’s Dock, Hull

“Some of the filming was pretty hard and literally took all day at times but they never complained, they just got on with it.”

Mr Bateman, who campaigned alongside Mr Johnson to secure belated compensation for fishermen following the Cod Wars and the collapse of the deep-water industry, said: “None of us had done anything like this before but Andrew was very encouraging and it was a great experience.

“Once you have been fishing on a trawler in the middle of an Arctic storm, you can pretty much turn your hand to anything.”

The independent film is the first feature-length work by Mr Fenton’s Northern Films company, which is based in Priory Park in west Hull.

Shooting started four years ago and alongside the traditional filming and acting, special computer-generated scenes showing Hull’s St Andrew’s Dock and Hessle Road in its fishing heyday have also been created for some scenes.

A scheduled release date last year was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic but it’s hoped the film will be screened in selected Odeon cinemas later this year.

“It’s mostly an upbeat comedy but there are some poignant moments too. Hopefully, it will provide a good night’s entertainment,” said Mr Fenton.

“It was written locally, it was produced locally and recorded locally so the key factor is everyone in the film has either got some connection with the fishing industry or they’re just from the local area.

In the run-up to the film’s cinematic release, Northern Films will also be releasing a series of short documentaries on its social media sites over the next few months looking at different aspects of the fishing industry.

For more information visit www.northernfilms.co.uk