Heartlands 2002

Colin is a mild-mannered newsagent who spends his evenings on a local darts team. When he discovers his wife, Sandra has been unfaithful with the team’s captain, Geoff, they have a heated argument and she leaves him. The darts team is bound for a regional final in Blackpool, but Geoff drops Colin from the team and takes Sandra with him.

Motivated by Zippy’s advice not to end up regretting the moment, Colin resolves to travel to Blackpool to tell Sandra he loves her. Taking a leap of faith, he leaves his newsagent shop in the care of loyal customers and sets off on his journey.

His first stop is a motorway cafe, where he tries to strike up a conversation with a waitress, but his awkward small talk is ignored. That evening he walks into a biker pub and meets landlord Ron and barmaid Mandy. He also chats with one of the bikers, Ian, who challenges him to a game of darts. Ian then invites Colin to join him and his girlfriend around their makeshift campsite behind the pub, and even persuades him to let Ian cut his hair. Colin attends a performance at the pub by Kate Rusby, and spends the rest of the evening entertaining his new friends with stories about his hero, Eric Bristow, and toothbrush juggling around the campfire. When he wakes the next day, his new friends are gone, leaving a photo as a memento.

During a break, he meets an eco-warrior chained to a tree and shares a cheese sandwich. Later he encounters a group of girl guides and spends a few hours with their leader Sonja. He explains to Sonja how he gave his wife everything she ever wanted, yet it was not enough. He continues toward a highway, checking a map at a fork, only to have his moped crushed under the wheels of a speeding lorry.

While walking along the road, he is passed by Ron, who is taking Mandy to Blackpool for a dirty weekend, with Mandy’s daughter along for the ride. In Blackpool, Ron asks Colin to return the favor of providing a lift by taking the child out for a few hours. Colin takes Mandy and her daughter for a stroll while Ron chats up the hotel receptionist.

The trio have fun at a fair. Upon wandering the town, Colin spots Sandra; he runs in the opposite direction and ends up spending the night on a sea-front bench. The next day, he makes it to the finals.

At the darts finals, Geoff is involved in an argument with the opposing team. He asks Sandra to step outside for a chat, and she confesses that she regrets the affair and no longer wants to be involved with Geoff. Colin tells her that, although he loves her, he does not want to return to his old life and would rather keep exploring the wider world. He offers Sandra the newsagent and wishes her well.

As Colin walks past a cafe, he nods to his hero, Eric Bristow, who nods back. He buys a new moped and continues along the road, while Mandy and her daughter wave at him from a bus.