Actor dresses up as Co-op Live arena fallen air conditioning unit for Halloween

A Manchester actor has gone viral after dressing up as the air conditioning system that fell from the ceiling of the Co-op Live arena for Halloween.

Dan Ellis came up with his costume idea in May when the troubled new £365 million venue in the city had to cancel a series of opening performances after part of its ventilation and air conditioning system fell to the ground during a soundcheck.

“It became a running joke in Manchester,” the 34-year-old told the PA news agency.

“The Co-op live arena had so many issues leading up to opening – when the whole thing happened, I just turned to my partner and I knew then that it was going to have to be my Halloween costume.”

Dan Ellis came up with his costume idea in May (Dan Ellis/PA)

The actor and director spent a week creating his unique costume using a cardboard box, paper plates, posters, fabric and a hot glue gun.

Sporting a grey box and a hat adorned with the words “Co-op Live”, which he believes made him over two metres tall, pictures of Mr Ellis’ outfit have received more than 18,000 likes on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’ve grown up doing pantomimes, I do them every year so I’m quite accustomed to looking stupid in front of other people,” he said.

“We were at a friend’s flat party on Saturday night – I did have to message them beforehand just before the night to check how high their ceiling was because with the headpiece I was probably about seven-and-a-half feet tall.”

Mr Ellis said he is known for his creative Halloween costumes and hoped his tribute to the Manchester arena would give people “a little giggle”.

“Everything is a bit naff at the moment, it’s coming into winter and everyone is a bit gloomy and down in the dumps and the weather is rubbish,” he said.

“I thought about doing these kinds of things if it gives people a little giggle, I’m happy for the day, I like making people laugh.”

Other character Mr Ellis has dressed up as in the past include television presenter Judy Finnigan during her “wardrobe malfunction” at the National Television Awards and Kim Woodburn, presenter of Channel 4’s How Clean is Your House?

The Co-op Live arena was hit by a string of issues earlier this year which meant scheduled performances from acts including Olivia Rodrigo and British band Keane were postponed, while a series of shows by Take That were moved to the AO Arena in Manchester.

Live music finally got under way when Manchester band Elbow opened the venue on May 14.