World On Fire – Series 1 (2019)

Actor Jonah Hauer wearing a grey suit riding a bike with Zofia Wichlacz wearing a pink top and skirt sat in front of him. Cycling along a cobbled street with an army parade with horses behind them.

Zofia Wichlacz and Jonah Hauer-King in World On Fire ©BBC

Writer: Peter Bowker
Directors: Chanya Button, Adam Smith, Andy Wilson, Thomas Napper
Starring: Jonah Hauer-King, Zofia Wichlacz, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Helen Hunt, Sean Bean and Arthur Darvill
Production Company: BBC One, Mammoth Screen
Kent Locations Used: Historic Dockyard Chatham

Upcoming BBC seven-part drama series World On Fire (2019-), is a coming of age story set against the harsh conditions of World War II.

Written by Peter Bowker (Occupation, Eric & Ernie) directed by Chanya Button (Vita & Virginia), Adam Smith (Trespass Against Us), Andy Wilson (Cracker) and Thomas Napper (Jawbone). The drama series centers around the lives of ordinary people affected by the war starring Jonah Hauer-King (Postcards from London, Little Women) as Army soldier Harry Chase, Zofia Wichlacz (Warsaw ’44, Amok) as Kasia Tomaszeski and Yrsa Daley-Ward (White Colour Black, Der Koch) as Connie. Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets, Mad About You) plays the role of an American news reporter Nancy Campbell based in Berlin, while Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) is bus conductor and peace activist Douglas Bennett.

HMS Cavalier at The Historic Dockyard in Chatham was used as a major filming location in Episode 3 of the series playing the role of HMS Exeter during the first Naval battle of World War Two: Battle of River Plate.

Set on the River Medway, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has become a popular film location due to its unique Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, dry dock, cobbled streets, industrial buildings and collection of preserved naval vessels from different periods of the Royal Navy. The Dockyard has previously featured as a filming location set around the 1940s and 50s in a number of both British and international productions including Summer of Rockets (2019), The Halcyon (2018) and The Crown (2016).

The first episode of World on Fire aired on BBC One on Sunday 29th September 2019 and will also be available on Amazon Prime after the series has aired.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.