Writer: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo
Starring: Eiza González, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Benedict Wong, Alex Sharp, Tsai Chin
Production Company: Bighead Littlehead, Plan B Entertainment, Primitive Streak, T-Street, The Three-Body Universe, YooZoo Pictures
Kent Locations Used: Discovery Park
Based on the novel of the same name by Liu Cixin, 3 Body Problem (2024) is an 8-part Netflix series which follows humanity’s first contact with aliens from the planet Trisolaris, and a secret organisation who aid them in their invasion of Earth.
Creator: Guy Ritchie Starring: Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson
Production Company: Miramax Television, Moonage Pictures, Toff Guy Films
Kent Locations Used: Detling Diner, Maidstone, Ashford Cattle Market
Based on the 2019 film of the same name, The Gentlemen (2024) is an eight-part crime-drama series for Netflix. After the death of his father, Eddie Halstead inherits a large estate, unaware it is the front for a drug empire. With no experience in the criminal underworld, Eddie must take over the operation or lose everything.
With high-speed connections to London, Ashford is a busy market town with a bustling town centre that boasts two shopping malls, vibrant cafés and pubs and a partly pedestrianised high street. The Thompsons (2012) also filmed in Ashford.
The Gentlemen (2024) will be released on Netflix on Thursday 7th March 2024.
Creator: D.C. Moore
Starring: Julianne Moore, Nicholas Galitzine, Tony Curran
Production Company: Hera Pictures, SKY Studios
Kent Locations Used: Cobham Hall, Knole Park
Mary and George (2024) is a 7-part historical drama series following the true story of Countess Mary Villiers, who moulded her son George to seduce King James I and become his all-powerful lover.
Cobham Hall is a private school in a historic house which is located in 150 acres of Grade II listed parkland. Its features include a stunning ballroom, library, cobbled courtyards, formal gardens, water towers, modern classrooms and sports facilities, including a swimming pool. Recent productions to have filmed at Cobham Hall include The Crown Series 1-6 (2016-2023), Hetty Feather Series 1-6 (2015-2020) and High End Yaariyaan (2019).
Creator: Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis, Stuart Lane
Starring: Noel Fielding, Hugh Bonneville, Ellie White, Tamsin Greig, Asim Chaudry, Joe Wilkinson
Production Company: Big Talk Productions
Kent Locations Used: Bygone Farm, Chiddingstone, Fort Amherst, Penshurst, High Rocks
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (2024) is a six-part comedy series following lovable rogue Dick Turpin who unwillingly becomes head of a band of outlaws intent on outwitting the corrupt lawman Jonathan Wilde.
Production visited various locations in Kent to film for the medieval series, including the picturesque village of Chiddingstone, Bygone Farm, Fort Amherst, Penshurst village and High Rocks.
Built in medieval style, Bygone Farm is an extraordinary farm location and a perfect double for an ancient medieval farm of village. The farm features a courtyard, oak barn, traditional farmhouse, stables, and 50 acres of rolling parkland. There are also various vintage farm tools, machinery and farmyard props available including an old plough, oak barrels and a traditional horse cart.
Chiddingstone is one of the oldest and most picturesque villages in Kent. A beautiful example of a Tudor one-street village, over 70% of the buildings are more than 200 years old and many feature half-timbered sides, gables and stone-hung red-tiled roofs. Previous productions to have filmed in the village include, A Room With a View (1986) and The Larkins (2021-2022).
Built during Napoleonic times to defend Medway from a land-based attack, Fort Amherst consists of two run-down period outbuildings, cannons, defensive ditches, dressed period guard quarters, and atmospheric underground tunnels. Recent productions to have filmed there include The Witcher Series 3 (2023), The Nevers (2021) and Darkest Hour (2018).
Once a Stone Age camp, the High Rocks are magnificent sandstone rocks interlinked with bridges in a tranquil woodland setting. Situated within the High Rocks complex there are four oak beam function rooms, each with its own bar and dance floor. Britannia Series 3 (2021) filmed at the High Rocks.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (2024) will release on Apple TV+ on Friday 1st March 2024.
Writer: Lucia Keskin
Starring: Lucia Keskin, Selin Hizli, Daniel Fearn, Jamie Bisping, Martha Cope, Darren Strange
Production Company: Roughcut Television, BBC3
Kent Locations Used: Ramsgate, Margate, Bugsy’s Ten Pin Bowling Centre, Nayland Rock Hotel, Broadstairs
Things You Should Have Done (2024) follows Chi, a self-titled stay-at-home daughter, who finds her laidback lifestyle thrown into turmoil when both of her parents die and she discovers she will only inherit their house once she completes a list of things she should have done.
Located on the seafront between Margate and Cliftonville, Bugsy’s Ten Pin Bowling Centre offers 12-lanes as well as a diner, bar area and amusement arcade. It is also the only ten-pin bowling shop in Thanet.
Director: Alexander Milo Bischof
Starring: Dylan Edwards, Laura Haddock, Ben Aldridge, Natasha O’Keeffe, Shaun Dooley Production Company: Stave Hill Films
Kent Locations Used: Margate, Arlington House, Thanet District Council Offices, St Austin & St Gregory Church – Margate, Canterbury Prison
Tyger (2024) is a road movie which follows an ex-soldier who, upon his release from prison, embarks on a journey to reunite with his family.
The lead character’s journey starts in Margate, and filming was undertaken on various Margate roads, as well as at Arlington House, St Austin & St Gregory Church and the Thanet District Council offices. Filming also took place at Canterbury Prison.
Margate is a seaside town complete with sandy beach, harbour, amusement park, period housing and ultra-modern art gallery Turner Contemporary. Arlington House sits on Margate seafront and is an eighteen-storey residential apartment block and a great example of British Brutalist architecture. Other recent productions to have featured Margate include Empire of Light (2023), Dreamland (2023) and Series 4 of Killing Eve (2018-2022).
Now owned by Canterbury Christ Church University, the former Canterbury prison has wings with closed cells dating back to 1808. Though it is no longer available as a filming location, it previously played host to Series 2 of The Larkins (2021-2022), Deceit (2021) and Small Axe (2020) having filmed there.
Tyger (2024) is due to be released on Prime Video, AppleTV+ and the Google store on Monday 12th February 2024.
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Jason Statham, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, Emmy Raver-Lampman
Production Company: Cedar Park Studios, Miramax
Kent Locations Used: Castle Farm & Lower Austin Lodge, Kingsferry Bridge
The Beekeeper (2024) follows Adam Clay, a former operative of a secret organisation known as The Beekeepers. After his friend falls victim to scamming by a phishing company, he sets out to exact revenge.
Production visited Kent to film at Castle Farm & Lower Austin Lodge, which doubles for Mrs Parker’s (Phylicia Rashad) cottage and beekeeping farm. Filming also took place on the Kingsferry Bridge, involving a vehicle being driven off the bridge into the Swale Estuary below.
Set in a picturesque, unspoilt farmyard nestled into a valley of trees and arable fields sits Lower Austin Lodge, a Grade II listed 16th Century farmhouse complete with original features and a modern renovated interior. A popular filming location, it is part of the Castle Farm estate – set within 1,200 acres of land with varied landscapes, it includes lavender fields, hop gardens, apple orchards, bluebell woodlands and meadows. It is particularly popular for photoshoots and music videos but has also played host to Road Games (2016).
The Kingsferry Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge that links the Isle of Sheppey to mainland Kent. The bridge isn’t as busy as it once was since the new Sheppey Crossing was built next to it, and therefore can potentially be closed for filming. Too Close (2021), Kiss Me First (2018) and Silent Witness Series 26 (2023) feature the Kingsferry Bridge.
The Beekeeper (2024) will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 12th January 2024.
Writer: Gwyneth Hughes Starring: Toby Jones, Monica Dolan, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Alex Jennings, Ian Hart, Lia Williams, Will Mellor, Clare Calbraith, Shaun Dooley, Lesley Nicol Production Company: ITV Studios, Little Gem
Kent Locations Used: BT Sevenoaks, Westerham, Allens Farm
Mr Bates vs the Post Office (2024) is an ITV miniseries chronicling the events behind the British Post Office Scandal, when hundreds of Post Office employees were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system.
The series filmed at various locations in Kent, including the BT building in Sevenoaks, Pilgrims Way in Westerham, and Allens Farm. Allens Farm features throughout the series as the home of Alan (Toby Jones) and Suzanne (Julie Hesmondhalgh), the BT Sevenoaks building doubles for both the Fujitsu Offices in Bracknell and the interior of Post Offices HQ, and Pilgrims Way features briefly in Episode 2 as Bob (Ian Hart) drives along a country road on the phone with Michael (Shaun Dooley).
Situated on 28 acres of land, Allens Farm is a beautiful farmhouse with a barn in the heart of Sevenoaks district. Other productions to have filmed on the farm include The Third Day (2020) and The Cleaner (2021).
Mr Bates vs the Post Office (2023) will air on ITV on Monday 1st January 2024.
Writer: Heidi Thomas Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Raine, Pam Ferris, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Jenny Agutter, Laura Main, Judy Parfitt, Stephen McGann, Cliff Parisi, Ben Caplan, Jennifer Kirby, Leonie Elliot, Linda Bassett, Annabelle Apsion Production Company: Neal Street Productions for BBC Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham
Much-loved BBC period drama Call the Midwife (2012-2024) is back for its annual Christmas Special, which will kick off the thirteenth series. Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, the TV drama follows the lives of nuns and midwives working in the East End of London during the 1950s and 60s.
Set in December 1968, the Series 13 Christmas Special will air on Monday 25th December 2023. With the Apollo 8 moon mission about to launch, Sister Monica Joan fears she won’t live to see man walk on the moon, Shelagh and Dr Turner receive an unexpected parcel, and Nancy and Colette receive a generous offer which could change their lives.
Series 13 will follow from Sunday 7th January 2024. As 1969 unfolds, the Nonnatus House team are under ever-increasing pressure due to poor housing, social and health challenges. The new series will explore stories from within the Sylheti and Nigerian communities as well as issues surrounding Cerebral Palsy, Congenital Hip Dysplasia, Tetanus, Porphyria and TB.
Series 1 Episode 1 of Call the Midwife aired for the first time on Sunday 15th January 2012 on BBC One and attracted over 10 million viewers. A new series has aired every year since, along with an annual Christmas Special broadcast every Christmas Day since 2012.
The early series featured actress Jessica Raine as the main protagonist Nurse Jenny Lee, with leading supporting cast Helen George as Nurse Trixie Franklin, Pam Ferris as Sister Evangelina, Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan and Miranda Hart playing Chummy Browne, all led by the calm guidance of Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter). Vanessa Redgrave narrates the series as mature Jennifer Worth.
The more recent series feature now familiar faces Nurse Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby), Nurse Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), Nurse Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) and Nurse Trixie Franklin (Helen George) . Supporting cast includes long standing characters Doctor Turner (Stephen McGann) and his wife Shelagh Turner (Laura Main), Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) and Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion). Following her absence from Series 10, the much-loved Mother Mildred (Miriam Margolyes) will make a comeback in the Series 11 Christmas special.
During all twelve seasons Call the Midwife has made use of the settings of The Historic Dockyard Chatham to stand in for the Victorian buildings of Poplar in East London. The Fitted Rigging House doubles for the Lisbon Buildings and Rakesby Street Homeless Shelter. Meanwhile, Admiral’s Offices exteriors feature as Poplar Maternity Home and the London Hospital. The Tarred Yarn Store has made regular appearances as a Boxing Ring, Chinese Laundry and derelict building. HMS Cavalier, a WW2 destroyer ship and The National Destroyer Memorial, has also featured playing the role of a Russian ship. The Commissioner’s House gardens set the scene for a famous engagement scene in one episode, while Anchor’s Wharf and the Dockyard Railway and steam train have regularly appeared for Poplar Docks scenes. The Victorian Ropery even appears in one episode as a working ropemakers as well as various cellars and tunnels around the building. In Episode 1 of Series 11, the Sail and Colour Loft appears as the building site where human bones are found. The Royal Dockyard Church also appears in the same episode as the graveyard that Nurse Trixie and Matthew (Olly Rix) visit.
The Historic Dockyard Chatham was established in the mid-16th century and is located on the River Medway. A location with an extensive history, evident through its numerous buildings and exhibitions open to the public. Today Chatham is the only one of the original four Royal Navy Ropeyards to remain in operation and, together with its related buildings, forms the finest integrated group of 18th century manufacturing buildings in Britain. The site offers maritime, industrial, Georgian and Victorian architecture and cobbled streets, an ideal set for many film productions. Recent period dramas to film at the Dockyard include Belgravia (2020), World On Fire Series 1 (2019) and Pennyworth Series 1 (2019) to name but a few.
Call the Midwife Series 13 Christmas Special will air on BBC One on Christmas Day 2023, with the rest of the series to commence from Sunday 7th January 2024.
All 11 series are available to view on BBC iPlayer or purchase on Amazon Prime.
Writer: Suzanne Cowie, Alice Hunter (novel)
Starring: Annabel Scholey, Jack Farthing, Luke Treadaway,
Production Company: BlackBox Multimedia, Clapperboard Studios
Kent Locations Used: Folkestone, Folkestone Harbour, The Warren Country Park, Saltwood, Sandgate, The Breaker’s Beach House, Knowlton Court, Abbot’s Cliff, South Foreland Lighthouse, The White Cliffs of Dover
Set in an idyllic English town, The Serial Killer’s Wife (2023) follows Beth Fairchild as her life is turned upside-down when her husband is arrested for murder. Initially believing him to be innocent, Beth soon discovers that her husband may not be who she thought he was.
Filming also took place in the nearby village of Saltwood. A private house features as Adam’s house and the Hide and Fox Restaurant doubles as Beth’s café.
Knowlton Court in Canterbury features as the home of Beth and Tom throughout the series. Additionally, roads on the estate were used for scenes of police cars speeding along, the woodland was used for the opening scene of a woman jogging, and the Church features in Episode 4 in a wedding scene.
Folkestone is a seaside town with elegant clifftop promenade, lower coastal park, fishing harbour and Victorian cliff-top lifts. It is a popular filming location, with recent productions to film there including Who Is Erin Carter? (2023), Pistol (2022) and The Fight (2019).
Saltwood is located immediately to the north of Hythe on the high land looking over the Romney Marsh and surrounded by farm land. The parish includes Sandling which has a railway station on the mainline to London. It is the location of Saltwood Castle, once the home of MP Alan Clark and Sandling Park, a large estate which stretches around the village up to its second hamlet, Pedlinge. Previous productions that filmed in Saltwood Castle were The Alan Clark Diaries (2004) and My Week with Marilyn (2011).
The Breakers is a beach house in Sandgate. Set over three floors, the house has a terrace and two balconies offering uninterrupted sea views and direct access to the beach. Nestled between Folkestone and Hythe, the village of Sandgate has a shingle beach offering views over the Channel and a high street with antique shops, inns and restaurants.
A Victorian lighthouse on the White Cliffs of Dover, South Foreland Lighthouse was the first lighthouse powered by electricity and the site of the first international radio transmission. Managed by the National Trust, the site has previously played host to Rogue Agent (2022), Rustom (2016) and Mr Selfridge (2013-2016).