Alex MacQueen

Actors running towards the camera on botany bay beach, white cliffs behind

Hunderby © Sky Atlantic HD

Writer: Julia Davis, Barunka O’Shaughnessy
Starring: Alexandra Roach, Julia Davis, Alex Macqueen, Rufus Jones, Julian Barratt
Production Company: Baby Cow Productions
Kent Locations Used: Botany Bay

Set in the 19^th Century, Hunderby (2012) is a dark comedy series following shipwreck survivor Helene, who is washed ashore near a small English village where she meets and marries a widowed pastor. However, her new husband’s housekeeper is trying to drive a wedge between them, and it appears that Helene is hiding dark secrets.

Written by Barunka O’Shaughnessy (Motherland, Timewasters) and Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Love Actually) – who also plays Dorothy the housekeeper – the series stars Alexandra Roach (Anna Karenina, The Iron Lady) as Helene, Alex Macqueen (The Hide (2009), Peaky Blinders) as Edmund, Rufus Jones (W1A, Camping) as Dr. Foggerty and Julian Barratt (The Harry Hill Movie (2013), The Mighty Boosh) as the series Narrator.

Helene being rescued in the arms of a man from the shipwreck on a sandy beach

Helene being rescued from the shipwreck © Sky Atlantic HD

In early 2012, the cast and crew of Hunderby came to Botany Bay to make the most of the quiet stretches of sandy beach and picturesque white cliffs which served as the backdrop for the shipwreck scenes and where Edmund proposes marriage to Helene in the first episode.

Botany Bay is one of Kent’s most popular filming locations due to its sandy beach, rock pools, white cliffs and highly photographed white chalk stacks. Other productions to have filmed there include Thaandavam (2012), True Love (2012) and Series 2 of Humans (2016).

Series 1 of Hunderby (2012) premiered on Sky Atlantic on Monday 27^th August 2012 and is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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

Alex MacQueen and Phillip Campbell in the wooden Bird hide out with binoculars

Alex MacQueen and Phillip Campbell in the Bird hide out © Poisson Rouge

Director: Marek Losey

Writer: Tim Whitnall

Starring: Alex Macqueen and Phil Campbell

Production Company: Poisson Rouge Pictures, Solution Films Limited

Kent Filming Locations: Elmley Marshes, Swale and Harty Ferry Inn

Based on the play by Tim Whitnall and starring Alex MacQueen and Philip Campbell, The Hide tells the story of a reclusive bird watcher who spends his time on desolate marshes. His peace is disrupted by the arrival of a stranger whose dishevelled appearance initially causes him some alarm. Surprisingly, the pair strike up a friendship, discovering that they have more in common than they first thought. However a shocking police announcement on the radio throws the two friends into a deadly fight for survival in this tense thriller.

The Hide - a wooden shed surrounded by filming equipment

Behind the scenes image - lighting equipment on the marshes

The Hide was erected on the marshy shores just below the Harty Ferry Inn. Other footage was shot a little further along at the Elmley Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey. Exposed to the elements, the bleak and atmospheric coastal marshland was the perfect backdrop for this tense thriller.

Elmley Marshes is a little bit of wilderness located on the shores of the River Swale and is home to many unusual species such as the Avocet and the Marsh Harrier making it an ideal spot for twitching and indeed a film about a bird twitcher! The marshes have previously been used by productions such as Jekyll and Hyde (2015), Great British Railway Journeys (2014) and A Taste of Britain (2014).

The film was well received on the film festival circuit, making the official selection at the Dinard Film Festival and has recently been acquired by Film4.

The Hide was released in cinemas in 2008 and is now available on DVD.

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

Kent's Premier Film Commission

Hunderby – Series 1 (2012)

The Hide (2009)