Blue Planet UK – Series 1 (2019)

Presenter Steve Brown pictured in a blue coat sitting in his wheelchair by the seafront. Sea, road and boats can be seen in the background.

Presenter Steve Brown ©BBC

Starring: Gillian Burke, Steve Brown, Chris Packham
Production Company: BBC Studios Natural History Unit
Kent Locations Used: Minster Beach and Herne Bay

BBC’s daytime spin-off Blue Planet UK (2019) is due to air throughout next week. It will uncover the incredible stories behind the UK’s marine wildlife. Presenters of the programme will be exploring the history of British waters and explain how they have been influenced by people today.

The Series is presented by Gillian Burke (Springwatch), Steve Brown (Springwatch), and Chris Peckham (Autumnwatch).

Filming for Blue Planet UK took place at Minster beach on Isle of Sheppey, showing presenter Steve and his family as they fossil hunt together. Additional filming also took place at Herne Bay in Canterbury.

Minster beach is located on Isle of Sheppey, which is an island off the northern coast of Kent and has beautiful landscapes and coastline. Previous productions which filmed on Isle of Sheppey include, Coast (2014).

Herne Bay is a seaside town which has a pier and shingle beach and is set just outside of the historic City of Canterbury. Previous productions which have filmed in the area include Coast vs Country (2016).

The series can be seen on BBC One from Monday 25th to Friday 29th March 2019 at 4.30pm. Herne Bay will feature in episode 3 and 4, and Minster beach will feature in episode 3.

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


The Empty Housing Scandal (2019)

Series poster for The Empty Housing Scandal - an image of a blue door in a run-down looking house

The Empty Housing Scandal ©BBC

Starring: Matthew Allwright
Production Company: TwoFour
Kent Location Used: Various properties around Thanet and Folkestone

This five-part series focuses on Britain’s housing crisis as every day 140 new families become homeless, whilst over 2000,000 domestic properties lie empty. Each episode features four to five stories, concentrating on an empty house at some point in its journey to be but back into use as a home. Presenter Matt Allwright wants to expose the empty housing scandal. He also may occasionally have to investigate to track down lost owners or property agents, as he travels around the UK scoping empty houses and pairing them with people who desperately need a home.

 

Presenter Matt Allwright for BBC One’s The Empty Housing Scandal standing in front of some brown houses wearing a red jumper with his arms crossed.

Presenter Matt Allwright for BBC One’s The Empty Housing Scandal ©TwoFour

 

The series was commissioned by TwoFour (The Hotel Inspector, The Jump). It is presented by Matt Allwright (Space Truckers, Watchdog) and will include various properties throughout the districts of Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe.

Thanet is in north east Kent and is made up of resort towns Margate, Broadstairs, and Ramsgate. This district is a very popular location for films and tv shows, having been used for Only Fools and Horses: The Jolly Boys’ Outing (1989) and Mr Selfridge (2013-2016).

Folkestone is a town on the English Channel, located in the south east of Kent and has also been a popular location used in many films and tv shows, such as Moon and Son (1992) and The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993).

The first episode of The Empty Housing Scandal aired on Monday 11th February 2019 at 9.15am on BBC One. It will air each day this week till Friday 15th February 2019.

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


Great British Railway Journeys – Series 10 (2019)

Image of presenter Michael Portillo at one of Britain's railway stations wearing a blue jumper and pink blazor. Tracks and the station can be seen in the background.

Great British Railway Journeys ©BBC

Starring: Michael Portillo
Production Company: Fremantle Media Ltd.
Kent Locations Used: Gravesend, Dartford and Folkestone

BBC documentary series Great British Railway Journeys (2010-) which first premiered on BBC Two in 2010, returns for its tenth series. Presenter Michael Portillo (Great Continental Railway Journeys) travels around the railway networks of Great Britain. He does this whilst referring to an 1840’s copy of Bradshaw’s Guide, comparing how various destinations have transformed since Victorian times.

For the new series, production filmed at railways in various Kent locations, such as Gravesend, Dartford and Folkestone.

Situated in North West Kent is the town of Gravesend  which has exceptional transport links up to London, a cast iron pier, promenade and high street. Gravesend has previously hosted productions including Great British Railway Journeys (2014), The Hospice (2018) and Children in Need – The Rickshaw Challenge (2015).

Dartford is a historic town situated close to London and home to one of Europe’s largest shopping centres. Previous productions which filmed here include Who Do You Think You Are? (2014).

Folkestone is a port town on the English Channel in Kent, with an elegant Victorian clifftop promenade, a creative quarter, gardens, a coastal park, and fishing Harbour. It has also been used as a popular filming location for productions such as Danny Boyle: Pages of the Sea (2018), The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway (2017), and Coast v Country (2017).

The new series of Great British Railway Journeys began airing on Monday 4th February 2019 at 6.30pm on BBC Two, and the Kent episode then aired on Wednesday 13th February 2019.

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


The Lost Commando Raid (2018)

Image of a dark tunnel with The Lost Commando Raid text over the top in bright yellow.

The Lost Commando Raid ©BBC South East

Director: Samuel Supple
Starring: Toby Jones, Phil Eyden
Production Company: BBC South East
Kent Locations Used: Dover

BBC documentary film The Lost Commando Raid (2018) was inspired by Phil Eyden’s book, ‘Dover’s Forgotten Commando Raid’, and tells the story of Operation Abercrombie, a WWII raid led by Lord Lovatt on the French Town of Hardelot in 1942.

Narrating is BAFTA winning actor Toby Jones (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), Christopher Robin (2018)), as amateur historian Phil Eyden discovers mysterious graffiti in a supposedly abandoned fort in Dover that leads him to the story of a long-forgotten commando mission. The documentary includes interviews with Phil Eyden, as well as some of the relatives  of the commando’s taking part.

Production filmed in and around Dover at various locations, including the Drop Redoubt and the Grand Shaft at Western Heights, St Margaret’s at Cliffe, as well as at Discovery Park, where production filmed historian Phil Eyden using a microfilm reader and talking about Dover’s role in WWII.

Dover is the site of the famous White Cliffs of Dover and has been used in various productions such as Britain’s Favourite Walks: Top 100 (2018), Secret Britain (2016) and Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016).

The Lost Commando Raid will air on Friday 14th December 2018 at 7.30pm on BBC South East.

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


BBC’s Imagine (2018)

Artist Rose Wylie and presenter Alan Yentob pictured standing together in Rose's home against a messy painted wall.

Rose Wylie and Alan Yentob ©BBC One

 

Directors: Lindsey Hanlon and Katy Homan

Starring: Alan Yentob, Rose Wylie, and Tacita Dean

Production Company: BBC Studios

Kent Locations Used: Faversham and Romney Marsh

BBC’s series Imagine returns this weekend with presenter and executive producer Alan Yentob. Imagine is an arts series which was first broadcast in 2003. The latest series contains three episodes. Each episode is based on a different topic, and two episodes were filmed in Kent.

Rose Wylie: This is Blooming

This first episode of the series, produced by Lindsey Hanlon, tells the story of artist Rose Wylie, now at the prime of her profession at the age of 83. Her unlikely subjects are drawn from the world around her – from footballers and popular movies, to memories of her childhood during the London Blitz, to the stuff of everyday life. Alan Yentob meets Rose Wylie and delves into her colourful world to discover how her memories and experiences have helped shape the artist that she is today.

This episode was filmed in the home of Rose Wylie near Faversham. Faversham is a beautiful historic market town in the Swale Borough of Kent. Previous productions which filmed there include Hetty Feather Series 3 (2018) and Walks With My Dog (2017).

The Rose Wylie episode will air this Sunday 22nd July 2018 on BBC One at 10:30pm.

Tacita Dean: Looking to See

image of artist Tacita Dean smiling at the back of a mans head towards the camera wearing a grey jumper.

Image of artist Tacita Dean ©BBC One

The second episode, produced by Katy Homan, focuses on the life of internationally renowned British artist Tacita Dean, who is exhibited in three of London’s leading galleries, and is celebrated for her works on analogue film. Alan Yentob joins Tacita Dean in various locations throughout the episode to discuss her poetic and thought-provoking work, and the medium which inspires her – film.

Tacita Dean grew up in the county of Kent and production visited various locations on the Romney Marsh to illustrate this, inclusing Whitehall Farm.  Romeny Marsh covers around 100 square miles from Rye to Hythe and is renowned for its unique natural beauty. It has previously been used as a film location for British Art at War: Paul Nash – The Ghosts of War (2014) and Books That Made Britain – Writers of Rye (2016)

The Tacita Dean episode will air on Sunday 29th July 2018 on BBC One at 10:30pm.

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


Suffragettes – How Women Won the Vote (2018)

Portrait of three suffragettes characters in formal clothing at Commissioner's House with stairs in the background. The centre characters is looking at the camera whilst the two on the outside are looking in the distance.

Image of Suffragettes ©BBC

 

Director: Emma Frank

Starring: Lucy Worsley

Production Company: Brook Lapping Productions

Kent Locations Used: Chatham Dockyard, Commissioner’s House, Tarred Yarn Store, Captains House and the ropey foot tunnel, as well as the Assistant Queens Harbourmaster’s House.

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley is part of a group of BBC programmes marking the 100s anniversary of women gaining the vote in the UK.

In this drama documentary, Lucy Worsley explores, a group of less well known, but equally astonishing, young working-class suffragettes who decided to go against the rules and expectations of Edwardian society.

Worsley reveals what life was like for young women, what drove them to break the law and how they used their own PR to counteract the negative portrayals they received from the press of the day.

Lucy Worsley has been a writer and presenter for Our Food (2012), A Very British Romance (2015) and If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home (2011).

Scenes from Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley was filmed in various locations at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, such as the Commissioner’s House, the Tarred Yarn Store, the Captains House and Ropery foot tunnel, as well as the Assistant Queens Harbourmaster’s House.

Suffragettes by Lucy Worsley airs on BBC1, Monday 4th June at 20.30.

To see the official trailer visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Y2e79lBTw

 

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


Harry Potter: A History of Magic (2017)

J.K. Rowling sitting at a table, looking at the camera, with a pile of books in front of her,

Harry Potter: A History of Magic – Picture Shows: JK Rowling – (C) BBC – Photographer: Tom Hayward

Starring: J.K. Rowling

Kent Locations Used: Holly Hill Woodlands, Tonbridge & Malling

BBC documentary Harry Potter: A History of Magic, explores and celebrates the magical history of the Harry Potter universe. An exhibition on the subject opens in October at the British Library, and the documentary attempts to capture the experience for television by featuring artifacts, texts, memorabilia and artwork from the displays.

Warwick Davis sitting on chair reading book with a fireplace and bookcase behind him.

Programme Name: Harry Potter: A History of Magic – Picture Shows: Warwick Davis – (C) BBC – Photographer: Johann Perry

Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, will feature in the documentary and talk about items that she has donated to the exhibition and their importance in the Harry Potter universe

The production visited Holly Hill Woodlands in Tonbridge & Malling, featuring two local wand makers. Other productions filmed in the area include: Cape Wrath (2007) and Doctor Who: The Dominators (1968).

Harry Potter: A History of Magic airs on Saturday 28th October at 9pm on BBC Two.

 

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