BBC Two

The First Team (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Actors Theo Barklem-Biggs, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, Jake Short, Jack McMullen, Will Arnett sitting on a bench in front of a set of lockers wearing red football shirts

• Theo Barklem-Biggs, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, Jake Short, Jack McMullen and Will Arnett in The First Team (2020) © Fudgepark

Writers: Damon Beesley and Iain Morris
Director: Iain Morris, Damon Beesley
Starring: Jack McMullen, Jake Short, and Shaquille Ali-Yebuah
Production Company: BBC Studios, Fudge Park Productions
Kent Locations Used: Sevenoaks

The First Team (2020) is a six-part British sitcom following the friendship of three young footballers at a fictional Premier League Club. The series follows the mostly off-pitch antics of the boys played by Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (The Feed, Save Me), Jack McMullen (Little Boy Blue, Brotherhood) and Jake Short (All Night, Man of the House) who are far less talented where money and women are concerned than scoring goals. The series also stars Paolo Sassanelli as the mercurial Italian manager Cesare, Will Arnett (The Lego Movie, Arrested Development) as the team’s eccentric American Chairman, Theo Barklem-Biggs (Sliced, White Gold) as resident hard-man Petey Brooks and Chris Geere (Single Parents, Modern Family) as their ineffectual coach Chris Booth.

This sitcom was written and directed by The Inbetweeners creators Iain Morris (Ill Behaviour, Drifters) and Damon Beesley (The Festival, Siblings). Both writers received the British Comedy Award for Best Sitcom in 2008 for The Inbetweeners, and have also won awards for their comedy series White Gold.

Production visited a private residence in Sevenoaks to double as Petey’s (Theo Barklem-Biggs) house and gardens. Sevenoaks is a Kentish town which is home to landmarks such as Knole Park and Riverhill Gardens, both of which have stunning natural and historic significance. Previous productions to film at Knole Park include The Favourite (2019) and Judwaa 2 (2017).

The First Team will air on BBC Two on Thursday 28th May 2020 at 9:30pm.

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

Summer of Rockets (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Close up of actress from Summer of Rockets pictured inside a building, looking deep in thought off camera, wearing a blue coat and green scarf.

Summer of Rockets ©BBC Pictures

Writer: Stephen Poliakoff
Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Starring: Toby Woolf, Suanne Braun, Keeley Hawes, Linus Roache, Timothy Spall, Toby Stephens
Production Company: Little Island Productions
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyards, Chatham

Set in London during the height of the Cold War, Summer of Rockets (2019) is a drama based on true events amid with growing tensions across Europe. At the time, the UK tested its first hydrogen bomb, the Soviets launched their first ballistic missile, and the space race between America and the Soviet Union had begun.

Written and directed by multi-award winning writer Stephen Poliakoff (Dancing on the Edge, Close to the Enemy), the series stars Toby Woolf (The Last Post), Suanne Braun (No Signal, Starhyke), Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty, Bodyguard) Linus Roache (Non-Stop, Vikings), Timothy Spall (Finding Your Feet, Hatton Gardens), Toby Stephens (And Then There Were None, Lost in Space).

The streets outside the Ropery in The Historic Dockyard Chatham were used to film the 1950s civil defence exercise in the series and the upper floors of the Ropery itself featured as civil defence training rooms.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham, with its Victorian and Georgian architecture continues to be a popular filming location. Previous productions which featured this location have been The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) and Foyle’s War – A War of Nerves (2004).

Summer of Rockets can be seen on BBC Two on Wednesday 22nd May 2019 at 9pm. After this, episodes will then be shown every Wednesday for the next six weeks.

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

Black Earth Rising (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Black Earth Rising Series Poster Image- main character in a dress staring up at the sky on a dirt track with foliage either side.

Black Earth Rising Series ©BBC Two

Writer / Director: Hugo Blick
Starring: Aure Atika, Abena Ayivor, Martin Bassindale
Production Company: Drama Republic BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Drama Republic
Kent Locations Used: Sevenoaks

Black Earth Rising (2018) is an upcoming television drama series written and directed by Hugo Blick. This poignant new drama tackles issues such as the relationship between contemporary Africa and the West and the prosecution of international war crimes.

Starring Aure Atika (Mademoise Chambon, The Night Manager) as Sophie Barre, Abena Ayivor (Machine Gun Preacher, The Dinosaur Project) as Bibi Mundanzi, Martin Bassindale (On Chesil Beach, Masters of the Air) as Peter.

The production visited  a private residence in Sevenoaks whose swimming pool doubled for a Spa hotel in Paris. Sevenoaks has been a popular filming location and previously featured in the latest series of Vanity Fair (2018).

The six part series began airing on Monday 10th September 2018 on BBC Two.

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

King Lear (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Portrait shot of character King Lear sitting on a chair with his three daughters by his side in the palace. Background is black and white chequered floor with black wall panels.

King Lear and his three daughters ©BBC

Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Florence Pugh, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott, John Macmillan, Jim Carter, Christopher Eccleston, Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf, Karl Johnson
Production Company: Playground Entertainment, Amazon Studios and BBC
Kent Locations Used: Dover

King Lear (2018) is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film tells the tragic story of King Lear (Anthony Hopkins) who abdicates his throne in favour of his two corrupt daughters Regan (Emily Watson) and Goneril (Emma Thompson), rejecting his loving and honest third daughter Cordelia (Florence Pugh) when she fails his test of flattery.

Director Richard Eyre has previously worked on films Notes on a Scandal and Iris. Anthony Hopkins, who plays King Lear, is best known for his role in The Silence of the Lambs and Nixon. Emma Thompson as eldest daughter Goneril, was previously in Love Actually and The Remains of the Day.

Scenes were filmed in various locations in Dover, such as at Dover Castle, Samphire Hoe, and Abbot’s Cliff.

King Lear (2018) aired on Monday 28 May 2018 on BBC Two.

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