Blake Harrison

Kate & Koji (2020-2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Koji sits at a table in a dated looking café. He holds a white mug and has a full English breakfast in front of him. Kate stands behind him, wearing a green apron and smiling at the camera.

Brenda Blethyn as Kate and Okorie Chukwu as Koji in Kate and Koji (2020-2022) © Hat Trick Productions

Writers: Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin
Director: Ben Kellett
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Jimmy Akingbola (Series 1), Okorie Chukwu (Series 2), Blake Harrison, Barbara Flynn, Meera Syal
Production Company: Hat Trick Productions, ITV Studios
Kent Locations Used: Romney House, School Road, Charing, Herne Bay Beach, Pier & Promenade

Kate & Koji (2020-2022) is a six-part TV sitcom about a working-class woman played by Brenda Blethyn (Vera, Pride & Prejudice (2005)) who runs an old-fashioned café in a neglected seaside town. Kate develops an unexpected and spirited friendship with Koji, an asylum-seeking African doctor (Jimmy Akingbola – Series 1 (In the Long Run (2019), Bel-Air); Okorie Chukwu – Series 2 (The Complex: Lockdown (2020)). Although from very different worlds, they are similar in ways which they do not recognise, including a dogged determination to never back down!

Kate’s resourceful nephew ‘Medium’ played by Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners (2010), Big Bad World (2013)) is often on hand to act as peacemaker. Barbara Flynn (The Durrells, Cracker) also stars as Kate’s lifelong nemesis Councillor Bone, and in Series 1, Meera Syal (Back to Life (2019-2021), The Split (2020)) guest stars as an adversarial GP to Koji.

The series is directed by Ben Kellett and written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. It is a Hat Trick Production for ITV Studios filmed on location in Kent and at Elstree Studios in front of a live audience.

The seaside café for the TV sitcom was filmed at Frasiers Pie and Mash Shop in Herne Bay, standing in for the fictional seaside town of Seagate. For Series 1, the production also filmed exteriors of The Divers Arms pub and various scenes around the Promenade and Pier and an exterior scene at Herne Bay Industrial Estate. A further sequence was shot on the Promenade featuring a storm and its after-effects.

Series Two returned to Herne Bay for exterior filming and once again filmed along the Pier and Promenade, as well as the Neptune Arm and the Bandstand, which doubled as the exterior to a Community Centre.

A damaged road sign saying ‘Seagate’ on the side of a coastal road with the sea in background.

Herne Bay stands in for the fictional seaside town of Seagate © Hat Trick Productions

Herne Bay is a seaside town which has a Pier and shingle beach and is set just outside of the historic City of Canterbury. Recent productions to film in the area include Blue Planet UK – Series 1 (2019), The 1900 Island – Series 1 (2019) and Coast vs Country (2016).

Series 2 of Kate and Koji began airing on ITV on Wednesday 16th March 2022 at 9PM.

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

Edge of Heaven (2014)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

 

Edge of Heaven cast standing in front of a hotel

Edge of Heaven © Hartswood Films/ITV

Starring: Blake Harrison, Justine Michelle Cain, Camille Coduri, Nitin Kundra, Laura Checkley, Louisa Lytton, Marcia Warren, Adrian Scarborough, Robert Evans

Production company: Hartswood Films

Kent Locations: Margate, Broadstairs, Morelli’s and Morgan’s

BLAKE HARRISON (Alfie) standing by the seaside with the beach and town behind him

BLAKE HARRISON (Alfie) © Hartswood Films/ITV

Edge of Heaven is a new six part ITV comedy drama series which displays life at Margate’s finest , and only, ‘80s themed B&B, run by the chaotic Taylor-Chatterjee family,  Wham!-loving Judy and her black pudding enthusiast Husband Tandeep,  and her grown up children, demobbed soldier Ann-Marie and Alfie, whose life is going badly ever since his fiancée Carly left him at the altar.

Edge of Heaven is a Hartswood Films production for ITV, and is produced by Elaine Cameron (Sherlock, Jekyll) and Paul McKenzie (Sadie J, Dani’s House). The series was written by Robert Evans (Stella), who also stars in the sitcom.

The comedy will feature Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), Justine Michelle Cain (Some Girls), Camille Coduri (Doctor Who), Nitin Kundra (Steel River Blues), Laura Checkley (Rosemary and Thyme), Louisa Lytton (EastEnders), Marcia Warren (Vicious) and Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey).

BLAKE HARRISON (Alfie) carrying JUSTINE CAIN (Carly) across the sandy beach

BLAKE HARRISON (Alfie) and JUSTINE CAIN (Carly) © Hartswood Films/ITV

The production visited Margate and Broadstairs between September and October 2013 to film on location and shoot exterior scenes including the B&B which is in Albert Terrace. The interiors of the B&B were filmed at Longcross Studios.

Margate is the quintessential British seaside town, with a sandy beach, harbour, arcades, and historic architecture. The town has lots to offer, including Turner Contemporary, quirky shops, independent galleries and trendy cafes. Margate is a popular filming location, having previously welcomed productions like True Love (2012) and The Apprentice (2009).

Broadstairs is in East Kent offers a sandy beach, Viking Bay lined with traditional beach huts, a band stand and large Victorian terraces as well as a busy high street and many food and drink establishments. The area has previously been used as a film locations by Eastenders (2015) and The Fixer (2008). 

Don’t miss the series, which starts on 21 February 2014 at 21:00 on ITV1.

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

 

Big Bad World (2013)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Big Bad World cast sat on a sofa in a cluttered studio flat smiling at the camera.

Big Bad World (2013) © Comedy Central

Writer / Creator: Joe Tucker, Lloyd Woolf
Starring: Blake Harrison, David Fynn, Seann Walsh, Rebecca Humphries, Scarlett Alice Johnson
Production Companies: Comedy Central Films, Objective Productions
Kent Locations Used: Herne Bay, The Diver’s Arms, Port of Ramsgate

Big Bad World (2013) is a Comedy Central series about university graduate Ben, played by Blake Harrison (Kate & Koji (2020-2022), The Inbetweeners (2010)), who returns home to Great Yarmouth to find that not much has changed in the three years he has been away.

As well as Blake Harrison, the show has many familiar faces from the world of comedy including Seann Walsh (Bad Move, The Bystanders), Rebecca Humphries (The Crown (2016-2022), Ten Percent), David Fynn (Am I Being Unreasonable?, The Mauritanian) and Scarlett Alice Johnson (The Good Karma Hospital, Pramface).

The series was created by Lloyd Woolf (Parents, Cowards) and Joe Tucker (Black Ops, Witless).

Ramsgate and Herne Bay double for Ben’s hometown of Great Yarmouth throughout the series. In Episode 2, Ben boards a boat at the Port of Ramsgate to trick Lucy into believing he’s going to work on an oil rig. After being thrown off the boat, he climbs the step onto Royal Harbour Approach Rd and is then driven home by Beth along the Royal Esplanade.

Beth tries to raise money for charity in Great Yarmouth town centre, actually filmed on Mortimer Street and William Street in Herne Bay. In Episode 8, Ben gets his hair cut at Cube Hair Design in Mortimer Street. Herne Bay Promenade and the exterior of Cain’s Amusements on Central Parade feature throughout the series. The Diver’s Arms appears in Episode 3, as one of the pubs the gang visit for Oakley’s birthday.

Ramsgate is a beautiful coastal town which boasts a beach, amusements, arcades, shops, eateries and a theatre as well as the Thanet District Council managed Port of Ramsgate, the only Royal Harbour Marina in the country. Ramsgate has provided back drops for productions such as True Love (2012), Johnny English Reborn (2011) and Ruby Blue (2008).

Herne Bay is part of the Canterbury district in South East Kent and has a popular shingle beach, beautiful coastline and seafront gardens. The town also has many shops and eateries, amusement arcades, a windmill and some interesting architecture including a Victorian bandstand. Productions that have chosen to film in Herne Bay include The Things I Haven’t Told You (2008) and French Dressing (1964).

Big Bad World (2013) began airing on Comedy Central on Wednesday 21st August 2013 and is now available to purchase on Amazon Prime.

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