Brands Hatch

Rush (2013)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl in Rush (2013). Both men are wearing red racing jumpsuits, and Brühl holds a red helmet in his arms. Behind them is a row of red racing cars.

Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl in Rush (2013) ©Universal Pictures

Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Peter Morgan
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Natalie Dormer, Alexandra Maria Lara
Production Company: Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media, Working Title Films, Imagine Entertainment, Revolution Films
Kent Locations Used: Brands Hatch

Rush (2013) is an action-drama biopic about the 1970’s Formula 1 rivalry between charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda whose glamorous fast paced lifestyles and jobs as racing drivers push them to breaking point.

Rush has an award winning team behind it, with director Ron Howard (Da Vinci Code, Apollo 13) and writer Peter Morgan (The Crown (2016-2020), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)) having both previously won 2 Oscars. 

The film stars Chris Hemsworth (Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Thor), Daniel Brühl (Inglorious Basterds, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Olivia Wilde (BoJack Horseman, TRON: Legacy), Alexandra Maria Lara (The King’s Man, Downfall) and Natalie Dormer (The Tudors, Game of Thrones).

The Rush production team visited Brands Hatch for 2 days in March 2012 and a further 2 days in May 2012 where it doubled as race tracks in Nurburgring, Monza and Firano.  The Brands Hatch hospitality suite was used to set the fateful driver’s meeting where James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) swayed the drivers to race despite the dangerous weather conditions.

Brands Hatch is in Swanley in the Sevenoaks district of Kent and is a popular race track that was used for the Road Cycling events of the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Other productions to have filmed there include Grand Prix (1966) and CI5: The New Professionals (1999).

Rush was released in cinemas on Friday 13 September 2013 and is now available to buy on DVD. 

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

CI5: The New Professionals (1999)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Kal Weber as Chris Keel and Colin Wells as Sam Curtis stand on a rooftop. The two men are both dressed in black and are pointing a gun at someone off-screen.

Kal Weber and Colin Wells in CI5: The New Professionals (1999) © Sky / Amazon

Creator: Brian Clemens
Starring: Edward Woodward, Kal Weber, Colin Wells, Lexa Doig, Adrian Irvine
Production Companies: David Wickes TV
Kent Locations Used: Brands Hatch

A revamped version of the 1970s TV series The Professionals, CI5: The New Professionals (1999) is a British crime-drama series about a group of specialists working in the fictional Criminal Intelligence Department 5, investigating acts of terrorism and anarchy.

The show was created by Brian Clemens (The Avengers, The Professionals) and the main cast includes Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man, The Equalizer) as Harry Malone, Kal Weber (Mile High, Hell on Wheels) as Chris Keel, Colin Wells (Titus, Casualty) as Sam Curtis, Lexa Doig (Arrow, Stargate SG-1) as Tina Backus and Adrian Irvine (Vera, Coronation Street) as Spencer.

Kent features in Episode 11 of the series, titled ‘High Speed’. Production visited Brand’s Hatch in Fawkham, which doubled as the Bluckner Race Track where some illegal gold smuggling was taking place.

Brands Hatch is a truly unique location – a motor racing circuit with views across almost all the Indy circuit, surrounded by woodland. The site also contains a rally course and off-road 4×4 course which are available for filming. Other productions to shoot at Brands Hatch include Grand Prix (1966) and Rush (2013).

CI5: The New Professionals aired on Sky One in 1999 and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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

The Saint – Season 5 (1967)

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Roger Moore as The Saint sits behind the wheel of a vintage racing car. He is in a grey jumpsuit and wears a black helmet with a white vizor, grey goggles and white gloves.

Roger Moore as the Saint in “The Fast Women” © ITC

Director: Leslie Norman
Writer: Leslie Charteris, Leigh Vance
Starring: Roger Moore, Jan Holden, John Carson, Kate O’Mara
Production Company: Bamore, Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
Kent Locations Used: Brands Hatch

The Saint (1962-1969) is an ITV spy thriller series following Simon (The Saint) Templar, a wealthy adventurer who travels the world solving mysteries. Season 5 Episode 16, The Fast Women, sees the Saint at Brands Hatch racing circuit, where he meets famous racing rivals Cynthia Quillen and Teresa Montesino, who both have plans to assassinate the other.

The episode is written by Leslie Charteris (The Saint (1997), The Saint’s Double Trouble) and Leigh Vance (The Black Windmill (1974), Mission: Impossible) and directed by Leslie Norman (Dunkirk (1958), X the Unknown). The episode stars Roger Moore (The Carer (2016), Moonraker) as Simon Templar “The Saint”, Jan Holden (Casanova ’73, Agony) as racing driver Cynthia Quillen, John Carson (Doomsday, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter) as her cheating husband Godfrey Quillen, and Kate O’Mara (The Vampire Lovers, Doctor Who) as her racing rival Teresa Montesino.

Episode 16 is set at Brands Hatch in Fawkham, Sevenoaks and filming took place on the racing circuit and in the pits.

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit with views across almost the entire Indy Circuit. Surrounded by woodland, the site also contains a rally course and off-road 4×4 course which are available for filming. Other productions to have filmed there include Grand Prix (1966), CI5 The New Professionals (1999) and Rush (2013).

The Saint first aired on ITV between 1962 and 1969. Season 5 Episode 16, The Fast Women, aired Friday 13th January 1967. Seasons 5 and 6 are available to stream on ITVX.

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

Grand Prix (1966)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Grand Prix image of two race cars on the side of a track. loads of people are surrounding them

Grand Prix © MGM

Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: James Garner, Yves Montand, Antonio Sabato, Eva Marie Saint
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Douglas & Lewis Productions, Joel Productions, John Frankenheimer Productions Inc, Cherokee Productions
Kent Locations Used: Brands Hatch

Grand Prix (1966) is a film that follows four Formula One drivers through a fictional 1966 Grand Prix and charts their tough and dangerous races, as well as their accidents, losses and love affairs.

At the 39th Academy Awards held in 1967, Grand Prix won three Oscars for Best Sound Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

Directed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, The Island of Dr. Moreau), Grand Prix stars James Garner (The Rockford Files, The Great Escape), Yves Montand (The Wages of Fear, Z), Antonio Sabato (Escape from the Bronx, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids) and Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest, On the Waterfront)­.

Brands Hatch is the locations used for the UK race in the championship.

Brands Hatch is in the Sevenoaks district of Kent and is a popular motorsport race track which has also been used as a film location for Rush (2013).

Grand Prix (1966) was released on Wednesday 21st December 1966 and is available to purchase on DVD.

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