Britannia Series 3 (2021)

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Kent Film Office

TV series promotional poster for Series 3 featuring actor Sophie Okonedo on the left and David Morrissey on the right dressed in period costume. In the foreground an actress Eleanor Worthington Cox stands centre frame dressed in armour holding a spear. Around the frame are images of a flaming cross, helmet, shields, stone pillars and ruins

Britannia Series 3 © Sky UK Ltd

Writer: Jez Butterworth, Tom Butterworth, James Richardson
Director: Luke Watson, Rob Savage, Sheree Folkston, Christoph Schrewe, Lisa James Larsson, Metin Huseyin, Susan Tully, Mackenzie Crook
Starring: Gianni Calchetti, Mackenzie Crook, David Morrissey, Sophie Okonedo
Production Company: Amazon Studios, Neal Street Productions, Sky, Vertigo Films
Kent Locations Used: High Rocks, Tunbridge Wells

Britannia (2021) is a historical fantasy TV drama set in 43 AD as the Roman Army returns to subjugate Britannia, which is populated by Celtic tribes that include warrior women and powerful druids. Series 3 sees a radical transformation in Cait’s (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) journey as the Chosen One with a decision that will tie her to the future of her war-torn people and their ravaged land.

The series was created by multi-award-winning writers Jez Butterworth (Spectre), his brother Tom Butterworth (Silent Witness) and James Richardson (Bulletproof). Epic, action packed, full of humour and terrifying in equal measure, Britannia is produced by Vertigo Films and Neal Street Productions in association with Sky Studios.

Britannia stars Gianni Calchetti (Cruella, The Third Day (2020)), Mackenzie Crook (Worzel Gummidge, The Office) and David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, The Missing) and, new to Series 3, Sophie Okonedo (The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016)).

High Rocks in Tunbridge Wells features in Series 3 Episode 5 as the land of the Sunfolk, an all-female tribe of visually impaired warriors. High Rocks is a national monument and site of special scientific interest. It comprises acres of sandstone rocks linked by eleven bridges that provide a scenic walk through a tranquil woodland setting. The rocks were once a stone age camp and provided the perfect backdrop for this Celtic drama.

Tunbridge Wells is a popular filming location and previous drama productions to have visited the area are The Third Day (2020) and Queens of Mystery (2020-2021).

Britannia Series 3 was made available to stream on SKY Atlantic and NOW on Tuesday 24^th August 2021.

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

The Ones Below (2016)

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Kent Film Office

Jon (David Morrissey), Teresa (Laura Birn), Kate (Clémence Poésy) and Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore) © Icon Film Distribution

Director and writer: David Farr

Starring: Clemence Peoesy, Stephen Campbell Moore, David Morrissey, Laura Birn

Production Companies: Cuba Pictures, Tigerlily Films, BBC Films, Kreo Films FZ (in association with)

Kent Locations Used: The Port of Dover and surrounding cliffs

The Ones Below is a film about Kate (Clemence Poesy) and Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore), who are expecting their first baby. They make friends with another couple who have moved into the apartment below and are also expecting a child. However, a tragic accident throws the couples into a nightmare of psychological terror.

The film is written and directed by David Farr (Hannah, Spooks) and stars Clemence Peoesy (In Bruges, The Tunnel), Stephen Campbell Moore (Burnt, Season of the Witch), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, True Love) and Laura Birn (Purge Purge, Heart of a Lion).

: Writer/Director David Farr © Icon Film Distribution

: Kate (Clémence Poésy) © Icon Film Distribution

: Jon (David Morrissey) © Icon Film Distribution

The production visited Kent to film at The Port of Dover and took some close up shots of the water and Theresa (Laura Birn) as she leaves the UK., and then again when Theresa is on the boat.

The Port of Dover is the UK’s busiest passenger port and the coastline is well known for its iconic white cliffs. The area has previously featured on screen in The Tunnel (2013), Johnny English (2003) and Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011).

The Ones Below is released in cinemas on 11^th March 2016.

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

True Love (2012)

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Kent Film Office

True Love cast L - R Adrian (DAVID MORRISEY), Nick (DAVID TENNANT), Holly (BILLIE PIPER), Paul (ASHLEY WALTERS), Sandra (JANE HORROCKS) standing in a row with the sky behind them

True Love cast L – R Adrian (DAVID MORRISEY), Nick (DAVID TENNANT), Holly (BILLIE PIPER), Paul (ASHLEY WALTERS), Sandra (JANE HORROCKS) © BBC and Working Title

Two lovers holding hands on the beach with the sea in the background

True Love L – R Stella (JAMIE WINSTONE) and Paul (ASHLEY WALTERS) © BBC and Working Title

Writer/director: Dominic Savage

Starring: David Tenant, Billie Piper, David Morrissey, Joanne Froggatt, Kaya Scodelario, Lacey Turner, Jane Horrocks, Ashley Walters, Jaime Winstone, Vicky McClure

Production company: Working Title Television, BBC

Kent Locations: Thanet – Margate – Beach, promenade, High Street, train station, various hotels and bars, Thanet District Council Offices, Turner Contemporary, Westgate-On-Sea, Cliftonville, Pegwell Bay, Botany Bay, and Broadstairs

True Love has many familiar faces including David Tenant (Doctor Who) Billie Piper (Secret Diary of a Call Girl), Jane Horrocks (Absolutely Fabulous), Vicky McClure (This is England), Lacey Turner (Eastenders), Ashley Walters (Inside Men), Jamie Winstone (Kidulthood), and David Morrissey (The Other Boleyn Girl).

The series explores love in the modern day and the many different dilemmas and situations along the way. Each story has links with the previous, either through connecting story lines or character connections and all have plenty of drama, heartbreak passion and some surprising outcomes.

The five stories that take place during the week-long serial include a married man whose life is turned upside down due to the reappearance of his first love, a school teacher who is drawn to a female pupil, a married woman who takes revenge on her cheating husband by starting an affair, a father unable to connect with his baby and a divorcee on a desperate search for new love.

David Morrissey as Adrian at Margate train station with the sign behind him

David Morrissey as Adrian at Margate train station © BBC and Working Title

In 2011, Kent welcomed the crew and stars of True Love. The production based it self in Margate, the director Savage’s home town, and used many Thanet locations including Margate Beach and promenade, Margate High Street, train station, various hotels and bars and even Thanet District Council Offices. They also used the Turner Contemporary, as well as nearby Westgate-On-Sea, Cliftonville, Pegwell Bay, Botany Bay and Broadstairs.

Thanet has an astonishing 9 Blue Flag beaches and is a very popular filming location, due to its beautiful bustling seaside towns. It previously welcomed many TV and film productions, including Hancock and Joan (2008), Last Orders (2002) and a McDonald’s Happy Meal Commercial.

It is also home to the Turner Contemporary art gallery, adjacent to Margate harbour, which was built to contribute to the regeneration of the town and is fast becoming a highlight of the British visual arts scene. It also hosted the first public screening of the opening episode of True Love on 29^th March 2012.

True Love will air every night on BBC One at 22.25pm from Sunday 17th – Thursday 21st June 2012.

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

Is Anybody There? (2009)

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Kent Film Office

Is Anybody There? Film Poster- a man and a child stood in front of a white wooden bus shelter with a blue bench. Is Anybody There? written in yellow underneath

Is Anybody There? Film Poster © Optimum Releasing

Director: John Crowley

Writer: Peter Harness

Starring: Michael Caine, Bill Milner, David Morrissey, Anne-Marie Duff, Ralph Riach

Production Company: Heyday Films, BBC Films, Big Beach

Kent Filming Locations: Hythe, Folkestone Central Train Station and St Peter’s CEP School in Folkestone

Set in the 1980’s, Is Anybody There? is about a young boy called Edward (Bill Milner) growing up in an old people’s home. Whilst his parents struggle with their personal problems, Edward becomes obsessed with ghosts and the afterlife. Arming himself with his trusted tape recorder and camera, he tapes the residents in his quest to find out more about what happens to people when they die.

Living a fairly solitary existence, Edward strikes up a friendship with resident magician and rebel Clarence (Michael Caine). The pair become good friends, teaching each other to live each day in the present and how to come to terms with the past.

In 2007, the production visited several Kent locations including Folkestone Central Train Station which doubled as a Yorkshire train station Princes Parade in Hythe was turned into Yorkshire for two days where they used the sea-shelter as a bus shelter (see the movie poster!) and the road was used for the scenes where Clarence (Michael Caine) and Edward (Bill Milner) are pushing the vehicle along the sea road after the crash.

Filming on Princes Parade in Hythe © Kent Film Office

Produced by the same company who bring Harry Potter to the big screen, the film also visited St Peter’s CEP School, Folkestone where the children themselves were extras for a day! To thank them for their time and help they were rewarded with signed posters from the main cast of Harry Potter and Michael Caine signed their school mural.

The seaside town of Folkestone has an elegant clifftop promenade, a lower coastal park, a fishing harbour and Victorian cliff-top lifts. Hythe is a small coastal town situated between Folkestone and the Romney Marsh. The area has featured in a wide range of productions including Future Tense: The Story of H.G. Wells (2016), The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016) and Everyone’s Going To Die (2013).

The film was released on 1st May 2009 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Scarlett Johansson standing behind Natalie Portman, both looking out of the window in front of them

Director: Justin Chadwick

Writer: Peter Morgan

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Morrissey, Benedict Cumberbatch

Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Focus Features, BBC Films, Relativity Media, Ruby Films, Scott Rudin Productions

Kent Filming Locations: Knole House, Dover Castle, Penshurst Place


The screen adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s best selling novel The Other Boleyn Girl is a dramatic story of love, passion and ambition set in the cut-throat court of Henry VIII. Mary (Scarlett Johansson), considered the more beautiful sister, gains the young king’s (Eric Bana) attention and, though married, becomes his mistress. When it becomes politically adventageous, Mary is cast aside for her dazzling young sister Anne (Natalie Portman) and can only watch as Anne’s ruthless pursuit of the crown propels her towards her doom.

The Boleyn family had extensive connections with Kent; the family lived in Hever Castle while Henry VIII adored Knole. With this connection in mind, filming took place at three fantastic locations across Kent.

Filming in Kent began at Knole in Sevenoaks, a grand house set in a deer park that Henry VIII was so impressed with; he demanded that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer give it to him. In the film, Knole was the setting for many of the film’s London night scenes and the inner courtyard doubles for the entrance of Whitehall Palace where the grand arrivals and departures were staged.

Filming of The Other Boleyn Girl at Knole © Photo Credit : Alex Bailey © 2006 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson) in the Grounds of Penshurst Place © Photo Credit : Alex Bailey © 2006 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Behind the scenes at Dover Castle © Dover Castle Behind the scenes at Penshurst Place © Penshurst Place

Production then moved to Penshurst Place near Tonbridge, which was also once owned by Henry VIII and where the unspoiled estate and gardens still bring the Tudor era to life. The Baron’s Hall was transformed into the interiors of Whitehall Palace to film the scenes of Henry’s extravagant feast. The Tudor Gardens were also used for the scene where Anne (Natalie Portman) and the King (Eric Bana) talk about their relationship.

As England’s oldest fortress at the shortest sea crossing to Continental Europe, Dover Castle was a vital strategic centre in the Tudor era and able to provide the ideal setting for the final and climatic scenes in The Other Boleyn Girl. Dover Castle was transformed into the Tower of London for the execution scenes of George Boleyn (Jim Sturgess) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman).

Knole Park is nestled in a medieval deer-park . The area has welcomed filming from productions such as Rush (2013) and Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011).

Historic house Knole is set in a medieval deer-park in Sevenoaks. Now a National Trust property, it is over 500 years old and was once the palace of archbishops and royal property of the Tudor dynasty. Knole has previously featured in productions such as Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016), Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011).

Medieval and Tudor style manor house, Penshurst Place is set in gorgeous parkland and boasts period rooms and formal Elizabethan gardens. Penshurst Place is a popular film location, having previously welcomed productions such as Wolf Hall (2015), The Great Fire (2014) and The Hollow Crown – Henry V (2012)

Situated on the White Cliffs of Dover, overlooking the English Channel is the stunning medieval fortress – Dover Castle. A popular film location, Dover Castle has featured in Into the Woods (2015), Poirot “The Clocks” (2009) and Hamlet (1990).

To celebrate the cinematic release and the locations that were used in the film, the Kent Film Office and Kent Tourism Alliance in association with Universal, National Trust, English Heritage, Penshurst Place, Hever Castle and the Heart of Kent released a movie map in 2011 to highlight the Kent locations to the world! You can download your own The Other Boleyn Girl movie map and to find out more about the Kent Campaign at: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/austens-in-kent/

The Other Boleyn Girl features in the Kent Film Office Tudor(ish) Trail, released in May 2016, celebrating Kent’s Tudor history and film connections.

The film was released on 7^th March 2008 and is now available on DVD.

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

Cape Wrath (2007)

Posted on February 4, 2007 by Kent Film Office

Cape Wrath Cast at Leybourne Lakes with houses behind

Director: Duane Clark, Andrew Gunn

Writer: Robert Murphy

Starring: David Morrissey, Lucy Cohu, Ralph Brown, Tom Hardy

Production Company: Ecosse Films

Kent Filming Locations: Leybourne Lakes, Mote Park Leisure Centre, Whatman warehouse Maidstone, Kings Hill, Imperial College-Wye Campus

Cape Wrath is a 7-part thriller which is known in the US as Meadowlands. This sinister series followed the lives of the Brogan family, headed by David Morrissey, as they relocate to the seemingly safe suburban town of Meadowlands as part of a witness protection programme. The Brogan family begin to doubt just how safe the village of Meadowlands truly is when it turns out that they’re not the only ones with secrets to hide.

Starring David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, The Reaping, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Danny Brogan and Lucy Cohu (Becoming Jane, Broadchurch, The Queen’s Sister) as his ever-patient wife Evelyn, Cape Wrath also showcases a number of well-known talents including Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Like Crazy, The Diary of Anne Frank), Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road), Ralph Brown (Withnail and I, Star Wars: Episode 1 -The Phantom Menace, Wayne’s World 2) and Nina Sosanya (Love Actually, Last Tango in Halifax, Code 46).

The series based and filmed in Kent, utilising an empty warehouse in Rusthall to create a number of central sets which were used for most of the interiors. The main characters homes were filmed at housing development next to Leybourne Lakes Country Park which double as “Meadowlands”. Liberty Square at Kings Hill features as the local town centre and The Kings Hill Golf Course is also used for a number of scenic exterior shots. Wye College also features as Samantha’s Father’s place of work in London. The Gym, the sports hall and the exterior of Maidstone Leisure Centre also feature frequently throughout the series.

Leybourne Lakes and Kings Hill are new developments in the Tonbridge and Malling district. The areas have great transport links, local amenities, a network of cycle paths and a number of sports facilities including The Kings Hill Golf Course. The area has previously has been seen on Great British Railway Journeys (2014), Couples Come Dine with Me (2014) and Missing Series Two (2010).

Maidstone is the county town of Kent which lies on the River Medway and boasts lovely parks and gardens such as Mote Park where Mote Park Leisure Centre, is situated. The town also has many shops, bars and restaurants and is home to The Maidstone Studios an independent TV studio complex on an 11 acre site offering 5 television studios, dubbing facilities, edits suites, office space and parking. Productions which have previously filmed in the area include Later… with Jools Holland (2013-2018) and Missing (2009).

Cape Wrath was originally shown on Channel 4 in July 2007 and is available to buy on DVD.

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

Our Mutual Friend (1998)

Posted on March 27, 1998 by Kent Film Office

Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) and Mortimer Lightwood (Dominic Mafham) standing behind a wooden deck, wooden boats that are upside down can be seen behind them

Directed by: Julian Farino

Produced By: Caroline Wearing

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Sandy Welch (Adaptation)

Starring: Keeley Hawes, Paul McGann, Anna Friel, David Morrissey & Steven Mackintosh

Production Company: BBC

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, River Medway

Our Mutual Friend was Charles Dickens’ last complete novel. It was written in 1864-1865 when he was at the height of his fame having recently published A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. The main theme of the novel is money and the effect that it can have on personal values and relationships. At it’s very core is the love triangle between repressed schoolteacher Bradley Headstone (David Morrissey – Thorne: Sleepyhead), his rival Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann – New Tricks)and their shared love interest Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes – Upstairs Downstairs).

When John Harmon, a young man whose inheritance is dependent on his marrying a woman he has never met, is found dead in the Thames, his fortune is passed onto the Boffin family who take both Harmon’s would-be bride Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies) and mysterious secretary Rokesmith (Steven Mackintosh – Camelot) into their home. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam’s father is accused of Harmon’s murder and she is relentlessly pursued by her two suitors.

close up of Lizzie Hexam wearing a hood with a lantern behind her

Filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, the location was used for the bleak side streets surrounding the workhouse. Charles Dickens’ father worked as a Naval Pay Officer at the Dockyard and it was here that Dickens developed a love of the sea, accompanying his father as a young boy. Later, these childhood adventures were a source of inspiration for novels such as Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend.

The Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer that is based at The Historic Dockyard Chatham was also used for filming the scene where Bella Wilfer and the Boffin family go for a day out.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham dates back to the 17^th century and contains over 100 buildings from the Georgian and Victorian periods. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location that has previously featured on screen in Suffragette (2015) and Les Miserables (2013).

Dickens has a rich history with Kent and the Kent Film Office celebrates Dickens history with the county including TV and film adaptions in The Dickens Trail which launched in 2012.

Our Mutual Friend aired on the BBC in March 1998 and is now available on DVD.

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

Kent's Premier Film Commission