Merlin (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Bradley James and Colin Morgan staring at the camera, colin is holding a sword above his shoulders

Arthur and Merlin played by Bradley James and Colin Morgan © BBC

Director: James Hawes

Writer: Julian Jones

Production Company: Shine

Kent Filming Location: Penshurst Place, Chislehurst Caves

A new prime time drama set in medieval England about the legendary wizard Merlin is due to be screened on BBC One this Autumn!

The programme sees Merlin as a young man at Uther’s Court, where magic is outlawed. Working as Arthur’s manservant, Merlin is forced to keep his magical skills secret.

The 13 part series boasts an impressive cast including Richard Wilson (One Foot in the Grave), Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Santiago Cabrera (Heroes)

Katie McGrath as Morgana in Merlin © BBC	Filming of Merlin at Penshurst Place © Kent Film Office

Merlin was filmed mostly in a studio with Penshurst Place one of only three locations chosen to film on location where the production company Shine visited the unique Baron’s Hall with it’s awe-inspiring height and courtly atmosphere.

Chislehurst Caves features in episode 3, series one for underground scenes where Arthur and Merlin battle the water beast.

Penshurst Place is a beautiful medieval estate with a history spanning nearly 700 years and has been seen on screen for filming projects including The Hollow Crown – Henry V (2012), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and The Gathering (2003).

Season 5 aired on BBC 1 on Saturday nights from February 2008.

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

Little Dorrit (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

The Cast of Little Dorrit standing on steps in front of a old worn out building with glass windows.

The Cast of Little Dorrit © BBC

Directed By: Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh & Diarmuid Lawrence

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Andrew Davies (Adaptation)

Starring: Clare Foy, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay, Amanda Redman & Mackenzie Crook.

Production Company:

Kent Locations Used: Deal Castle

et Gowan (Georgia King) and Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen) having a conversation behind a market stool

Pet Gowan (Georgia King) and Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen) in Marseilles © BBC

Writer Andrew Davies achieved success with his adaptation of the Dickens’ classic Bleak House in 2005. Now the BBC has commissioned him to bring another Dickens tale to life, this time it was the bard’s eleventh novel, Little Dorrit.

The novel was originally published over 19 monthly instalments between 1855 and 1857 and Davies’ adaptation tried to mirror this by creating 14 half hour episodes. First shown on BBC One over the festive period in 2008, it can now be purchased on DVD.

The series boasts an all star cast with appearances from Clare Foy (Upstairs, Downstairs) in the title role, Matthew McFadden (Pride and Prejudice), Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who), Amanda Redman (New Tricks) and Kent’s very own Mackenzie Crook (The Office).

Maxine Peake, Freema Agyeman, Amanda Redman and Anton Lesser wearing period costumes standing in a street

Maxine Peake, Freema Agyeman, Amanda Redman and Anton Lesser in Little Dorrit © BBC

Telling the tale of young Amy Dorrit, known to those around her as Little Dorrit, who lives with her father in Marshalsea Debtors Prison in London, Dickens hoped to highlight the shortcomings of government and society at the time. With the arrival of young Arthur Clenham, a business man returning to the family home after an extended stay in China, Amy Dorrit finds her whole world turned upside down. Hindered by the poorly run Circumlocution Office, Clenham begins an investigation into the secret his elderly mother is hiding and hopes to restore the Dorrit family’s wealth.

The production visited Deal Castle in April 2008 to film scenes set in Marseilles. Many locals were confronted with the strange sight of a French flag flying high over the Tudor fortress. The castle itself was transformed into a traditional Moroccan market, complete with aromatic spices, bright cloth and exotic birds in elaborate Victorian cages.

A fan of the Kentish Coast, Charles Dickens often spent time in the county’s popular seaside towns. From his summer residence in Broadstairs he would often enjoy “a walk of ten miles” to Deal, “a seaside town with no cliff”. He wrote about Deal in his novel Bleak House, where he set the temporary home of Richard Carstone, one of the wards in the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, who was visited by Esther Summerson.

It was also in Broadstairs that Dickens found inspiration for one of his most famous characters, that of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. In what is now The Dickens House Museum, there lived a woman named Miss Mary Pearson who would often entertain Dickens with her belief that she had the right to stop donkeys from crossing the front of her cottage. It was this peculiarity that would find its way into David Copperfield.

Deal Castle is a Tudor castle built by the order of King Henry VIII located on the seafront. The Deal area has previously had filming from The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016), Antiques Roadshow (2015) and Legacy (2013).

The first hour long episode aired on Sunday 26^th October 2008 at 8pm on BBC1 and is now available to buy on DVD.

Little Dorrit also features in the Kent Film Office Dickens Trail which launched in 2012: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/dickens-movie-trail/

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

Jetsam (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Alex Reid standing in wet clothes on a empty sandy beach

Alex Reid in Jetsam © Simon Welsford

Director/Writer: Simon Welsford

Production Company: Skyman Films

Kent Locations: Margate

Washed up on a deserted beach with no recollection of how she got there and who she is, Grace’s (Alex Reid – Life on Mars, The Descent) world changes dramatically as she collides with a man (Jamie Drevan, – Billy Elliot, Ultimate Force) who is intent on killing her.

In a desperate attempt to recall her memories and stay alive, Grace goes on the run. I her mind, the chaos of the city mixes with the bleak and savage coast and she begins to piece together her past, frantically working out how she became embroiled in a world of betrayal and espionage.

Filmed on a budget of less than £3000, Jetsam premiered at this year’s London Film festival to packed cinemas, forecasting a very promising future for the film.

Simon Welsford, a Kent resident, was inspired by his surroundings and the Margate coast provided the perfect backdrop for the moody, volatile atmosphere the thriller demanded. The weather was even on hand to help reflect the mood.

Margate is a coastal town that offers a sandy beach, arcades and period shopping areas in Old Town. Margate has welcomed filming from a variety of projects including The Apprentice (2015), Last Orders (2002) and Only Fools and Horses: The Jolly Boys’ Outing (1989).

Jetsam was shown at various film festivals around the world including the Slamdance Festival and the London Film Festival.

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

The Bank Job (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Jason Statham standing behind an open train door staring away from the camera

Jason Statham in The Bank Job © Lionsgate Films

Writer: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais

Director: Roger Donaldson

Production Company: Mosaic Media Group , Relativity Media, Skyline, Atlas Entertainment, Omnilab Media

Kent Filming Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Starring Jason Statham (The Italian Job, The Transporter) and Saffron Burrows (Boston Legal, Enigma), The Bank Job is inspired by true events. When Martine, an attractive model from Terry’s old neighbourhood, offers information on a bank, Terry finds that it is too tempting to resist.

By tunnelling their way into the bank, the crew not only walked away with a jackpot of over £3 million, but more importantly, stumbled upon scandalous Royal secrets. Almost as soon as the daring heist hit the headlines, the government fearing the release of the uncovered secrets put in place a gagging order that has shrouded the true nature of this crime for over thirty
years.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham provided the ideal double for a London railway station of the 70’s, as well as the post office scene in the closing stages of the film.

Set over 80 acres, The Historic Dockyard Chatham contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a poplar location for filming having previously featured in Rustom (2016), Downton Abbey (2013) and The World is Not Enough (1999).

The Bank Job was released in cinemas on 29^th February 2008 and is now available on DVD.

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

The Fixer (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Jody Lee Latham, Peter Mullan, Andrew Buchan and

Tamsin Outhwaite cast of The Fixer © ITV1

Written by: Neil Cross

Directed by: Alrick Riley

Starring: Peter Mullen, Andrew Buchan, Jody Lee Latham ,Tamsin Outhwaite

Production Company: Kudos Film and Television

Kent Filming Locations: Botany Bay

From the award winning production company Kudos, who also brought you Hustle, Life on Mars and Spooks , comes a six part drama starring Tamsin Outhwaithe (Eastenders, Hotel Babylon), Peter Mullan (Children of Men, The Magdalene Sisters), Andrew Buchan (Cranford, Party Animals) and Jody Lee Latham (Ruby Blue, Shameless).

Retired police officer, Lenny Douglas (Peter Mullan), heads up a renegade group acting outside the law to bring order to the spiralling criminal activity in the country. He hires John Mercer (Andrew Buchan), a former Special Forces member who has just been released from prison, to fix problems by carrying out assassinations. Rose (Tamsin Outhwaite), a disgraced ex police officer, and petty thief Calum (Jody Lee Latham) help Mercer carry out his hits effectively, making them a deadly force to reckon with.

The production team visited Kent briefly in 2007 to shoot scenes at Botany Bay in Thanet.

Botany Bay is a beautiful sandy bay popular with tourists but it was once the home of notorious smugglers! In fact, Botany Bay is said to have been the location of the infamous Battle of Botany Bay, where Joss Snelling’s gang were caught red handed smuggling goods into the county. Botany Bay has previously welcomed projects such as the BBC drama True Love (2012).

The seclusion of the bay provided the perfect backdrop for a dark and sinister hit by The Fixer!

The first series aired on the 10th March on ITV and is now available to buy on DVD

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

The Things I Haven’t Told You (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

The Cast of Things I Haven't Told You at the seafront. Three cast members are sat at a bus shelter, one stands next to the sea and the other two are in the front of the shot with their arms around each other

The Cast of Things I Haven’t Told You by the seafront © Tiger Aspect/BBC Three

Writer: Lisa McGee

Director: Marcal Fores

Starring: Elizabeth Day, Nathalie Lunghi, Sophie Loftus, Haruka Abe, Mark Adams, Ryan Sampson and Lenora Chrichlow

Production Company: Tiger Aspect Productions

Kent Filming Locations: Herne Bay, Whitstable, King Ethelbert School in Birchington

Elizabeth Day as Aisling Hunter and Nathalie Lunghi as Geri West © Tiger Aspect/BBC Three

The Things I Haven’t Told You is a BBC Three drama which follows six adolescents attempting to make their way through the traumas of being a teenager.

When super popular Geri West and barely average girl Aisling Hunter suddenly become friends, everyone is suspicious. What does Aisling know about Geri and what does she want in return for her silence?

Then Aisling disappears after a bizarre car accident. Immediately rumours abound: was it really an accident or was it deliberate?

Starring Elizabeth Day, Nathalie Lunghi, Sophie Loftus, Haruka Abe, Mark Adams, Ryan Sampson and Lenora Chrichlow and Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers).

The filming took place in the summer of 2007 and King Ethelbert School in Birchington, Whitstable and Herne Bay are featured.

Whitstable and Herne Bay are popular seaside destinations for Londoners on day trips. Herne Bay is a traditional pebble stone beach flanked with quaint and picturesque beach huts whilst Whitstable has a traditional fishing harbour. Whitstable has been previously seen on screen in productions such as Venus (2007).

Birchington is a coastal village near to Margate which is a vibrant seaside resort, with complementary historic and modern architecture. The Carer (2016), Free Speech (2014) and Exodus (2007) have previously used the Margate area for filming.

Things I Haven’t Told You was shown on BBC Three at 9pm on 17^th March 2008.

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

Hancock and Joan (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Ken Stott sat at a wooden table with a white tea cup.

Ken Stott as Hancock. Copyright BBC/World Productions

Writer: Richard Cottan

Director: Richard Laxton

Production Company: World Productions

Kent Filming Locations: Broadstairs, Ramsgate

A one off drama starring Ken Stott as Hancock (Rebus) and Maxine Peake (Shameless), Hancock and Joan charts the affair between Hancock and his best friend’s wife, Joan Le Mesurier.

Not long wedded to their current spouses, Joan and Tony embarked on a passionate love affair that lasted nearly two years. But Tony, despite his adoration for Joan, was plagued with depression and alcoholism, which proved to be a constant drain on their relationship.

When Tony is offered a chance to revive his career with a new series in Australia, Joan gives him an ultimatum to give up alcohol and in return for her leaving John and marrying him. Agreeing Tony embarked to Australia. Unfortunately, the failure of his series and a misunderstanding about Joan’s loyalty for him prompted him to take his life.

Paul Hicks and his car. Copyright: Kent Film Office

On set of Hancock and Joan. Copyright: Kent Film Office

The programme is based on John Le Mesurier’s autobiography ‘Lady Don’t Fall Backwards’ and Edward Joffe’s ‘Hancock’s Last Stand’ and was filmed in the Le Mesurier’s home town of Ramsgate.

Set in 1967, the challenge to find period locations for the piece were providentially solved. Both Ramsgate itself and it’s close neighbour Broadstairs provided some untouched gems such as Morellli’s cafe, one of the only remaining 50’s style cafes in Britain and the house that doubled as John and Joan’s family home. Vintage cars where bought in from around the county to dress the streets, which proved to be a task in itself as despite glorious November sunshine temperatures were brisk and the cars had to be well looked after due to their fragile nature.

Broadstairs and Ramsgate are coastal towns in the Thanet District of Kent offering gorgeous beaches, historic towns and a harbour. Eastenders (2015), Edge of Heaven (2013) and True Love (2012) have all utilised the area for filming.

Hancock and Joan was shown on BBC 4 at 9pm on 26th March 2008.

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

Sally Lockheart – The Shadow in the North (2007)

Posted on December 16, 2007 by Kent Film Office

Director: John Alexander

Starring: Billie Piper, JJ Field, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Matt Smith, Hayley Atwell

Production Company: BBC, NOVA/WGBH Boston

Kent Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Sally Lockheart in a period dress facing someone who has their back to the camera.

The Shadow in the North is the second of the Sally Lockheart Mysteries and follows Sally, who, with the help of her detective friends, investigates her client’s losses of vast sums of money due to a vanished steam ship. The team find out that a mysterious stage magician and a psychic medium are part of the mystery, along with a very old enemy of Sally’s.

This BBC TV Movie is the second Sally Lockheart Mystery and is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by English author Philip Pullman.

Starring many familiar faces including Billie Piper (Doctor Who, A Passionate Women), JJ Field (The Musketeers, Captain America: The First Avenger), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Hayley Atwell (The Duchess, The Sweeney)and Julian Rhind-Tutt (Rush, Stardust).

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham doubled as the exterior of North Star Castings gun shop, as well as London street scenes.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham boasts many interesting features such as the HMS Cavalier, period buildings, cobbled streets and newly reconstructed smithy. Many productions have been shot at this location including Dom Hemingway (2013), Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Oliver Twist (2007).

The Shadow in the North was shown on the BBC in December 2007 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

Oliver Twist (2007)

Posted on December 10, 2007 by Kent Film Office

Oliver Twist (William Miller) holds out his bowl in front of a crowded lunch hall.

Directed By: Coky Giedroyc

Produced By: Kate Harwood, Sarah Brown & Coky Giedroyc

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Sarah Phelps (Adaptation)

Starring: Timothy Spall, William Miller, Adam Arnold, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okenedo, Rob Brydon

Production Company: BBC, WGBH

Kent Filming Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

In the latest adaptation of Dickens’ Classic tale, the story of young orphan Oliver Twist is faithfully recreated by the BBC whilst delivering a modern and thrilling edge that is sure to entice audiences.

After the death of his mother, Oliver Twist (William Miller) is thrown into poverty and misfortune. Left to the mercy of the workhouse, he is routinely tormented with cruelty and starvation by the local Beadle, Mr. Bumble, and the workhouse employees. When daring to ask for more food, Oliver is famously cast out of the orphanage and must make his own way in the world.

After narrowly escaping the clutches of his new guardians, owners of a local funeral parlor, Oliver walks the many miles to London. On arriving in the city he is found by the Artful Dodger (Adam Arnold), a pickpocket and the most senior of Fagin’s (Timothy Spall) gang. Experiencing kindness for the first time in the form of the beautiful Nancy (Sophie Okenado), girlfriend to the villainous Bill Sykes (Tom Hardy), Oliver is soon drawn in to the darker and seedier side of life in Victorian London.

Oliver Twist (Otherwise known as The Parish Boy’s Progress) is the second novel of renowned author Charles Dickens. Noted for its unromantic portrayal of criminals in London, the novel exposed the cruel treatment of children during the time. The novel has been the subject for many adaptations on stage and screen, the most famous being Carol Reed’s musical Oliver! starring Ron Moody as Fagin and Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes.

Directed by Coky Giedroyc (Carrie’s War, Stella Does Tricks) and adapted by Sarah Phelps (EastEnders, The Casual Vacancy), starring Timothy Spall (The King’s Speech, Mr. Turner), William Miller (Runaway, The Kid), Adam Arnold (Hibernation, The Bill), Tom Hardy (Inception, Locke), Sophie Okenedo (After Earth, Hotel Rwanda) and Rob Brydon (Black Books, Gavin & Stacey)

Kent welcomed the production when it was filmed in 2007 to The Historic Dockyard Chatham which was the location used to shoot one of the most famous lines of Dickens’ literary history “Please Sir, I want some more”. The Tarred Yarn Store at The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a Grade II listed building and was used to recreate the famous workhouse scene in the film.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location, having previously welcomed productions such as The Golden Compass (2007), The Mummy (1999) and The World Is Not Enough (1999).

Charles Dickens’ father, who was the inspiration for the character of Mr Micawber in David Copperfield, worked at The Historic Dockyard Chatham as a clerk in the Naval Pay Office from 1817 to 1822. The young Dickens would often accompany his father on trips downriver from Chatham to Sheerness on the Naval Pay Yacht “Chatham”. This inspired Dickens and instilled in him a love for the sea and rivers which would later feature in some of his novels.

First shown in 2007 in five episodes on BBC1, this adaptation is now available on DVD.

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

Spooks (2007) Series 6

Posted on November 21, 2007 by Kent Film Office

Actors Peter Firth, Hermione Norris and Rupert Penry-Jones wearing dark suits staring into the camera with a cracked glass effect behind them.

Starring: Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris, Miranda Raison.

Production Company: BBC

Kent Locations Used: Medway Services, Cliffe

Spooks is a long running BBC One TV drama series following the work of the British MI5 agency. This fast-paced thriller sees the team trying to stop a rogue member of the Iranian intelligence who plans to unleash a deadly bioweapon.

Season 6 stars Rupert Penry-Jones (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man), Hermoine Norris (Cold Feet) and Miranda Raison (Murder on the Orient Express).

The production filmed scenes for Episode 8 “Infiltration” in rural locations around the village of Cliffe, near Rochester in Medway including fields and a railway bridge to stand in for rural East Anglia.

Medway has been featured in many productions, including Great Expectations (2012) and the TV series New Blood (2016).

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

Kent's Premier Film Commission

TV Drama

Merlin (2008)

Little Dorrit (2008)

Jetsam (2008)

The Bank Job (2008)

The Fixer (2008)

The Things I Haven’t Told You (2008)

Hancock and Joan (2008)

Sally Lockheart – The Shadow in the North (2007)

Oliver Twist (2007)

Spooks (2007) Series 6