TV Drama

Vanity Fair (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Poster for Vanity Fair series- women in long red dress sat on a gold chair with her feet up on a globe model.

Poster for Vanity Fair series ©ITV Studio

 

Writer:  Gwyneth Hughes

Director: James Strong

Starring: Olivia Cooke, Suranne Jones, Martin Clunes

Production Company: Mammoth Screen

Kent Locations Used: Deal, Dover, Sevenoaks and Medway

This new ITV series is an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s classic Victorian novel Vanity Fair. Set in the time of the Napoleonic wars, it follows the life of a beautiful and determined woman named Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and climb straight to the top of 19th century English Society.

Starring Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Bates Motel) as the antihero Becky Sharp, Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Scott and Bailey) as Miss Pinkerton, Martin Clunes (Doc Martin, Men Behaving Badly) as Sir Pitt Crawley, Michael Palin (Monty Python, Remember Me) as Thackeray, Tom Bateman (Snatched, Into The Dark) as Captain Rawdon Crawley.

A cottage on Chevening House Estate was used for filming and featured as Rawdons’ (Tom Bateman) Cottage. This location is situated at the foot of the North Downs in Sevenoaks with extensive parkland surrounding it. It is set aside for official Government business.

A scene on the promenade, featuring soldiers and horses was filmed outside the Royal Hotel in Deal. The town is situated on the South Coast of Kent and has a longstanding naval history as one of the major Cinque Ports and many period features remain.

Squerryes Court in Sevenoaks was also used for filming Miss Pinkertons’ (Suranne Jones) school interiors. This location is a beautiful 17th century manor house which has been in the residence of the Warde family since 1731. It is surrounded with 20 acres of attractive and historic gardens which includes a lake and 18th century dovecote. Previous films that have used this location are The Hollow Crown: Henry V (2012) and The Boat that Rocked (2009).

The Historic Chatham Dockyard was also used. Production filmed various London street scenes outside the Ropery, as well as Anchor Wharf for an embarkation to France and the interior of Commissioners House. The Historic Chatham Dockyard built many ships for the Royal Navy over the last 400 years, including HMS Victory, and it is the home of the Royal Rope Makers, having produced ropes since 1618. It is a popular filming location which offers many period locations, authentic cobbled streets and three historic warships. The Dockyard has previously been featured in films such as Suffragette (2015) and Mr Turner (2014).

Vanity Fair begins on 2nd September 2018 at 9pm on ITV, with episode two airing the next day, on Monday (3rd September 2018). It will then continue for 5 Sunday nights at 9pm.

 

 

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

 

 

 

Christopher Robin (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Christoper Robin Movie Poster of Christoper robin in a suit and coat carrying a briefcase and umbrella. Winnie the pooh, piglet, tigger and eeyore surround him. Disney Christopher Robin is written in gold with Ewan McGregor written in green on top. Sooner or later, your past catches up to you is underneath in black.

Christoper Robin Movie Poster ©The Walt Disney Studios

 

Writers: Alex Ross Perry and Allison Schroeder

Director: Marc Forster

Starring: Ewan McGregor Jim Cummings Hayley Atwell Chris O’Dowd Brad Garrett Toby Jones Nick Mohammed Peter Capaldi Sophie Okonedo.

Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures.

Kent Locations Used: Port of Dover Cruise Terminal One (Dover Marine Station), Shakespeare beach.

In this feature by Disney Studios, AA Milne’s Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor), is a working man with a wife and family, who is helped by his childhood friends, Pooh (Jim Cummings) and Co. to rediscover the joy of living. Over a period of four weeks, production transformed the entire historic Grade II Listed Dover Marine Station, an old Victorian railway station at the Dover Cruise Terminal into a London railway station, including running trains. A short film for the end credits was also shot on Shakespeare Beach in Dover.

Starring Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge, Trainspotting) as Christopher Robin, Jim Cummings (Princess and the Frog, Shrek) as the voices of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Hayley Atwell (Captain America, Cinderella) as Robin’s wife Evelyn Brad Garrett as Eeyore, Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Mist) as Owl, Nick Mohammed (The Martian, Bridget Jones’s Baby) voices Piglet, Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, World War Z) as Rabbit and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda, Dirty Pretty Things) as Kanga.

The Railway Station at Dover Western Docks was first opened in January 1915, to receive wounded soldiers during WWI via the newly built Dover Harbour in 1909 and dispatched them to hospitals across the UK with best possible speed. The Unknown Warrior was returned to Britain here before being laid to rest in Westminster Abbey. From 1919, the station served the civilian population wishing to take the Express Boat Train to the Continent, though during WWII, it once again served the military. After its closure in 1994, it has served as Dover Cruise Terminal 1 which opened in 1996.

Production for Christopher Robin in Dover started in September 2017 and the listed and fully intact station building of Cruise Terminal 1, was transformed back into a railway station, complete with trains, shops and almost 400 local extras providing the background of a busy London terminal for a few days. Cruise passengers were diverted to Terminal 2, which gave production unusual, sole use of a large station set.

Port of Dover PR & Media Relations Officer, Justine Wingate said: “Dover Marine Station here at the Port of Dover, is a unique and versatile location. Not just because it is a beautiful example of a Victorian railway station but it is situated in a large secure area with little public access and plenty of space for unit bases and equipment.
The team from Disney spotted its potential as a featured location straight away and did an outstanding job in bringing it to life for Christopher Robin.”

Kent Film Officer, Gabrielle Lindemann said: “Once the location was secured, the biggest challenge was to accommodate the sometimes additional two to three hundred crew and cast. Local businesses stepped up to provide additional unit support and Kent accommodation providers across the whole of East Kent hosted our visitors.
Christopher Robin presented Kent Film Office with a great opportunity to show the sector that the county can successfully host and manage large scale productions.”

Dover houses Europe’s busiest ferry port, connecting the UK with the European mainland. Dover Castle towers above the town, signalling Dover’s strategic importance in the defence of the country and the White Cliffs are one of the most recognised landmarks in Britain. Some other feature films shot around Dover are ‘King Lear’, ‘Avengers’, ‘Into the Woods’, and ‘The Ones Below’.

The film will be released in the UK on 17th August 2018.

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

Zoe and the Astronaut (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Zoe and the Astronaut Film poster depicting close up, side profile shot of a Max Scully as the Astronaut and Kirsten Foster as Zoe looking out to sea. Zoe and the astronaut reads in blue in the centre

Zoe and the Astronaut official film poster © Sahara Road

Writer: Eke Chukwu
Director: Eke Chukwu
Starring: Kirsten Foster, Ian Reddington, Lisa Moorish, Max Scully
Production Company: Independent Film
Kent Locations Used: Tankerton Beach, Whitstable

A gripping combination of romance and sci-fi, Zoe and the Astronaut tells the heart-warming story of a Leukaemia patient, who sees a space pod crash in a field near her home and inside is a young astronaut. She uses her last days showing him the beauty of life on Earth.

Eke Chukwu (Hood, London Virgin) wrote, directed and produced Zoe and the Astronaut. Kirsten Foster (Lewis, Jekyll & Hyde (2015)), Max Scully (Blood on Canvas, Ginger & Rosa (2012)), Lisa Moorish (Murder in Mind, Vote Debra Gray) and Ian Reddington (Highlander, The Sisters Brothers) star in this independent film.

Filming took place on Tankerton Beach for the final sequence of the film. Tankerton Beach is a shingle beach with wooden beach huts along the coastline, as well as the grassy slopes that run alongside the shingles. There is a sailing club, and a skate park facing the beach, as well as phenomenal views. At a low tide, a walkway known as ‘The Street’ is revealed going out towards the sea. Productions to have filmed at Tankerton Beach include Britain at Low Tide – Series 3 (2019) and Kathy Burke’s All Woman (2019).

Zoe and the Astronaut was released on the 4th May 2018.

For more information about Kent’s filming history, please visit out Movie Map.

 

Kiss Me First (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
animated Image of character Leila outside in a field

Image of Leila from Kiss Me First Movie © Channel 4

 

Writer: Bryan Elsley

Director: Misha Manson-Smith

Starring: Simona Brown, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Misha Butler, Matthew Aubrey, Haruka Abe

Production Company: Balloon Entertainment and Balloon

Kent Locations Used: Shellness, Leysdown

Based upon Lottie Moggach’s young adult novel of the same name, Kiss Me First is about Leila, a lonely girl who finds solace in the online game Agora. She befriends fellow player Tess, a cool and confident party girl. When Tess suddenly disappears, Leila assumes her friend’s identity.

Starring Simona Brown (The Night Manager) as Tess and Tallulah Rose Haddon (Taboo) as Leila, the series was adapted by and produced by Bryan Elsley (Skins) through his production company Balloon.

The Shellness Road Car Park was used in a sequence in which one character uses a pipe bomb to blow up his abusive carers. A further scene was filmed on Leysdown Promenade showing the arrival by one of the leads on a bus. Isle of Sheppey is a coastal town on the Isle of Sheppey, where previously, Channel 4 show The End of the F***ing World (2017-) and the film adaptation of the Sweeny (2012) we also shot.

Kiss Me First is expected to air on Channel 4 on Monday 02 April 2018 at 9pm.

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

The Royals (2016 – 2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The three main characters standing in a row facing the camera in front of a white background, blue and red stripes cover them, the words The Royals written in white

©E! Entertainment

Creator: Mark Schwahn
Starring: Elizabeth Hurley, William Mosely, Alexandra Park, Jake Maskall, Tom Austen
Production Company: Mastermind Laboratories, Varsity Pictures, Lionsgate Television, Universal Cable Productions
Kent Locations Used: Allington Castle, Boughton Monchelsea Place, The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Tunbridge Wells

Set in modern-day London, The Royals (2015-2018) follows the lives and scandals of a fictional British Royal family.

The show was created by Mark Schwahn (Coach Carter, One Tree Hill) and the ensemble cast includes Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Bedazzled) as Queen Elena, William Mosely (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Carrie Pilby) as Prince Liam, Alexandra Park (Ben is Back, Home and Away) as Princess Eleanor, Jake Maskall (Eastenders, Centurion) as Cyrus and Tom Austen (Grantchester, Helstrom) as Jasper.

For Series 2, the production made use of two locations in Kent: Boughton Monchelsea Place and Allington Castle. Boughton Monchelsea Place can be seen in Episode 3 as the manor house that Princess Eleanor and Jasper visit. Allington Castle features in Episode 7, as the Henstridge residence that Princess Eleanor and Queen Helena visit.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham features in various episodes of Series 4. The Tarred Yarn Store was used to represent the interior of a house in India which Princess Eleanor and Sebastian (Toby Sandeman) are restoring. King Robert (Max Brown) leaves on HMS Cavalier. The gardens of the Commissioner’s House feature as the meeting place for Prince Liam and his ex Kathryn (Christina Wolfe). External street scenes, including a protest, were filmed around the Ropery.

Filming for Series 4 also took place in Tunbridge Wells, on Chapel Place, as part of a Royal Wedding. Unfortunately, this scene did not appear to make the final cut.

The Royals screenshot at Allington Castle - a woman riding a horse into a castle

The Royals screenshot at Allington Castle © Lionsgate Home Entertainment

The Royals screenshot at Boughton Monchelsea - a manor house with people outside

The Royals screenshot at Boughton Monchelsea © Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Boughton Monchelsea Place is a 16th Century manor house set within 15 miles of countryside to the south of Maidstone and has been featured in The Carer (2016) and Half Broken Things (2007).

Allington Castle is privately owned and situated on the banks of the River Medway and was previously on screen in Covington Cross (1992) and The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984).

A historic 17th-Century dockyard spanning over 80 acres, Chatham Dockyard contains over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian Periods. It is the most popular filming location in Kent, having played host to many high-profile films and TV shows, including The Crown (2016-2022), Victoria & Abdul (2017) and Holmes & Watson (2018).

Set in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Tunbridge Wells is a historic spa town that offers a mix of independent shops and restaurants set alongside the colonnaded Pantiles and the picturesque High Street. The area is renowned for its historic houses and gardens and has been a place of interest for over 400 years. Other productions to have filmed there include Rupert, Rupert & Rupert (2019), Series 3 of Britannia (2021), and The Cleaner (2021).

The second series of The Royals began airing on Wednesday 10th February 2016 on E!

Series 4 of The Royals began airing on Sunday 11th March 2018 on E!

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

Queen of Spain (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Two young boys stand in an english garden with a manor house behind. They are stood with bicycles and a butterfly net

Queen of Spain © Theo Lowenstein

Writer: Stephen Lowenstein and Greer Ellison
Director: Stephen Lowenstein
Starring: Miles Richardson, Jordan Long, Karen Lewis
Production Company: Blue Shadows Films, I Spy Films
Kent Locations Used: Hartlip Place in Sittingbourne, Barrows Antiques in Faversham, Queendown Warren in Sittingbourne

Queen of Spain is a coming of age story set in the world of butterfly collectors on the eve of the First World War. A thirteen-year-old boy spots one of the rarest butterfly species ever to be seen on the British Isles.

Queen of Spain is a short drama starring Miles Richardson (Peterloo (2018), The Crown (2016-2020)), Jordan Long (The Nevers (2021), Temple (2021)) and Karen Lewis-Attenborough (Grange Hill, The Bill). The story is by Stephen Lowenstein and was developed by Greer Ellison.

Various scenes for Queen of Spain were filmed around Kent; Georgian house Hartlip Place in Sittingbourne was used to shoot its mature garden as well as a private residence in the area for some interior scenes. Barrows Antiques in Faversham features in a small yet poignant scene where a confrontation takes place between the protagonist and the local butcher boy, who has “abducted” his butterfly. Queen Down Warren in Sittingbourne was chosen for its beautiful woods and wild flower meadow paths, which feature with the protagonist hunting butterflies.

Faversham is a beautiful historic market town in the Swale Borough of Kent. The historic town boasts over 500 listed buildings and there are many beautiful walks the picturesque countryside has to offer. Previous productions in the town include Hetty Feather Series 3 (2017) and Walks With My Dog (2017).

Sittingbourne, also in the Swale district, offers town areas, flat open landscapes and beautiful beach areas. Southcliffe (2013), Great Expectations (2012) and The Sweeney (2012) have previously been filmed in Swale.

Queen of Spain is due to be released in the UK on 25 February 2018.

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

The Mercy (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz in The Mercy Official Poster close up of faces looking into distance. The Mercy written in white

Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz in The Mercy (2018) ©Studio Canal

Writer: Scott Z. Burns

Director: James Marsh

Starring: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Mark Gatiss

Production Company: Blueprint Pictures

Kent Locations Used: Chatham Dockyard and Bewl Water

Colin Firth in The Mercy standing on boat with mast behind. He wears a pale blue shirt and cream trousers.

Colin Firth in The Mercy (2018 ) ©Studio Canal

The film tells the true story of Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth), a yachtsman who went missing during his attempt to win the 1968 Golden Globe Race when he decided to turn his attempt into a disastrous attempt of travelling the world alone by sea.

Directed by James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Shadow Dancer) and written by Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Bourne Ultimatum). The film stars Colin Firth (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy),  Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, Oz the Great and Powerful), David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,) and Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock).

Rachel Weisz in The Mercy 2018. Rachel and 3 children stand against a harbour wall looking out to see.

Rachel Weisz in The Mercy 2018 ©Studio Canal

 

 

Some scenes were filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, where the HMS Gannet was used as the port where the wives of the competition sailors posed for the press. As well as filming at Bewl Water reservoir in Kent, which features as the Teignmouth inlet where Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth) sails locally alone and with his family. The Historic Dockyard with its Victorian and Georgian architecture has featured in films such as Victoria and Abdul (2017) and Guy Ritchies’ Mr Holmes (2015). Bewl Water is the largest body of inland water in the South East and situated within the High Weald, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

 

 

The Mercy will be in theatres in the UK from the 9th February 2018.

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

 

Next of Kin (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Actress Archie Panjabi and actor Jack Davenport embrace against a grey background

Next of Kin: Archie Panjabi as Mona Shirani and Jack Davenport as Guy Harcourt © ITV / Mammoth Screen

Writers:  Natasha Narayan, Paul Rutman

Directors:  Justin Chadwick, Jamie Childs

Starring:  Archie Panjabi, Jack Davenport

Production Company:  Mammoth Screen

Kent Locations Used:  Oakdene Cafe, London Road, Wrotham

ITV’s new drama series Next Of Kin follows whip-smart GP Mona Shirani who lives in London with political lobbyist husband Guy Harcourt. Family life is shattered when Mona’s brother is brutally murdered whilst working for a medical charity abroad. In the wake of the murder, Mona’s family comes under suspicion and is drawn deep into a tangle of betrayal and conspiracy as they try to protect their loved ones and careers.

The six-part series was written and created by husband and wife team Paul Rutman (Indian Summers, Vera) and Natasha Narayan. Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee, Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife, The Fall), and renowned actor, Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean, Smash), star in Mammoth Screen’s fast-paced family thriller, Next Of Kin.

Oakdene Cafe, London Road in Wrotham Kent  features in Episode 4 where filming took place in June 2017.  Wrotham is a village on the Pilgrims’ Way in Kent, at the foot of the North Downs. It is one mile north of Borough Green and approximately five miles east Sevenoaks, a historic market town which has attracted several large productions in 2017 including Judwaa 2 (2017) and The Big Family Cooking Showdown (2017).

Kent is increasingly popular with ITV drama productions and hosting popular series such as Liar (2017) filmed partly in Deal and Walpole Bay and Mr Selfridge (2016) partly filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

ITV’s new drama series Next Of Kin starts on Monday 8th January at 9pm and the episode featuring Kent will be screened on 29 January 2018.

 

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

Hard Sun (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Promotional image showing Renko (AGYNESS DEYN) and Hicks (JIM STURGESS) against a London skyline

Agyness Deyn as Renko and Jim Sturgess as Hicks in BBC drama Hard Sun © BBC/Euston Films


Writer: Neil Cross

Director: Brian Kirk, Nick Rowland, Richard Senior

Starring: Agyness Deyn, Jim Sturgess

Production Company: Euston Films

Kent Locations Used: Thanet – Ramsgate Tunnel

Hard Sun is a new BBC One drama TV series set in a pre-apocalyptic criminal world which follows the story of two detectives attempting to retain law and order amongst the civilian population five days before the world is about to end.

Detective Robert Hicks (Jim Sturgess) is very corrupt and  must learn to work with honest copper, Detective Elaine Renko (Agyness Deyn) to save as many civilians as possible from the fast-approaching apocalypse.

Writer Neil Cross is well known for his ground breaking work on drama series Luther and the recent horror flick, Mama, both globally acclaimed. Director Brian Kirk has experience of directing several high profile series, including Game of Thrones and Luther. Nick Rowland is a relatively new director on the scene whose credits include BBC’s Cuffs and Ripper Street. Richard Senior who debuted as a director in 2011, is known for his work on a Doctor Who episode and two episodes for Poldark.

The stars of the show are  Agyness Deyn (Clash of the Titans, Hail, Caesar!),a supermodel turned actress and Jim Sturgess (Geostorm, The Other Boleyn Girl 2008) who gave up a music career in 2006 to become an actor.

In one Episode during the series Detective Hicks is thrown out of a van in a tunnel. For this tricky stunt work, the production visited Kent to use the Ramsgate Harbour Approach Tunnel.

The Ramsgate Harbour Approach Tunnel has been credited in The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016).

Hard Sun is set to begin on BBC One on 6th January 2018 at 9.35pm. There will be six hour-long episodes.

 

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

 

Black Mirror: Season 4 – Metalhead (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Poster for Black Mirror MetalHead episode in black and white showing stylised image of main character running across the horizon. metal Head written in white

Black Mirror MetalHead © Netflix

Writer: Charlie Brooker

Director: David Slade

Starring: Maxine Peake, Jake Davies, Clint Dyer

Production Company: Zeppotron

Kent Locations Used: Harrietsham, Maidstone


Black Mirror is a Netflix drama series that focuses on unsettling visions of reality and tends to be satirical with its social commentary and dystopian storylines, each episode featuring a unique story.

The Series, now in its fourth season, was created and written by Charlie Brooker (10 O’ Clock Live) and has a number of high profile directors, such as Jodie Foster (Money Monster), each directing their own episode. Segments of Episode 5 MetalHead, directed by David Slade (Hannibal), were filmed at a private property in Harrietsham village near Maidstone in April 2017.

The episode, filmed entirely in black and white, stars Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything) and follows a woman whose companions are mauled by a mysterious dog at a warehouse. MetalHead is a chase story set against the empty post‑apocalyptic landscape of the Scottish moors.

Fairbourne Reservoir East in Maidstone features as the empty house Bella (Maxine Peake) seeks refuge in towards the end of the episode.

The Maidstone area has been seen on screen in productions such as Eastenders (2007-2022) which filmed in Wormshill and Harrietsham and Children In Need: The Rickshaw Challenge (2015).

Black Mirror: Season 4 will be released on 29 December 2017 on streaming service Netflix. All six episodes will be available on the day, each of which will once again be a self-contained film.

Image of Maxine Peake sat in a remote rural location on the phone with a look of panic on her face

Maxine Peake in Black Mirror S4 MetalHead © Jonathan Prime Netflix

View the MetalHead trailer here:

MetalHead Official Trailer (0:45)

 

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