Factual documentary

Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes – Series 3 (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Phil Spencer wearing a purple jumper standing on the grass in front of the entrance to Leeds Castle.

Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes Series 3 Episode 4 Leeds Castle © Thomas Alexander / Channel 4

Starring: Phil Spencer, Liz Smith
Production Company: Mayfly Television
Kent Locations Used: Leeds Castle, Maidstone

Phil Spencer (Kirstie & Phil’s Love It or List It, Relocation, Relocation) returns for a grand tour of some of the country’s finest country houses to uncover the stories behind their creation in Series 3 of Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes (2016-2020) for Channel 4.

Phil, accompanied by Conservation Architect Liz Smith ,is given unprecedented access into fascinating stately home archives to reveal the incredible ambition of the house’s creators, as well as the huge quantities of materials, labour and money involved in turning their flights of fancy into bricks and mortar.

With a chance to try his hand at craft and restoration, and insight from the current custodians, Phil discovers how these homes became symbols of power – and play – and what the buildings and estates are really like to own.

The series is produced by Mayfly Television and written by Harry Williams and Jack Williams. The executive producer is Marcus Stephenson with Clemency Green Commissioning Editor for Features.

During filming in 2019 the production visited Leeds Castle in Kent in the year the castle celebrated its 900th anniversary. Filming took place inside the Castle when Phil interviewed staff members including Leeds Castle Curator Annie Kemkaran-Smith as well as a descendant of the last private owner Lady Baillie.  During the episode Phil went punting on the moat and visited the clock tower to raise Lady Baillie’s flag.

Set in the outskirts of the county town of Kent, Maidstone is the beautiful Leeds Castle which is set over 500 acres and boasts stunning period rooms, gardens, a moat, woodlands, maze with shell grotto and a falconry centre. Leeds Castle has previously been used as a film location by factual TV programmes Celebrity Antiques Road Show – Series 8 (2018),  Secrets of Great British Castles (2016) and Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies (2016).

Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes – Leeds Castle is due to air on More4 on Thursday 12th March 2020 at 9pm.

Exterior shot of Leeds Castle in the distance, taken from the ground behind some trees.

Phil Spencer Stately Homes S3 Ep4 Leeds Castle GV © Channel 4

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

Victorian Sensations: Electric Dreams – Series 1 (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Presenter Hannah Fry pictured in a black jumper smiling at the camera. Red theatre chairs are seen behind her with an electrical machine and spark.

Hannah Fry in Victorian Sensations ©BBC

Director: Andy Hall
Starring: Hannah Fry
Production Company: Academy 7 Productions
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Victorian Sensations (2019) is a brand-new three-part series, which explores the thrilling era of the 1890s, a period of rapid discovery and change.

In the first episode, ‘Electric Dreams’, mathematician Dr Hannah Fry (Size Matters, Horizon) investigates how science and technology transformed Britain during this time, giving rise to the modern world, as well as many present-day anxieties.

For the filming of this particular episode, production visited the Ropery Complex at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings. It has previously been used as a film location for productions such as Call the Midwife (2012-2022) and The Crown (2016).

Victorian Sensations can be seen on BBC Four on Wednesday 22nd May 2019 at 9pm. The Kent episode, Electric Dreams, will be the first of the three episodes to air.

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

Blue Planet UK – Series 1 (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Presenter Steve Brown pictured in a blue coat sitting in his wheelchair by the seafront. Sea, road and boats can be seen in the background.

Presenter Steve Brown ©BBC

Starring: Gillian Burke, Steve Brown, Chris Packham
Production Company: BBC Studios Natural History Unit
Kent Locations Used: Minster Beach and Herne Bay

BBC’s daytime spin-off Blue Planet UK (2019) is due to air throughout next week. It will uncover the incredible stories behind the UK’s marine wildlife. Presenters of the programme will be exploring the history of British waters and explain how they have been influenced by people today.

The Series is presented by Gillian Burke (Springwatch), Steve Brown (Springwatch), and Chris Peckham (Autumnwatch).

Filming for Blue Planet UK took place at Minster beach on Isle of Sheppey, showing presenter Steve and his family as they fossil hunt together. Additional filming also took place at Herne Bay in Canterbury.

Minster beach is located on Isle of Sheppey, which is an island off the northern coast of Kent and has beautiful landscapes and coastline. Previous productions which filmed on Isle of Sheppey include, Coast (2014).

Herne Bay is a seaside town which has a pier and shingle beach and is set just outside of the historic City of Canterbury. Previous productions which have filmed in the area include Coast vs Country (2016).

The series can be seen on BBC One from Monday 25th to Friday 29th March 2019 at 4.30pm. Herne Bay will feature in episode 3 and 4, and Minster beach will feature in episode 3.

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

The Empty Housing Scandal (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Series poster for The Empty Housing Scandal - an image of a blue door in a run-down looking house

The Empty Housing Scandal ©BBC

Starring: Matthew Allwright
Production Company: TwoFour
Kent Location Used: Various properties around Thanet and Folkestone

This five-part series focuses on Britain’s housing crisis as every day 140 new families become homeless, whilst over 2000,000 domestic properties lie empty. Each episode features four to five stories, concentrating on an empty house at some point in its journey to be but back into use as a home. Presenter Matt Allwright wants to expose the empty housing scandal. He also may occasionally have to investigate to track down lost owners or property agents, as he travels around the UK scoping empty houses and pairing them with people who desperately need a home.

 

Presenter Matt Allwright for BBC One’s The Empty Housing Scandal standing in front of some brown houses wearing a red jumper with his arms crossed.

Presenter Matt Allwright for BBC One’s The Empty Housing Scandal ©TwoFour

 

The series was commissioned by TwoFour (The Hotel Inspector, The Jump). It is presented by Matt Allwright (Space Truckers, Watchdog) and will include various properties throughout the districts of Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe.

Thanet is in north east Kent and is made up of resort towns Margate, Broadstairs, and Ramsgate. This district is a very popular location for films and tv shows, having been used for Only Fools and Horses: The Jolly Boys’ Outing (1989) and Mr Selfridge (2013-2016).

Folkestone is a town on the English Channel, located in the south east of Kent and has also been a popular location used in many films and tv shows, such as Moon and Son (1992) and The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993).

The first episode of The Empty Housing Scandal aired on Monday 11th February 2019 at 9.15am on BBC One. It will air each day this week till Friday 15th February 2019.

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

My Floating Home – Series 2 – Episode 4 & 8

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Image of presenter Mark Evans in a blue shirt with his arms crossed, water and canal boats behind him.

Image of presenter Mark Evans ©Channel 4

 

Director: Matt Fletcher and Tristan Goodley (episode 4), Timothy Clarkson (episode 8)

Starring: Mark Evans

Production Company: Windfall Films, for Channel Four Television

Kent Locations Used: River Medway, Paddock Wood, Medway Wharf Marina, “The Basin” at East Farleigh

Returning for its second series My Floating Home follows seven families on their adventure of building their watery dream homes.

The river Medway is firstly introduced in episode 4. In this episode, Mark Evans meets Lee and Justine Oakley, who need to transform an old steel hull boat into a 2-story floating house that provides the perfect platform to soak in spectacular views of the River Medway.

The crew returns to the River Medway in episode 8 when Mark Evans follows Laurence Kent in his quest to build his ‘Riverpod’ floating home on the river. It will travel down river from Wateringbury to ‘The Basin’ at East Farleigh.

The River Medway is Kent’s longest river and today, many of people either live on the water or use it for leisure pursuits. The Medway featured previously in Great Expectations (1999) and Canterbury Tales – The Man of Laws’ Tale (2003).

Other Kent locations were featured in episode 8, including Paddock Wood, where the boat is constructed, Medway Wharf Marina, where the Riverpod is lowered into the water, and ‘The Basin’ at East Farleigh, where it is moored.

The latest episode of My Floating Home series 2 aired on 29 May on All4.

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

 

Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

 

Headshot of presenter Tony Robinson standing in a cathedral with his blue coat on.

Presenter of the series Tony Robinson ©Channel 5

 

Director: Tom Cunningham and Mark Williams

Starring: Tony Robinson

Production Company: Channel 5

Kent Locations Used: Canterbury Cathedral and Town

The brand new series Britain’s Great Cathedrals is presented by actor and history enthusiast Tony Robinson (Walking Through History, Time Team, Tony Robinson’s Time Travels). The series examines six monumental British cathedrals and explores their history. In episode two the production visits Canterbury and the beautiful Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Church of England.

Canterbury is a popular filming location and has previously been used as a location for filming for BBC Bargain Hunt and Time Team Special.

The series can be seen on Channel 5 every Friday at 8pm and Episode 2 featuring Canterbury Cathedral is available on My5.

 

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

David Jason: My Life on Screen (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
David Jason sitting in arm chair looking at camera with old tv memorabilia in the background

David Jason (C) UKTV

Starring: David Jason, Michael Palin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Pam Ferris, Stephanie Cole, Johnny Vegas, Tim Healy

Production Company: Shiver Productions

Kent Locations Used:  Margate, Bethersden, Darling Buds of May Farm,

This informative three part documentary series follows national treasure Sir David Jason  on a journey charting his life on screen. He travels across Britain to explore how his career in TV developed, talking to people who inspired and helped him along the way,visiting film locations from some of his most memorable shows.

David Jason and Ronnie Barker standing in street looking at camera in front of fruit and veg stand

David Jason & Ronnie Barker (C) BBC

Presented by David Jason himself, he talks to Michael Palin (Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda), Catherine Zeta-Jones (The Darling Buds of May, Chicago), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses, Goodnight Sweetheart), Pam Ferris (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men), Stephanie Cole, Johnny Vegas (Ideal, Grimsby) and Tim Healy (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet).

In Episode 2, David heads to Margate, the setting for the classic Only Fools And Horses episode The Jolly Boys Outing.

In the 3rd episode of the series, Sir David travels to Bethersden in Kent to visit the  legendary Darling Buds of May Farm.

The seaside town of Margate is home to the popular Dreamland amusement park, the Turner Contemporary modern art gallery alongside its harbour and sandy beach areas. Previous filming here includes The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016), The Carer (2016), Coast (2014) and Last Orders (2002)

Bethersden is a small friendly village located just outside of Ashford, Kent, surrounded by beautiful countryside.

David Jason: My Life on Screen starts on Saturday 26th August on Gold at 6pm with episodes 2 and 3 airing on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th August.

 

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

Who Should We Let In? Ian Hislop on the First Great Immigration Row (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Ian Hislop looking at camera holding up British passport

Who Should We Let in? Ian Hislop on the First Great Immigration Row – Ian Hislop – BBC – (C) Wingspan – Photographer: Andy Jackson

 

Production Company: Wingspan Productions

Kent Locations Used: Folkestone

BBC Two programme Who Should We Let In? Ian Hislop on the First Great Immigration Row explores how Britain’s attitude towards immigration changed from the Victorian era up to World War I.

As Britain prepares for Brexit, Ian Hislop looks at how rising numbers in migrants and stoking from the press caused economic concerns and a divide in public values leading on to a somewhat familiar sounding national debate.

The programme visited various locations around Folkestone including the harbour, Sunny Sands and The Leas.

Folkestone is a seaside town with a bustling harbour, coastal park and quaint old high street. The area has previously welcomed filming from productions such as The Tunnel (2013), Question Time (2016) and Great Railway Journeys (2016)

Who Should We Let In? Ian Hislop on the First Great Immigration Row airs on Thursday 22nd June at 21.00 on BBC Two.

 

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

Secrets of Great British Castles (2016)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Dan Jones standing in front of the water at Leeds Castle with the castle in the background.

Dan Jones at Leeds Castle © Sideline and Channel 5

Production Company: Sideline

Kent Locations Used:  Leeds Castle

Secrets of Great British Castles returns for a second series, where historian Dan Jones explores the turbulent history behind Britain’s castles. Exploring the secrets behind the castles, Dan uncovers stories of intrigue, drama, romance, rebellion, and murder.

Between May and June 2016, the production team filmed at Leeds Castle where Dan Jones delves into its history, seen and unseen, such as the hidden 13th Century bathhouse built for Edward I. For the first time visitors will be able to hear about top secret letters between Winston Churchill and Geoffrey Lloyd, Minister in charge of the Secret Petroleum Warfare Department, detailing fascinating World War II plans that had their inception at Leeds Castle.

Set in the outskirts of the county town of Kent, Maidstone is the beautiful Leeds Castle which is set over 500 acres and boasts stunning period rooms, gardens, a moat, woodlands, maze with shell grotto and an aviary boasts medieval themed rooms. Leeds Castle has previously been used as a film location by film The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016), Gadget Man (2014) and Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).

The Leeds Castle episode of Secrets of Great British Castles airs on Channel 5 at 20:00 on Friday 25th November 2016.

 

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