Long Lost Family (2020)

Close up of presenter Davina McCall looking into the camera wearing a black jumper

Lost Lost Family Born Without Trace- Davina McCall- © ITV

Starring: Davina McCall, Nicky Campbell
Production Company: ITV Studios
Kent Locations Used: Gravesend, Maidstone, Dartford

Long Lost Family (2011-) returns for another series. The team combine detective work alongside the latest DNA technology to help four contributors uncover their real identities and work out where they came from.

In these two special episodes we see the incredible stories of a man who was left in a car on the outskirts of Belfast, a woman left in a telephone box in Dundalk, another woman found in a public toilet in Warminster and lastly, a man found outside a railway tavern in Greenhithe.

The show is presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, who continue to work together to bring solace to many families across the UK.

Production visited a contributor’s house in Gravesend, along with various streets in Maidstone and Dartford.

Gravesend is a town on the south bank of the Thames. The Towns Pier is the oldest remaining cast-iron pier in the world, with an unspoilt promenade, high street and two shopping centres. Top Boy Series 3 (2019) and Great British Railway Journeys – Series 10 (2019) have both filmed here in the past.

The town of Maidstone has many shops, restaurants, bars, churches and a museum. The River Medway runs though the town centre, linking it with other towns such as Rochester and Chatham. Productions to have filmed in Maidstone include Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes – Series 3 (2020) and The Split Series 2 (2020).

Dartford is a historic market town with a rich industrial heritage and boasts one of the largest shopping centres in Europe. Recent productions to film here include Gangs of London (2020) and The Corrupted (2019).

Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace will air on Monday 1st June and Tuesday 2nd June at 9pm on ITV.

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


Victorian Sensations: Electric Dreams – Series 1 (2019)

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. 


Britain’s Most Historic Towns – Series 2 (2019)

Presenter Alice Roberts wearing a pink top and headband seen driving a green tractor in a field in Dover, Kent.

Alice Roberts exploring Dover, Kent ©Channel 4 Television

Starring: Alice Roberts
Production Company: IWC Media and Channel 4 Television
Kent Locations Used: Canterbury and Dover

Documentary series Britain’s Most Historic Towns (2018-) returns this week, where presenter Alice Roberts (Digging for Britain) explores the UK’s past, by focusing on six key eras as she travels to different towns which best illustrate each of these.

Episode one of the second series kicks off in Kent, where Alice examines Britain in wartime by looking at the coastal town of Dover.

In addition to this, production also visited the historical city of Canterbury, as well as Canterbury Castle, St Augustine’s Abbey, Blean Forest and Eastbridge Hospital.

Dover is the site of the famous The White Cliffs of Dover and has been used in previous productions such as The Lost Commando Raid (2018) and Celebrity Antiques Road Show – Series 8 (2018).

Canterbury is a popular filming location and has hosted a variety of filming, such as the productions for River Walks (2018) and Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson (2018).

Presenter Alice Roberts sitting by the river in Canterbury.

Presenter Alice Roberts exploring Canterbury ©IWC Media

Britain’s Most Historic Towns Series 2 is due to air on Channel 4 on Saturday 18th May 2019 at 8pm and will air on a weekly basis.

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


Long Lost Family Special: Born Without Trace (2019)

Presenters Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell pictured standing together smiling at the camera in front of an historic wall. Davina is wearing a denim jacket and nicky has a grey suit on.

Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell Presenting Long Lost Family Special: Born Without Trace ©ITV

Starring: Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell
Production Company: ITV Studios
Kent Locations Used: Maidstone

In this special episode of the popular series, we see the real-life stories of three foundlings. There is the man who, as a newborn, was abandoned in a hospital car park, the five-day old baby left in a cardboard box in Manchester and the woman abandoned on a doorstep in Scotland. All three are desperately searching to identify their biological parents and find the answer as to why they were abandoned.

During production, the crew visited a family home in the county town of Maidstone, Allington Lock and The Museum of Kent Life.

The show is presented by Davina McCall (Long Lost Family – Born Without a Trace) and Nicky Campbell (The Big Questions), who continue to work together to bring solace to many families across the UK.

The Borough of Maidstone has been a popular site for filming, productions include Great British Railway Journeys Series 11 (2020).

The Long Lost Family Special: Born Without will air on Monday 25th February 2019 at 9pm on ITV.

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


The Empty Housing Scandal (2019)

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. 


Great British Railway Journeys – Series 10 (2019)

Image of presenter Michael Portillo at one of Britain's railway stations wearing a blue jumper and pink blazor. Tracks and the station can be seen in the background.

Great British Railway Journeys ©BBC

Starring: Michael Portillo
Production Company: Fremantle Media Ltd.
Kent Locations Used: Gravesend, Dartford and Folkestone

BBC documentary series Great British Railway Journeys (2010-) which first premiered on BBC Two in 2010, returns for its tenth series. Presenter Michael Portillo (Great Continental Railway Journeys) travels around the railway networks of Great Britain. He does this whilst referring to an 1840’s copy of Bradshaw’s Guide, comparing how various destinations have transformed since Victorian times.

For the new series, production filmed at railways in various Kent locations, such as Gravesend, Dartford and Folkestone.

Situated in North West Kent is the town of Gravesend  which has exceptional transport links up to London, a cast iron pier, promenade and high street. Gravesend has previously hosted productions including Great British Railway Journeys (2014), The Hospice (2018) and Children in Need – The Rickshaw Challenge (2015).

Dartford is a historic town situated close to London and home to one of Europe’s largest shopping centres. Previous productions which filmed here include Who Do You Think You Are? (2014).

Folkestone is a port town on the English Channel in Kent, with an elegant Victorian clifftop promenade, a creative quarter, gardens, a coastal park, and fishing Harbour. It has also been used as a popular filming location for productions such as Danny Boyle: Pages of the Sea (2018), The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway (2017), and Coast v Country (2017).

The new series of Great British Railway Journeys began airing on Monday 4th February 2019 at 6.30pm on BBC Two, and the Kent episode then aired on Wednesday 13th February 2019.

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


George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces – Series 8 (2019)

George Clarke's Amazing Spaces Series 8 poster of acorn tree house hanging in the trees within a forest

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces Series 8 ©Channel 4

Starring: George Clarke
Production Company: Plum Pictures
Kent Locations Used: Ramsgate

Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (2012-) returns for a new series this year. Architect and presenter George Clarke (Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year, The Restoration Man) explores the fascinating world of small builds, with an emphasis on the creative use of small spaces. The show follows people who turn the smallest of places, such as old boats, a tree house disguised as an acorn, and a mountain-top restaurant resembling a spaceship, into places to live.

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces series 5 previously filmed in Margate, Thanet back in 2015. Here, George met a coma survivor who transformed a family camper van and also visited a woman who turned her narrow boat into a floating bookshop.

The Kent episode of series 8 was filmed in Ramsgate, Thanet. Production filmed at Port of Ramsgate, where George follows a new restoration.

Ramsgate is a thriving seaside town with beautiful Georgian terraced housing, Marina, Port and Promenade. Often doubling for London streets. Other previous TV productions which filmed here include Fantasy Homes by the Sea – Series 7 (2018), The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway (2017) and Coast Vs Country (2016).

Series 8 began airing on Sunday 30th December 2018 on Channel 4. Episode eight, which featured Ramsgate, aired on Sunday 24th February 2019 at 8pm.

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


The Lost Commando Raid (2018)

Image of a dark tunnel with The Lost Commando Raid text over the top in bright yellow.

The Lost Commando Raid ©BBC South East

Director: Samuel Supple
Starring: Toby Jones, Phil Eyden
Production Company: BBC South East
Kent Locations Used: Dover

BBC documentary film The Lost Commando Raid (2018) was inspired by Phil Eyden’s book, ‘Dover’s Forgotten Commando Raid’, and tells the story of Operation Abercrombie, a WWII raid led by Lord Lovatt on the French Town of Hardelot in 1942.

Narrating is BAFTA winning actor Toby Jones (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), Christopher Robin (2018)), as amateur historian Phil Eyden discovers mysterious graffiti in a supposedly abandoned fort in Dover that leads him to the story of a long-forgotten commando mission. The documentary includes interviews with Phil Eyden, as well as some of the relatives  of the commando’s taking part.

Production filmed in and around Dover at various locations, including the Drop Redoubt and the Grand Shaft at Western Heights, St Margaret’s at Cliffe, as well as at Discovery Park, where production filmed historian Phil Eyden using a microfilm reader and talking about Dover’s role in WWII.

Dover is the site of the famous White Cliffs of Dover and has been used in various productions such as Britain’s Favourite Walks: Top 100 (2018), Secret Britain (2016) and Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016).

The Lost Commando Raid will air on Friday 14th December 2018 at 7.30pm on BBC South East.

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


River Walks (2018)

Presenter JB Gill pictured weaiting a brown jumper and jacket in the countryside with greenery behind him as he walks along the river

JB Gill Presenting on River Walks ©BBC

Presenter: JB Gill
Production Company: BBC TV
Kent Locations Used: Godinton, Canterbury, Pegwell Bay

River Walks (2018), a new BBC series, will showcase eleven spectacular walking routes across England, broadcast parallel in the Regions. Each episode will reveal how the waterways have shaped the local landscape, history and culture, with celebrity guests suggesting routes for picturesque walks.

Presenting the Southeast episode will be JB Gill (Down on the Farm, Songs of Praise). Other famous faces to explore England’s scenic riverbanks include Rachel Johnson and her father Stanley Johnson (I’m A Celebrity… 2017), as well as broadcaster Stuart Maconie and actress Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street).

The series includes a walk along the Kentish Stour, starting at its source in Godinton in the district of Ashford and following it through the historic city of Canterbury and ending at Pegwell Bay in Thanet.

Previous filming that has taken place across the Stour Valley includes Country File (2012) which filmed in Ashford, Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson (2018) in Canterbury, and Fantasy Homes By the Sea (2018) in Thanet.

River Walks (2018) starts on BBC One South East Channel on Monday 10th December at 7:30pm.

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

 


Danny Boyle: Pages of the Sea this Remembrance Sunday (2018)

Director Danny Boyle's programme poster for Pages of the Sea- image of soldier in the sand with the sea washing up against it.

Danny Boyle: Pages of the Sea ©14-18 NOW

On 11 November 2018, communities will gather on beaches across the UK to say thank you and goodbye to the millions of men and women who left our shores during WWI. In Pages of the Sea, film-maker Danny Boyle invites you to join him in marking the 100 years anniversary of Armistice and the end of the war.

Director of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony, Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire 2008, Shallow Grave 1994) announced his new project from the Sunny Sands in Folkestone, where approximately 10 million men and women departed during the First World War, many never to return. The event will take place between dawn and 10.45am on November 11th 2018 and the public are invited to gather on beaches across the UK for an informal nationwide gesture of remembrance.

Speaking to Kent Online, Danny Boyle said, “You can stand here on the beach in Folkestone and imagine what they were all feeling and imagining as they were getting ready to leave and thinking about what they were facing.”

Image of Danny Boyle smiling at the camera in a white shirt on Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone, sea and path can be seen in background

Filmmaker Danny Boyle © 14-18 NOW

Various events will be taking place on the beach. A portrait of Wilfred Owen will emerge from the sands, and as the tide rises, it will be washed away, and a moment will be taken to say a collective goodbye.  Carol Ann Duffy has written a poem especially for the moment – The Wound in Time.  The public is also invited to explore an online gallery of portraits of some of the men and women who served in the First World War.

The event will be filmed live on Sunday 11th November at 10.45am.

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