Penelope Wilton standing on the driveway at Boughton Monchelsea Place © ITV
Production Company: Festival Film & Television, Festival Films, ITV
Kent Locations: Boughton Monchelsea Place, Herne Bay, Teston, Teston Bridge Country Park
The drama is an adaptation of the award winning novel of the same name by Morag Joss. Penelope Wilton plays Jean, a sixty-something house sitter, who is looking after Walden Manor. The house is full of mysteries and locked doors. When Jean isinformed that this will be her last job, she decides to defy all the rules and live the life she has always wanted.
Soon she is joined by Michael (Daniel Mays), a thief, and Steph (Sinnead Matthews), a pregnant girl on the run from her abusive boyfriend.
Over a blissful summer, these three live in an idyll that is soon to shattered when their past begins to catch up with them and events take a dangerous and sinister turn.
 Filming with views over the Weald © ITV |
 Boughton Monchelsea Place © Kent Film Office |
The programme was shot on location throughout Kent, with the main location being Boughton Monchelsea Place, which doubled as Walden Manor. A stunning 16th Century manor house, Boughton Monchelsea Place has an ancient deer park and has unrivalled views across the Kent Weald.
The house is no stranger to filming. In addition to the many fashion shoots that it has hosted, last year it played host to reality TV series Australian Princess which sees young Australians going through lessons in ‘royal deportment’, the winner being ‘crowned’ Princess. The house itself is not open to the public. However they are open for events, weddings and of course filming.
The programme also filmed on location in Teston village and Country Park as well as Herne Bay.
Herne Bay has a shingle beach, bandstand and seafront gardens as well as many shops and eateries, amusement arcades, and a windmill. Previous productions which have filmed in Herne Bay include Boomers (2014) and Big Bad World (2013).
Teston is a rural village on the outskirts of Maidstone and is home to Teston Bridge Country Park which has 32 acres of grazed meadow, river walks, a children’s play area and the picturesque 14th century Teston Bridge which was used for filming of feature film Dunkirk (1958).
The novel written by Morag Joss won a CWA Silver Dagger Award in 2003. She has recently completed her fifth novel Puccini’s Ghosts.
Half Broken Things was shown on ITV on Sunday 28th October 2007 at 21.00
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.
