filmed in Kent

Kate & Koji (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Stars Brenda Blethyn wearing an apron and Jimmy Akingbola wearing a suit, standing in front of a green cafe.

Kate & Koji starring Brenda Blethyn and Jimmy Akingbola © Hat Trick Productions


Writers: Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin
Director: Ben Kellett
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Jimmy Akingbola, Blake Harrison, Barbara Flynn, Meera Syal
Production Company: Hat Trick Productions, ITV Studios
Kent Locations Used: Romney House, School Road, Charing

Kate & Koji is a six-part TV sitcom about a working-class woman played by Brenda Blethyn  (Vera (2011-2020), Pride & Prejudice (2005)) who runs an old-fashioned café in a neglected seaside town. Kate develops an unexpected and sparky friendship with Koji an asylum-seeking African doctor played by Jimmy Akingbola (In the Long Run (2018-19), Holby City (2006-2016)). Although from very different worlds, they are similar in ways which they do not recognise, including a dogged determination to never back down!

Kate’s resourceful nephew ‘Medium’ played by Blake Harrison  (The Inbetweeners (2008-2010)) is often on hand to act as peacemaker. Barbara Flynn (The Durrells (2016-2019)) also stars in Kate and Koji as Kate’s lifelong nemesis Councillor Bone, and Meera Syal (The Split (2018)) guest stars as an adversarial GP to Koji.

The series is directed by Ben Kellett  and written by Andy Hamilton  and Guy Jenkin. It is a Hat Trick Production for ITV Studios filmed on location in Kent and at Elstree Studios in front of a live audience.

The seaside café for the TV sitcom was filmed at Frasiers Pie and Mash Shop in Herne Bay, standing in for the fictional seaside town of Seagate. The production also filmed exteriors of The Divers Arms pub and various scenes around the promenade and pier and an exterior scene at Herne Bay industrial estate. A further sequence was shot on the Promenade featuring a storm and its after effects.

A damaged road sign saying ‘Seagate’ on the side of a coastal road with the sea in background.

Herne Bay stands in for the fictional seaside town of Seagate © Hat Trick Productions

Herne Bay is a seaside town which has a pier and shingle beach and is set just outside of the historic City of Canterbury. Recent productions to film in the area include Blue Planet UK – Series 1 (2019), The 1900 Island – Series 1 (2019) and Coast vs Country (2016).

Kate and Koji is due to air on ITV Wednesday 18th March 2020 at 8pm.

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

 

 

Belgravia (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The cast of Belgravia standing in a row wearing period costumes in front of a brown backdrop.

Belgravia (2020) Episode One © ITV

Creator / Writer: Julian Fellowes
Directors: John Alexander
Starring: Adam James, Alice Eve
Production Company: Carnival Film and Television
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Chatham Dockyard

New ITV drama Belgravia, based on a book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey (2010-2015) and Gosford Park (2001)), is a story of the secrets and scandals amongst the upper echelon of London society in the 19th Century.

The six part series stars Tamsin Greig (Elementary (2019), Harriet Walter (The Spanish Princess (2019), Alice Eve (Iron Fist (2018) and Philip Glenister (Living the Dream (2019) and the story begins at a legendary ball hosted by the Duchess of Richmond on the fateful evening of the Battle of Waterloo. This sets in motion a series of events that will have consequences for decades to come as secrets unravel behind the porticoed doors of London’s grandest postcode.

Executive producer is Gareth Neame (Downton Abbey (2010-2015) and director is John Alexander (Jamestown (2017)).

Production visited The Historic Chatham Dockyard and filmed on Anchor Wharf quayside, the Tarred Yarn Store as a Pimm’s Chop House and the streets around the Ropery to stand in for both a London market and the streets around Girton’s Mill.

The Historic Chatham Dockyard is a historic tourist attraction on the site of a former Royal Naval Dockyard and has been the location for several recent period dramas including Pennyworth (2019) and World On Fire Series 1 (2019).

Belgravia begins on ITV on Sunday 15 March 2020 at 9pm.

Click here for the Episode One trailer from ITV press centre

 

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

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

 

Executive Producer: Marcus Stephenson

Writers: Harry Williams, Jack Williams

Starring: Phil Spencer and Liz Smith

Production Company: Mayfly Television

Kent Locations Used: Leeds Castle, Maidstone

Phil Spencer (Kirstie & Phil’s Love It or List It (2015), Relocation, Relocation (2003)) 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 Stately Homes 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. 

 

 

The Split Series 2 (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nathan (Stephen Mangan) and Christie (Barry Atsma) walking across Millennium Bridge, with London views behind them. The Split written in white.

Nathan (Stephen Mangan), Hannah (Nicola Walker), Christie (Barry Atsma) © BBC / Sister Pictures / Alex Telfer

Writers: Abi Morgan
Director: Jessica Hobbs
Starring: Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan, Ben Bailey Smith, Barry Atsma, Donna Air
Production Company: Sister Pictures for the BBC
Kent Locations Used: Maidstone TV Studios

The Split is a TV series about the Defoes, a family of female divorce lawyers forced to face their past following the return of their estranged father after a 30 year absence. In series two, the Defoes are back at newly merged law firm Noble Hale Defoe, and instead of being rivals, now find themselves on the same side of the table

Created by Abi Morgan (Suffragette (2015)) and directed by Jessica Hobbs (The Crown (2019)), The Split is now in its second series and is produced by Sister Pictures with Nicola Walker (Spooks (2003-2011)) playing the lead as Hannah Stern, eldest of the three Defoe sisters.

During filming production visited Maidstone TV Studios to film a studio show segment as Hannah Stern’s decides to represent FI Hansen’s (Donna Air (The Counselor (2013)), one half of the UK’s most powerful celebrity couples who seeks a divorce from her controlling husband Richie Hansen (Ben Bailey Smith (Drunk History: UK (2015-2016)).

Richie Hansen (Ben Bailey Smith) standing with his arms around Fi (Donna Air) with the I'm with the Band light sign and drum set and guitars behind them.

Fi (Donna Air), Richie Hansen (Ben Bailey Smith) © BBC / Sister Pictures

Just 45 minutes from London, Maidstone Studios is the UK’s largest independent studios.  The studios are classed as a regional studio facility and has hosted some of the industry’s best loved television programmes from Later… with Jools Holland (2017) to Hetty Feather Series 3 (2017).

The Split Series 2 will air on BBC ONE from Tuesday 11th February 2020 at 9pm.

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

 

This is our Family (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
This Is Our Family 2017 cast standing in a row on the front patio of a house, smiling into the camera. The lady in the middle is sat on a pink chair.

This Is Our Family 2017 ©Sky UK ltd

Director: Ellena Wood
Executive Producers: Ben Gale, Helen Littleboy, Natasha Bondy, Marvyn Benoit
Production Company: Little Gem
Kent Locations Used: Margate

“This Is Our Family” follows four families from across the UK, to tell the stories of their lives over a three year period. This ambitious docu-series began filming four years ago and is split into four 60-minute episodes.

The episode directed by Ellena Wood (Louis Theroux: Talking to Anorexia (2017)) and co-directed by Holly Moy, follows three generations of strong women living under one roof in Margate. Maree Miles lives with her three daughters, Ellie, Lily and Dolce in her mum Irene’s house. 86 year-old Irene has dementia and her condition seems to be getting worse.

Executive Producers are Ben Gale and Helen Littleboy for Little Gem, with Natasha Bondy as Creative Director. Marvyn Benoit is Executive Producer for Sky.

Production visited Margate to film at the participants’ home as well as the seafront, including wide aerial drone shots that show the true scale of the town.  Scenes were also filmed at The Rodney Pub, Margate Hospital, Margate Crematorium, Margate High street and a local hairdresser.

Margate is a seaside town complete with sandy beach, harbour, amusement park, period housing and the ultra-modern art gallery Turner Contemporary  which offers exhibitions, events and various educational opportunities.

Other productions to visit Margate include Interior Design Masters (2019), The Empty Housing Scandal (2019) and George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces – Series 8 (2018).

The ‘The Miles Family’ episode will debut on Sky Atlantic at 10PM on Tuesday 14th January 2020.

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

Call the Midwife Series 1 – 9 (2012 – 2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Nurse Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), Nurse Trixie (Helen George), Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby) © BBC: Nurse Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), Nurse Trixie (Helen George), Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby) dressed in their midwives costumes holding babies in a maternity hospital

Pictured: Nurse Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), Nurse Trixie (Helen George), Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby) © BBC

Writer: Heidi Thomas
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Raine, Pam Ferris, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Jenny Agutter, Laura Main, Judy Parfitt, Stephen McGann, Cliff Parisi, Ben Caplan, Jennifer Kirby, Leonie Elliot, Linda Bassett, Annabelle Apsion
Production Company: Neal Street Productions for BBC
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Much-loved BBC period drama Call the Midwife is back for a ninth series. The TV drama follows the lives of nuns and midwives working in the East End of London during the 1950s and 60s.

The TV drama is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth which chart the life of a newly qualified midwife who works alongside midwives and nuns at a nursing convent, where they face many medical problems and struggles in Poplar, a very deprived area of London. The opening episode of the first series aired on Sunday 15th January 2012 on BBC One and attracted over 10 million viewers. The series of eight episodes each have aired year-on-year, along with an annual Christmas special broadcast every Christmas Day since 2012. It is also broadcast in the United States on the PBS network. Series 10 is currently in production and due to air in 2021. Neal Street Productions is currently commissioned by the BBC for up to Series 11, which is due to air in 2022.

The early series featured actress Jessica Raine as the main protagonist Nurse Jenny Lee with leading supporting cast Helen George as Nurse Trixie Franklin, Pam Ferris as Sister Evangelina, Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan and Miranda Hart playing Chummy Browne led by the calm guidance of Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter). Vanessa Redgrave narrates the series as mature Jennifer Worth.

The more recent series features now familiar faces Nurse Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby), Nurse Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), Nurse Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) and Nurse Trixie Franklin (Helen George) . Supporting cast includes long standing characters Doctor Turner (Stephen McGann) and his wife Shelagh Turner (Laura Main), Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) and Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion).

Series 9 (aired from 4th January 2020) is set in the year 1965 and across eight episodes we see the midwives dealing with cases involving cancer, diptheria, dementia, fistula and homelessness as well as a changing political agenda that threatens the survival of Nonnatus House.

During all nine seasons Call the Midwife has made use of the settings of The Historic Dockyard Chatham to stand in for the Victorian buildings of Poplar in East London. The Fitted Rigging House doubles for the Lisbon Buildings and Rakesby Street Homeless Shelter. Meanwhile, Admiral’s Offices exteriors feature as Poplar Maternity Home and the London Hospital. The Tarred Yarn Store has made regular appearances as a Boxing Ring, Chinese Laundry and derelict building. HMS Cavalier, a WW2 destroyer ship and The National Destroyer Memorial, has also featured playing the role of a Russian ship. The Commissioner’s House gardens set the scene for a famous engagement scene in one episode, while Anchor’s Wharf and the Dockyard Railway and steam train have regularly appeared for Poplar Docks scenes. The Victorian Ropery even appears in one episode as a working ropemakers as well as various cellars and tunnels around the building.

 

Three characters from call the midwife looking out to sea on a bridge at the Historic Dockyard Chatham with their blue and red midwife uniforms on.

Image of Call The Midwife Nurses ©The Historic Dockyard Chatham

 

An image of an exploded bomb set, a pile of rubble and a sign saying KEEP OFF

Behind the Scenes: Special Effects filming of Call the Midwife (2014) at The Historic Dockyard Chatham © BBC (Click on image for video clip).

The Historic Dockyard Chatham hosts Official Call the Midwife Location tours. For more information see here.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham was established in the mid-16th century and is located on the River Medway. A location with an extensive history, evident through its numerous buildings and exhibitions open to the public. Today Chatham is the only one of the original four Royal Navy Ropeyards to remain in operation and, together with its related buildings, forms the finest integrated group of 18th century manufacturing buildings in Britain. The site offers maritime, industrial, Georgian and Victorian architecture and cobbled streets, an ideal set for many film productions. Recent period dramas to film at the Dockyard include Belgravia (2020), World On Fire Series 1 (2019) and Pennyworth Series 1 (2019) to name but a few.

Call the Midwife Series 9 aired from Sunday 4th January 2020 on BBC One at 8pm. All nine series are available to view on BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

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

 

 

 

Dracula (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
CLAES BANG as Dracula wearing a cape and looking into the camera in candle light . An old stone staircase can be seen behind him.

Dracula (CLAES BANG) © BBC/Hartswood Photographer: Robert Viglasky


Writer: Mark Gatis, Steven Moffat, Bram Stoker

Director: Paul McGuigan, Damon Thomas, Jonny Campbell

Starring: Claes Bang, Jonathan Aris, Mark Gatiss, Dolly Wells…

Production Company: Hartswood Films, BBC, Netflix

Kent Locations Used: Joss Bay, Broadstairs

From the makers of Sherlock, Dracula is a brand new drama based on Bram Stoker’s novel, Set in Transylvania in 1897, this time the blood-sucking count will be plotting against Victorian London.

The cast of the 3 feature length episodes is led by Claes Bang starring as Dracula (The Square, The Girl in the Spiders Web), and is supported by Jonathan Aris (Sherlock, The end of the f*cking world), Mark Gatiss (The Favourite, Sherlock) and Dolly Wells (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies).

Production filmed a sunrise sequence at Joss Bay, Broadstairs which was not used in the final edit.

Joss Bay is a popular sandy beach sheltered by steep chalk cliffs and backing onto the North Foreland Golf Course. Several film productions have visited the location including Coast and Country (2016).

The beach is reputedly named after an eighteenth-century smuggler Joss Snelling. Joss Bay is Kent’s best-known surfing beach and is home to the longest established surf school on this coast. The site offers an ideal set for many film productions.

The Dracula mini-series will air on BBC One on three consecutive days starting at 9pm on 1st January 2020. 

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

 

 

Avengement (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
A scarred man wearing a grey jumper looks down at the camera. Above him is prison railings

Scott Adkins in Avengement (2019)

Writers: Jesse V. Johnson, Stu Small

Director:  Jesse V. Johnson

Starring:  Scott Adkins, Craig Fairbrass, Thomas Turgoose

Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Kent Locations Used: Canterbury Prison

This British crime thriller tells the story of gang member Cain Burgess (Scott Adkins) who evades his prison sentences to take revenge on those who have wronged him. Believing other people are the reason for his misfortunes, he fights his way back to confront his enemies.

Avengement was directed and written by Jesse V. Johnson (The Amazing Spiderman, The Last Sentinel, Starship Troopers). Starring is Scott Adkins (Accident Man, Doctor Strange, The Expendables 2) as the anti-hero Cain Burgess. Playing his equally vicious brother and prime nemesis is Craig Fairbrass (Cliffhanger, Rise of the foot soldier 3, London Heist). Another star among the gang members is Thomas Turgoose (This is England, Kingsman: The Golden Circle) who is from Grimsby in London.

A large portion of this film was set in Canterbury Prison, where several of the fight scenes were filmed.

Canterbury Prison has been closed since 2013 and was bought by Canterbury Christ Church University and is due to be extended as part of their campus. The authenticity of the Victorian prison is maintained, making it an ideal location for the crime and thriller genre. Other productions that have previously visited Canterbury Prison for filming include Wayfaring Stranger (2008) and Windmill Boy (2006).

The film was released on DVD on 17th June 2019 and is now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Google Movies.

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

 

Horrible Histories (Season 8)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Richard David and Caine Emily Lloyd Saini standing outside wearing period costumes, scowling at the camera. Trees can be seen behind.

Richard David-Caine Emily Lloyd Saini in Episode 3 – Chaotic Collabs ©BBC

 

Writers: Howard Read, Daniel Peak, Lucy Clarke

Starring: Jalaal Hartley, Jessica Ransom, Tom Stourton, Richard David-Caine, Harrie Hayes, Emily Lloyd Saini

Production Company: Lion Television

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Allington Castle

The CBBC’s historical children’s TV programme, Horrible Histories, adapted from the books written by Terry Deary, has recently returned to television screens for an eighth season. The show brings major historical and social events from both the UK and overseas to life using comedy to inform and excite younger audiences.

Episodes feature British historical figures including Horatio Nelson (Richard David-Caine) and Lord Byron (James McNicholas), Samuel Pepys (Tom Stourton) and Oliver Cromwell (James McNicholas) to name but a few. In Episode 1 ‘Queen Vic’s Home Vids’ Victorian Filmmaker Williams Dixon (Jalaal Hartley) is shown filming whilst strapped to the front of a steam train. This comic re-enactment scene, filmed on green screen at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, is intercut with archive BFI footage of the real filming.

Viewers can expect to see actors Jalaal Hartley (The Borgias), Jessica Ransom (Doc Martin), Tom Stouton (About Time) and Richard David-Caine (Class Dismissed) all reprise their varying roles throughout the course of the season.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent was used as a filming location for the programme and features in Episode 1 – Queen Vic’s Home Vids, Episode 3 – Chaotic Collabs, Episode 8 – Putrid Politics and Special: Heroic Home Front. Scenes were filmed around the Ropery, Tarred Yarn Store, Anchor Wharf, Officers Terrace, The Old Pay Office, Commissioners House and submarine HMS Ocelot.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham, established in the mid-16th century and located on the River Medway in Kent, is a highly desirable filming location for film and television crews alike. The site boasts a huge 80 acres of land, more than 100 Victorian, Georgian buildings and maritime spaces, all of which spanning a history of over 200 years.

The location has previously featured in other historical television programmes such as the Hetty Feather series (2015-2019), Call the Midwife (2012-2015), Suffragette (2015) and Mr Selfridge (2012-2016).

Allington Castle and gardens feature in Season 8 playing the role of Samuel Pepys’ home, The Tower of London, The Palace of Versaille and a Tudor Castle. The location can be seen in Episode 2 – Fashion Faux Pas, Episode 3 – Chaotic Collabs, Episode 4 – Mind Your Manners, Episode 5 – Fearsome Families, Episode 6 – Bizarre Beasts and Episode 8 – Putrid Politics.

Allington Castle is privately owned and situated on the banks of the River Medway and was previously on screen in The Royals (2016),  Covington Cross (1992) and The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984).

The eighth season of Horrible Histories aired on CBBC from 3rd June 2019. Selected episodes are available for viewing online using BBC iPlayer.

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

 

Junk Rescue – Series 2 (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Presenters Zoe Pocock (wearing a pink jumpsuit) and Danny Sebastian (wearing a patchwork waistcoat and jeans) in Junk Rescue pictured sitting down together on a wooden box and smiling at the camera.

Presenters Zoe Pocock and Danny Sebastian in Junk Rescue ©Muck N Brass

 

Starring: Zoe Pocock and Danny Sebastian

Production Company: Hello Halo

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

CBeebies Junk Rescue is back! The series shows how the things we throw away can be turned into something useful, through combining traditional crafts and creative child-led makes.

The Kent episode Frayed Yarn, involves Danny, Zoe, and their Junkyard Helpers finding some frayed yarn in the junkyard. Zoe and the helpers then make something out of sewing leftovers.

The series stars presenters Zoe Pocock (Horrid Henry: The Movie) and Danny Sebastian (Bargain Hunt).

The Frayed Yarn episode was filmed in the Ropery at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Set on the River Medway, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location. It offers Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, dry dock, cobbled streets, and industrial buildings. The Dockyard has previously featured in TV productions such as the Hetty Feather series (2015-2018).

Junk Rescue can be seen on CBeebies on Monday 27th May 2019 at 4.10pm and episodes will air daily till Friday 31st May 2019, ending with the Kent episode.

 

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