George Eliot Novel

The Mill on the Floss (1997)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Mill on the Floss poster- montage of three different characters from the film, a man in a top hat, a women with her arm on her hip in front and then a man on a white horse in front. The Mill on the Floss is written in blue

The Mill on the Floss poster © BBC

Director: Graham Theakston
Starring: Emily Watson, Cheryl Campbell, James Frain, Bernard Hill, Joanna David, Ifan Meredith
Production Company: BBC, Canal+ Carnival Film & Television, UGC DA International
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

The Mill on the Floss (1997) is a 1997 BBC adaptation of the George Eliot classic of the same name which is about a young woman’s struggle for freedom and love in conventional Victorian society.

The story follows intelligent, free spirited Maggie Tulliver (Emily Watson), whose father forbids her to see her childhood friend Philip Wakem (James Frain) after his family takes away their beloved mill on the river Floss. What will Maggie do when torn by devotion to her family and her true love?

The adaption is written by Hugh Stoddart (To the Lighthouse, Remembrance), directed by Graham Theakston (The Politician’s Wife, Seeing Red) and starring Emily Watson (Gosford Park, Punch-Drunk Love), Cheryl Campbell (Pennies From Heaven, Chariots of Fire), James Frain (TRON: Legacy, The Tudors), Bernard Hill (Titanic, The Scorpion King), Joanna David (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Pride and Prejudice) and Ifan Meredith (Great Expectations, Warriors).

The Mill on the Floss screenshot at The Historic Dockyard Chatham - a man on a horse and carriage with building behind him

The Mill on the Floss screenshot at The Historic Dockyard Chatham © BBC

The Mill on the Floss screenshot at The Historic Dockyard Chatham - a man walking along a street with a horse and carriage behind him

The Mill on the Floss screenshot at The Historic Dockyard Chatham © BBC

The row of period houses at The Historic Dockyard Chatham features in The Mill on the Floss as the exterior for Wakem Solicitor’s, with another area providing the exterior for Guest and Co.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location boasting over 100 buildings and 80 acres of filming space including Georgian and Victorian buildings, a submarine, dry dock, cobbled streets and industrial buildings. The Historic Dockyard Chatham has previously been used in productions such as Jekyll and Hyde (2015), Great Expectations (2012) and The World is Not Enough (1999).

The Mill on the Floss was first shown on New Year’s Day 1997 and is now available on DVD.

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