Baptiste (2019)

Actor Tchéky Karyo starring as investigator Julien Baptiste wearing a brown jacket pictured standing in a street looking around with people blurred behind him.

Tchéky Karyo as Julien Baptiste in Baptiste Series ©BBC

Writers: Harry Williams and Jack Williams
Director: Börkur Sigþörsson and Jan Mattys
Starring: Tchéky Karyo, Anastasia Hille, Tom Hollander, Camille Schotte, Trystan Gravelle
Production Company: Two Brothers Pictures for BBC One
Kent Locations used: Discovery Park, Dover, Kingsdown, Deal, Ramsgate

The highly anticipated new six-part BBC drama Baptiste (2019-2021) will be airing next week! From the creators of The Missing, this spin-off stars Tchéky Karyo as the insightful, yet stubborn investigator Julien Baptiste. Now retired and trying his best to enjoy his retirement with his family,  the investigator is contacted by Police Commissioner and former girlfriend Martha Horchner (Barbara Sarafian), who brings him a missing person’s case he can’t refuse.

The series is directed by Börkur Sigþörsson (BlackBoxTV, Trapped) and Jan Mattys (The Last Kingdom, Shetland). It was written by Harry Williams (The Missing, Liar) and Jack Williams (The Missing, Liar). Starring are Tchéky Karyo (Section Zéro, The Missing), Anastasia Hille (Prey, The Missing), Tom Hollander (American Dad, The Night Manager), Camille Schotte (The Missing, Belgian Disaster), Trystan Gravelle (The Aliens, A Discovery of Witches).

Production visited numerous Kent locations during filming for the series. These included a scene on Deal seafront, also showing Deal Pier, which features Edward Stratton (Tom Hollander) arriving by boat. A small scene also features a Co-op store in Deal where Edward shops for groceries. Further filming took place in neighbouring Kingsdown, again using the sea road and beachfronts. These include an establishing shot of a seafront house, a drone shot of Undercliffe and Sutton Vale Road of a black taxi and Sutton Vale Country Park where Edward Stratton (Tom Hollander) visits his family and meets with Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo). Kingsdown Beach is also featured for a conversation scene between Edward and Baptiste in the final episode.

Discovery Park in Sandwich was also used in the filming, doubling as a Japanese airport.  A tool store on Manston Industrial Estate in Ramsgate is featured as Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo) shops while talking on the phone.

A dangerous smuggler’s haunt in the 1800s, Deal town boasts a wonderful collection of colourful Georgian buildings, complemented by a long shingle beach with huts, fishing boats and pier restores in the 1950’s. It is a popular filming location and has previously featured in productions such as The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016) and Liar (2017). Kingsdown village is situated south of Deal and features in the James Bond trail.

Sandwich is a town north of Deal on the Stour Estuary and was once one of the Cinque Ports. It still has many original medieval buildings, including churches, almshouses and the White Mill. This location was the base for all three series of Kudos’  The Tunnel (2013), The Tunnel: Vengeance and The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016).

Ramsgate, located in the district of Thanet, is a thriving seaside town with beautiful Georgian terraced housing, Marina, Port and Promenade. Previous TV productions which filmed here include Eastenders (2015), The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017) and Hancock and Joan (2008).

Baptiste is set to air on BBC One on Sunday 17th February at 9pm.

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


New Blood (2016)

New Blood written in balck, Stefan (MARK STREPAN) and Rash (BEN TAVASSOLI) headshots in front of a derelict landscape

New Blood Stefan (MARK STREPAN), Rash (BEN TAVASSOLI) © BBC / 11th Hour Films

Director: Anthony Philipson

Starring: Mark Strepan, Ben Tavassoli, Ariyon Bakare, Dorian Lough, Rachel Palmer, Aiysha Hart, Matt Bardock, Mark Bonnar, Mandana Jones

Production company: Eleventh Hour Films

Kent Locations Used: the M2 and Medway Services

New Blood is a new, seven part investigative drama, created and written by bestselling author Anthony Horowitz (Foyle’s War, Collision). The story follows Stefan (Mark Strepan) and Rash (Ben Tavassoli) who are junior investigators for the Serious Fraud Office and the police respectively, brought together by two seemingly unrelated cases.

The duo comes up against the rich and powerful as well as criminals who hide behind legitimate facades and are guarded by lawyers. As their friendship grows, they understand that they make a formidable crime-solving team.

The series stars Mark Strepan (The Mill, Northmen – A Viking Saga), Ben Tavassoli (Tomorrow, Healey’s House), Ariyon Bakare (Doctors, The Dark Knight), Dorian Lough (Notting Hill, Far from the Madding Crowd), Aiysha Hart (Atlantis, Honour), Matt Bardock (Casualty, Sixty Six), Mark Bonnar (Casualty, Catastrophe) and Mandana Jones (Bad Girls Random Quest).

The production visited Kent in September 2015 to film driving sequences the M2 motorway as well as Medway services.

Medway is a group of towns set along the River Medway, steeped in history, particularly with Charles Dickens connections. Rochester City offers beautiful cobbled streets, parks as well as a Cathedral and castle. The Medway area has previously been used for filming by projects including Secret Britain (2016), Black Sea (2014) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012).

New Blood will start Thursday June 9th 2016 at 21:00 on BBC One.

 

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