Poster for Vanity Fair series ©ITV Studio
Writer: Gwyneth Hughes
Director: James Strong
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Suranne Jones, Martin Clunes
Production Company: Mammoth Screen
Kent Locations Used: Deal, Dover, Sevenoaks and Medway
This new ITV series is an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s classic Victorian novel of the same name. Set in the time of the Napoleonic wars, it follows the life of a beautiful and determined woman named Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and climb straight to the top of 19th century English Society.
Starring Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Sound of Metal) as the antihero Becky Sharp, Suranne Jones (The Crimson Field (2014), Doctor Foster) as Miss Pinkerton, Martin Clunes (Arthur & George (2015), Doc Martin) as Sir Pitt Crawley, Michael Palin (The Wind in the Willows – Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (1996), Monty Python and the Holy Grail) as Thackeray, Tom Bateman (Jekyll and Hyde (2015), Murder on the Orient Express) as Captain Rawdon Crawley.
A cottage on Chevening House Estate was used for filming and featured as Rawdons’ (Tom Bateman) Cottage. This location is situated at the foot of the North Downs in Sevenoaks with extensive parkland surrounding it. It is set aside for official Government business.
A scene on the promenade, featuring soldiers and horses was filmed outside the Royal Hotel in Deal. The town is situated on the South Coast of Kent and has a longstanding naval history as one of the corporate limbs of the Cinque Ports and many period features remain.
Squerryes Court in Sevenoaks was also used for filming Miss Pinkertons’ (Suranne Jones) school interiors. This location is a beautiful 17th century manor house which has been in the residence of the Warde family since 1731. It is surrounded with 20 acres of attractive and historic gardens which includes a lake and 18th century dovecote. Previous films that have used this location are The Hollow Crown: Henry V (2012) and The Boat that Rocked (2009).
The Historic Chatham Dockyard was also used. Production filmed various London street scenes outside the Ropery, as well as Anchor Wharf for an embarkation to France and the interior of Commissioners House. The Historic Chatham Dockyard built many ships for the Royal Navy over the last 400 years, including HMS Victory, and it is the home of the Royal Rope Makers, having produced ropes since 1618. It is a popular filming location which offers many period locations, authentic cobbled streets and three historic warships. The Dockyard has previously been featured in films such as Suffragette (2015) and Mr Turner (2014).
Vanity Fair (2018) began on Sunday 2nd September 2018 on ITV.
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.
