Liaison (2023)

Close-up image of Vincent Cassel as Gabriel Delage and Eva Green as Alison Rowdy against a blue background, bordered by the London skyline. Written on the left-hand side of the image is ‘Liaison. Stop at nothing to save everything’.

Vincent Cassel and Eva Green in Liaison (2023) © Apple TV+

Creator: Virginie Brac
Starring:
Vincent Cassel, Eva Green, Peter Mullan, Gérard Lanvin
Production Company:
Apple Studios, Léonis Productions, Ringside Studios
Kent Locations Used:
Port of Ramsgate, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Samphire Hoe, Abbot’s Cliff

Liaison (2023) is a British-French thriller series following two spies, and former lovers, who are forced to reunite to fight against international cyber-attacks which threaten the United Kingdom.

The series was created by Virginie Brac (Cheyenne & Lola, Insoupçonnable) and stars Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, La Haine) as Gabriel Delage, Eva Green (Casino Royale, Penny Dreadful) as Alison Rowdy, Peter Mullan (The Fixer (2008), On a Clear Day (2005)) as Richard Banks and Gérard Lanvin (Mesrine Part 2: Public Enemy Number 1, The Prize of Peril) as Alain Dumas.

Production visited several locations in Kent whilst shooting the series, including the Port of Ramsgate, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Royal Harbour Brasserie, Port of Dover and Samphire Hoe in Dover. Sadly a sequence filmed at Abbot’s Cliff in Dover ended up on the cutting room floor.

Ramsgate has the only Royal Harbour in the country, decreed so by King George IV in 1821 due to his fondness of the friendly locals he met there. Often used as a double for London, Ramsgate is a popular filming location with beautiful Victorian terraced housing, marina, port and promenade. Previous productions that have filmed in Ramsgate include Juliet, Naked (2018), the Netflix crime-drama series Top Boy (2019-2022), and BBC psychological thriller Baptiste (2019).

The Port of Ramsgate is set on 32 acres of dedicated port land and is often used as a ‘stand-in’ for film and TV as the Port of Dover. Other productions that have filmed here include the SKY crime-drama series The Tunnel (2013) and, more recently, the Acorn TV crime-drama series Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022).

The Port of Dover is the busiest passenger port in Europe, including freight terminal, two cruise terminals, yachting marina, harbour wall, lighthouses and seafront promenade. Other productions to film there include After Love (2021), The Rook (2019) and Next of Kin (2018).

Created by the spoils of the Channel Tunnel, Samphire Hoe is a new piece of England, an award-winning country park known for its wildlife, biodiversity, and stunning views of the White Cliffs of Dover. Series 2 and 3 of the SKY crime-drama series The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016) and The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017) feature scenes filmed at Samphire Hoe.

Part of the White Cliffs of Dover, Abbot’s Cliff is a beautiful location with breath-taking views of the English Channel. Perhaps the most striking part of the cliff, however, is the Sound Mirror, a large block of concrete originally built in 1928 to provide early warning of enemy planes approaching Britain. Previous productions who have made use of this unique location include Back to Life (2019-2021), King of Thieves (2018) and King Lear (2018).

Liaison (2023) was released on AppleTV+ on Friday 24th February 2023.

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


The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017)

 

Actors Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane look on at camera in police building

The Tunnel: Vengeance – © Sky Atlantic

Writer: Emilia Di Girolamo

Directors: Anders Engstrom and Giles Bannier

Starring: Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane

Production company: Kudos

Kent locations used: The Production was based in the County and locations are across East Kent and France

The Tunnel: Vengeance returns for its final and third series this December. The six-part crime-thriller is set against the backdrop of a refugee crisis in Europe, which leads British detective Karl (Stephen Dillane) to partner with Elise (Clémence Poésy) from the French National Gendarmerie. Together they investigate crimes such as the setting alight of a fishing vessel transporting refugees across the Channel. The series examines themes of terrorism, refugees and the rise of far-right political groups.

In March 2017, the production team, which was based in Sandwich, filmed across East Kent, with locations including Reculver, Botany Bay, Ramsgate Royal Harbour and the Port of Dover.

East Kent is home to spectacular coastal landscapes and historic towns, and boasts excellent transport links to London and western Europe. East Kent has been used for filming by productions such as Liar (2017) and Humans: Series 2 (2016).

Don’t miss the return of The Tunnel: Vengeance, with all the episodes available on Thursday 14 December on Sky Atlantic at 9pm.

 Watch the series teaser here:

 

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


The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway (2017)

Image of large container ship and tugboat with the words 'The Channel: The World's Busiest Water' superimposed.

The Channel – © Channel 4

Production company: Blast! Films

Kent locations used: Ramsgate Royal Harbour and Channel Tunnel

The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway is an access-all-areas programme exploring the everyday workings of the Dover Strait. I addition to exploring the ocean there is also footage from inside the Channel Tunnel, including interviews with those who are responsible for maintaining the system that allows 17 million people to travel across the English Channel every year.

In June 2017, in addition to filming at Eurotunnel, the production team filmed with one of the commercial fleets based at Ramsgate Royal Harbour.

Ramsgate is accredited as the home to England’s only Royal Harbour, developed in 1976. The scenic and charming marina resides 35 miles from the western French coast. Ramsgate has been used for filming by productions such as The Apprentice (2015).

The Channel Tunnel is the rail tunnel connecting Folkestone in Kent to Calais in France in just 35 minutes. The Channel Tunnel has been used for filming by productions such as The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016).

The series starts on Wednesday 29th of November 2017 at 9PM on Channel Four and the fisherman’s episode will be the third instalment of The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway, which airs on 13th December 2017 at the same time.

 

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

 


The Soul of a Spy (Dusha Shpiona) (2015)

Andrey Chernyshov as Alex Wilkie and Malcolm McDowell as Henry stand in front of a black-and-white image of Tower Bridge in London. Chernyshov wears a trenchcoat, white shirt and blue, red and whitestriped tie. McDowell wears a chequered tweed jacket, blue jumper, white shirt and black bow tie. The two men look sternly off into the distance.

Andrey Chernyshov and Malcolm McDowell in The Soul of a Spy (2015) © Three T Productions

Director: Vladimir Bortko
Starring:
Andrey Chernyshov, Elo Cinquanta, Fedor Bondarchuk, Liam Cunningham
Production Company:
Three T Productions, Celtic Films Entertainment, Fluid Company, Studio 2-B-2 Entertainment, Zak Productions
Kent Locations Used:
Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Royal Temple Yacht Club

The Soul of a Spy (2015) is a Russian language spy thriller following an Intelligence Officer who, after being assigned to a job in London, finds that bribery, blackmail and murder are all part of the job.

Directed by Vladimir Bortko (Idiot, The Master and Margarita), the film stars Andrey Chernyshov (Tankers, The Man Without a Past) as Alex Wilkie, Elo Cinquanta (Vasectomia, 8 Marvels of the World) as Katia, Fedor Bondarchuk (9th Company, Sputnik) as Zasuhin and Liam Cunningham (Jude (1996), Electric Dreams: Crazy Diamond (2017)) as Hillsman.

The production visited Kent to film various scenes in and around Ramsgate Royal Harbour as well as just offshore.

Ramsgate has the only Royal Harbour in the country, decreed by King George IV in 1821 due to his fondness of the friendly locals he met there. Often used as a double for London, Ramsgate is a popular filming location, with previous productions to film there including Not Going Out – Series 6 (2013), The Calling (2009) and Hancock and Joan (2008).

The Soul of a Spy (2015) debuted at Montréal World Film Festival on Friday 28th August 2015 and is now available to stream on Google Play.

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


Cockles! (1984)

Opening title screen for Cockles!. A white screen with cockles in the top half, the programme title Cockles! In the centre , and on the bottom in black text is written Cc-Cc-Cc-Cockles, cockles from Cocklesea.

Cockles! (1984) © BBC

Writer: Douglas Livingstone
Starring: James Grout, Joan Sims, Norman Rodway, Jane Lowe, David Bamber, Tim Wylton
Production Company: BBC
Kent Location Used: Herne Bay, King’s Hall, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Whitstable Harbour, Tankerton beach

Cockles! (1984) was a BBC comedy series, set in the fictional Kentish beach town of Cocklesea. The series follows ex-pat Arthur Dumpton trying to get the faded old seaside resort back to its former glory

The series was written by Douglas Livingstone (Clayhanger, Boys from the Bush), and stars James Grout (Inspector Morse, Mother Love) as Arthur Dumpton, Joan Sims (Carry on Screaming, Carry on Up the Khyber) as Gloria du Bois, Norman Rodway (Inspector Morse – Deceived by Flight (1989), Reilly: Ace of Spies) as Jacques, Jane Lowe (Bad Girls, The Creeping) as Mabel du Bois, David Bamber (Valkyrie, Miss Potter) as Graham and Tim Wylton (Pride and Prejudice, Wycliffe) as George.

Herne Bay doubles for the fictional town of Cocklesea, with filming taking place on the beach, the promenade by the bandstand and clocktower as well as along Central Parade. Private properties on Central Parade feature as the exterior of the Sunny Side Guest House run by Gloria DuBois and the Seaview Guesthouse run by Mabel. The King’s Hall appears throughout the series, doubling as the Cocklesea Pavilion which Arthur has bought and fixes up to become the new hub of the revived community.

Whitstable Harbour features as Cocklesea harbour in the first episode where Jaques and his mates Graham & George try to run a smuggling operation and Tankerton Beach also appears briefly in Episode 4, where George goes for a run by the Yacht Club.

Ramsgate Royal Harbour appears in Episode 4 of the series, as the location where Jacques goes to paint and meets the American Veronica Stapmeyer (Pat Starr) on her yacht.

Herne Bay is a coastal resort which is home to the world’s first free-standing purpose built clock tower. Productions which filmed in the town around the same time include Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (1973), Blue Jeans (1977) and The Medusa Touch (1978).

Opened in 1913, the King’s Hall is an architectural gem, captivating visitors with its original Edwardian features and idyllic seafront views. French Dressing (1964) and Jagame Thandhiram (2021) filmed at this location.

Ramsgate is the home of the only Royal Harbour in the UK, decreed by King George IV in 1821 due to his fondness of the friendly locals he met there. The Harbour is a popular filming location, featuring in Contraband (1940), Á nous les petites Anglaises (1976) and The Big Sleep (1978).

Whitstable Harbour is a small commercial harbour in North Kent. Built in 1832 to serve the new railway, nowadays it is a municipal harbour. The town is famous for its oysters and the harbour has a number of shops which sell fish and shellfish.

The Tankerton Slopes are adjacent to Whitstable and consist of grassy banks covered in beach huts in front of a pebble beach. The beach features in Zoe and the Astronaut (2018) and Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022).

Cockles! (1984) aired on BBC One from Wednesday 4th January to Wednesday 8th February 1984.

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