Sandgate

The Serial Killer’s Wife (2023)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Annabel Scholey as Beth and Jack Farthing as Tom stand on a train station platform. Tom is clasping her hands and staring seriously into her eyes. Tom wears a navy-blue polo shirt and Beth wears a grey knitted jumper.

The Serial Killer’s Wife (2023) © BlackBox Multimedia / Clapperboard Studios / Paramount+

Writer: Suzanne Cowie, Alice Hunter (novel)
Starring: Annabel Scholey, Jack Farthing, Luke Treadaway,
Production Company: BlackBox Multimedia, Clapperboard Studios
Kent Locations Used: Folkestone, Folkestone Harbour, The Warren Country Park, Saltwood, Sandgate, The Breaker’s Beach House, Knowlton Court, Abbot’s Cliff, South Foreland Lighthouse, The White Cliffs of Dover

Set in an idyllic English town, The Serial Killer’s Wife (2023) follows Beth Fairchild as her life is turned upside-down when her husband is arrested for murder. Initially believing him to be innocent, Beth soon discovers that her husband may not be who she thought he was.

Based on the book by Alice Hunter and adapted for the screen by Suzanne Cowie (The Good Ship Murder, The Dumping Ground), The Serial Killer’s Wife stars Annabel Scholey (Walking on Sunshine, Personal Affairs) as Beth Fairchild, Jack Farthing (Spencer, Poldark) as Tom Fairchild and Luke Treadaway (Attack the Block, A Street Cat Named Bob) as Adam, Tom’s childhood best friend.

The series filmed across East Kent. In Folkestone, locations featured include a private house on Church Road which doubles for Tom’s old house in Oxford and Mr Alderton’s house, a warehouse adjacent to The Valiant Sailor which doubles for the Vault nightclub, Christ Church CEP Academy, Folkestone Harbour and The Warren Country Park.

Filming also took place in the nearby village of Saltwood. A private house features as Adam’s house and the Hide and Fox Restaurant doubles as Beth’s café.

In Sandgate, The Breakers Beach House doubles as Ollie (Eben Figueiredo) and Libby’s (Elizabeth Roberts) house. Filming also took place on Sandgate beach for brief establishing shots.

Knowlton Court in Canterbury features as the home of Beth and Tom throughout the series. Additionally, roads on the estate were used for scenes of police cars speeding along, the woodland was used for the opening scene of a woman jogging, and the Church features in Episode 4 in a wedding scene.

Other filming locations include Abbot’s Cliff, South Foreland Lighthouse, The White Cliffs of Dover and Upper Road in Dover.

Folkestone is a seaside town with elegant clifftop promenade, lower coastal park, fishing harbour and Victorian cliff-top lifts. It is a popular filming location, with recent productions to film there including Who Is Erin Carter? (2023), Pistol (2022) and The Fight (2019).

Formerly a ferry port connecting the town to various destinations in France and Belgium, Folkestone Harbour Arm and the now non-operational train station have been recently restored and is now home to a growing collection of vibrant independent businesses. Other productions to have filmed there include Back to Life – Series 1 & 2 (2019-2021), Sex Education Season 3 (2021) and Seagull (2019).

The Warren Country Park is a coastal country park backed by cliffs incorporating woods, beach and concrete sea defences. Everyone’s Going to Die (2013) and Darling Buds of May (1991-1993) filmed at the Country Park.

Saltwood is located immediately to the north of Hythe on the high land looking over the Romney Marsh and surrounded by farm land. The parish includes Sandling which has a railway station on the mainline to London. It is the location of Saltwood Castle, once the home of MP Alan Clark and Sandling Park, a large estate which stretches around the village up to its second hamlet, Pedlinge. Previous productions that filmed in Saltwood Castle were The Alan Clark Diaries (2004) and My Week with Marilyn (2011).

The Breakers is a beach house in Sandgate. Set over three floors, the house has a terrace and two balconies offering uninterrupted sea views and direct access to the beach. Nestled between Folkestone and Hythe, the village of Sandgate has a shingle beach offering views over the Channel and a high street with antique shops, inns and restaurants.

Set in a nineteen-hundred-acre estate and surrounded by beautiful parkland, Knowlton Court is a magnificent historic home with a Great Hall, French and Flemish tapestries and a carved stone fireplace. Other productions to have filmed there include Jagame Thandhiram (2021), The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016) and Upstairs, Downstairs – The Sudden Storm (1974).

Abbot’s Cliff has a WWII sound mirror and isolated single lane track on top of white cliffs and is situated between Folkestone and Dover. King of Thieves (2018) and Back to Life – Series 1 & 2 (2019-2021).

A Victorian lighthouse on the White Cliffs of Dover, South Foreland Lighthouse was the first lighthouse powered by electricity and the site of the first international radio transmission. Managed by the National Trust, the site has previously played host to Rogue Agent (2022), Rustom (2016) and Mr Selfridge (2013-2016).

The famous White Cliffs of Dover offer views of Dover Castle, the Port and the English Channel. It is one of England’s most iconic locations and is therefore very popular for filming, having recently featured Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022) and The Tunnel (2013).

The Serial Killer’s Wife (2023) was released on Paramount+ on Friday 15th December 2023.

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

Pistol (2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Anson Boon as Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Toby Wallace as Steve Jones, and Jacob Slater as Paul Cook stand in front of a tour bus with ‘Sex Pistols’ graffitied on the side. Boon wears a blue plaid suit with a red and white striped top and red Doc Martens. Partridge wears black skinny jeans and a black leather jacket open over his bare chest. Wallace wears navy jeans, a black leather jacket, grey ‘Sex Pistols’ t-shirt and a black cowboy hat. Slater wears blue jeans, a white and red ‘Sex Pistols’ t-shirt and a black leather jacket with a fur lining.

Anson Boon, Louis Partridge, Toby Wallace and Jacob Slater in Pistol © Rebecca Brenneman / FX

Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Anson Boon, Jacob Slater, Toby Wallace, Christian Lees, Louis Partridge, Emma Appleton, Maisie Williams 
Production Company: FX Network
Kent Locations Used: Dover, Folkestone, Sandgate, Deal

Pistol (2022) is a US produced six-part TV series based on the memoir of Steve Jones, the legendary Sex Pistols guitarist who helped usher in a punk revolution in Britain. Pistol was created by Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge!, Will) and directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Yesterday) who also exec produces.

The series stars Anson Boon (Shadowplay, 1917) as Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes 2 (2022), Medici) as Sid Vicious, Toby Wallace (The Society, Romper Stomper) as Steve Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook and Christian Lees (The Phantom of the Open (2021), Speechless) as Glen Matlock. Emma Appleton (The Witcher (2023), The End of the F***ing World (2017)) stars as Nancy Spungen, while Maisie Williams (Two Weeks to Live (2020), Game of Thrones) stars as Jordan.

During filming, production visited Kent to film in Dover, Folkestone, Sandgate and Deal. The exterior of FOLCA (former Debenhams store) appears at the end of Episode 1, when Steve Jones suffers stagefright at his first gig.  In Episode 4, The Grand in Folkestone doubles as the exterior of a Whitby Hotel, whilst the interior of The Grand Burstin Hotel appears as the Victorian ballroom in which the Pistols perform to a crowd of two people. Folkestone Railway Social Club also features in this episode, doubling as the exterior of a pub in Barnsley. Various roads around Folkestone were also filmed for driving scenes. Sunny Sands beach also features as Whitby Beach.

Filming in Sandgate village took place at Riviera Car Sales, which was dressed as the 1970s, Sandgate High Street and Undercliff. These locations can be spotted in Episode 4, as the band tour around the North of England.

In Dover, filming took place at Kings Hall and various nearby streets, as well as Dover seafront and Marine Parade. Marine Parade appears in the opening of Episode 2, as Jordan (Maisie Williams) cycles along the seafront in a see-through t-shirt, whilst the exterior of Kings Hall appears in Episode 4 as the Pistols leave a gig in Doncaster and a huge fight breaks out. Nearby, The Citadel was filmed as a stand in for HM Remand Centre in Ashford, where Steve Jones is imprisoned in Episode 1, and as HMP Chelmsford in Episode 3, where the Pistols perform to a crowd of prisoners.

In Deal the beach and Channel View B&B were used for various scenes in Episode 4. The exterior of the Royal Amusement Arcade appears in the final shot of the series, as the Pistols perform a Christmas gig at Ivanhoes in Huddersfield. A variety of other street scenes were shot in Deal, but unfortunately these didn’t make the final cut!

Folkestone is a seaside town with an elegant cliff top promenade, a coastal park, fishing harbour and Victorian cliff-top lifts. Previous productions which were based here include Back to Life (2019-2021), The Fight (2019) and The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016).

Sandgate village is in the Folkestone & Hythe district of Kent and features Martello towers, various boating clubs, antiques shops and a lift platform office that used to run in the Victorian times up Sandgate Hill to The Leas.

Dover is a popular filming location which also boasts the historic Dover Castle and the famous White Cliffs of Dover. Dover has featured in After Love (2021), The Rook – Series 1 (2019) and Missing (2009-2010). The Citadel, located on Dover’s Western Heights was constructed in the late 1700’s as a port of defence during the Napoleonic war. Most recently it has been used as a borstal, prison, and immigration detention centre up until its closure in 2015. It is now becoming popular as a filming location and has welcomed several productions over the past year, including Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022) and various others soon to broadcast.

The coastal town of Deal has a long naval history and is one of the major cinque ports along the south coast. The Pier is a significant local landmark and public amenity offering excellent views of the town. It is internationally recognised as an angling venue.

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 several recent hit TV productions such as Baptiste (2019), Next of Kin (2018) and The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017).

Pistol was released on Disney+ on Tuesday 31st May 2022.

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

Sex Education Series 3 (2021)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Three actors pose in character outside a school. The background shows a building to the left and some trees. The two actors left and centre are dressed in colourful clothing and the actor on the right wears black and grey.

Sex Education Series 3 (2021) – Aimee Lou Wood, Emma Mackey and Chris Jenks in Episode 1 © Netflix

Writer: Laurie Nunn
Director: Ben Taylor
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa
Production Company: Eleven
Kent Locations Used: Shorncliffe Military Cemetery,  The Hawthorne Trench, Folkestone Harbour Arm

Sex Education (2021) is a TV comedy series about teenage boy Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield (Merlin, Ashes to Ashes) with a sex therapist mother (Gillian Anderson (The Crown Series 1 – 6 (2016-2023), The Great (2020-2023)), who teams up with high school classmate Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa (Stonemouth, Bob Servant)) to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.

Produced by Eleven for Netflix, the series was written by Laurie Nunn (Pregnant Pause, Radiance) and directed by Ben Taylor (Year of the Rabbit (2019), Cockroaches). Series 3 starts with a slightly more grown up, sassier Otis. He is joined by three new characters; Jemima Kirke (Maniac, Girls) playing new headmistress Hope, Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter series, The Patriot) playing Peter Groff and songwriter Dua Saleh, in their acting debut as Cal, a nonbinary student.

During filming, production visited Shorncliffe Military Cemetery in Sandgate which doubles as a WWII cemetery in France in Episode 5, and The Hawthorne Trench near Canterbury which doubles as a WWII trench experience in France in the same episode. Production also visited the Harbour Arm in Folkestone Harbour to film a scene for Episode 7 with Maeve (Emma Mackey) and Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) reuniting with Maeve’s younger sister. Sandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, it has a pebble beach, two castles and Martello Towers. A recent TV drama filmed in the area which is due to air in 2022.

Hawthorne Trench, located in Elham near Canterbury, is an area of recreated World War One trench systems which totals over 250 metres. Currently the Trench consists of an Officers’ dugout, regimental aid posts, cookhouses, railway systems, latrines as well as front and second line which is connected by communication trenches. The trench is located on a 25-acre field with nearby woodland which can also be used for filming.

Folkestone is a seaside town with an elegant clifftop promenade, a coastal park, fishing harbour and Victorian cliff-top lifts. Folkestone Harbour is a popular filming location, recent TV dramas to film here include Back to Life Series 1-2 (2019-2021) and Pistol (2022).

Series 3 of Sex Education was released on Netflix on Friday 17th September 2021.

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