Sharon Rooney

Jerk – Series 3 (2023)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Oliver Maltman as Jack Doyle, James Norton as himself, Sharon Rooney as Ruth and Tim Renkow as Tim stand in a line in a brick building. Behind them are bales of hay and a pile of wooden crates. Maltman wears baggy blue jeans, a red flannel shirt, blue jacket, navy blue gilet, navy blue beret and brown boots. Norton wears baggy grey trousers, brown shoes, a red fez and a loose-fitting yellow and green patterned shirt. Rooney wears blue skinny jeans, a blue hoody, grey coat and white trainers. Renkow is dressed as working-class person from the Victorian era in light brown corduroys, dark brown vest over white shirt, red neck scarf, brown cap and boots and is leaning on his walker.

Oliver Maltman, James Norton, Sharon Rooney and Tim Renkow in Series 3 of Jerk (2023) © BBC/Roughcut TV/Adam Lawrence

Director: Tom McKay
Starring: Tim Renkow, Lorraine Bracco, Sharon Rooney, Rob J Madin
Production Company: Primal Media, Roughcut TV
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Jerk (2019-2023) is a BBC Three comedy series about Tim who has cerebral palsy. People often misjudge Tim due to his disability, but inside he is still a jerk.

Directed by Tom Mckay (Drunk History: UK, Bloods), the series stars Tim Renkow (Death to 2021, Bobby & Harriet Get Married) as Tim, Lorraine Branco (The Sopranos, Goodfellas) as Tim’s mum, Sharon Rooney (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), My Mad Fat Diary) as his care worker Ruth, and comedian Rob J Madin as his friend Idris.

Series 3 sees Tim take on a myriad of jobs, including the lead role in a movie, a drug mule, and a job advising the government on disabilities. Love could also be in the air, as Tim finds himself falling for a disability activist with an agenda.

Production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham for Series 3 Episode 1, which doubled as Grain Island Studios, where Tim is cast as an extra in a controversial film about a disabled musician, played by the able-bodied James Norton. Areas featured include The Ropery Alley, Anchor Wharf, The Tennis Courts and The Tarred Yarn Store.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a 17th Century dockyard which spans over 80 acres, containing over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. It is the most popular filming location in Kent, having played host to a variety of productions. Most recently, Operation Mincemeat (2022), Living (2022) and Enola Holmes 2 (2022).

Series 3 of Jerk began airing on BBC Three on Tuesday 14th March 2023 and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Benedict Cumberbatch, as Louis Wain, stands on a pebble beach, wearing sunglasses and looking off into the distance with a row of colourful houses in the distance. Cumberbatch, dressed in white trousers, navy blazer and blue and white striped t-shirt stands to the left with three women sitting on wooden stools with wooden easels in front of them to the right of the frame.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Stacy Martin, Sharon Rooney and Aimee Lou Wood in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022) on Walmer Beach, Deal © StudioCanal

Writer: Will Sharpe, Simon Stephenson
Director: Will Sharpe
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Aimee Lou Wood, Toby Jones
Production Company: Amazon Studios, Film4, Shoebox Films, StudioCanal, SunnyMarch
Kent Locations Used: Botany Bay, Kingsgate Bay, Deal, Walmer, Kingsdown Leas

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022) is a biopic of the English painter who rose to fame at the end of the 19th century. Known for his unique paintings of anthropomorphised cats, Wain suffered from poor mental health in his later years and was hospitalised when his family could no longer care for him.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, Sherlock) stars as the titular character Louis Wain, with Claire Foy (The Crown (2016 – 2023), A Very British Scandal (2021)) portraying the love of his life, Emily. The film also features Andrea Riseborough (Luxor, The Grudge), Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education (2021)), Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Christopher Robin) and Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary, The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017)). The film was written and directed by Will Sharpe (Defending the Guilty, Flowers) alongside writer Simon Stephenson (Eleventh Hour, Paddington 2).

Various scenes were shot on the Kent coast, including at Botany Bay and Kingsgate Bay in Thanet, Kingsdown Leas, Deal seafront and the Coast House B&B in Walmer, Deal.

Botany Bay in Thanet is a popular filming location in Kent. The sandy bay is set against a beautiful white cliff backdrop which is popular with tourists. Previous productions to have made use of this stunning location include Sulphur and White (2020) and Series 2 of Humans (2016).

Kingsgate Bay is a small sandy bay surrounded by chalk cliffs that connects at low tide through Whiteness cliff arch to Botany Bay. The Victorian Kingsgate Castle is perched on top of the sea defences; it has since been turned into private residences. Other productions to have filmed at Kingsgate Bay include True Things (2022), Mr Selfridge (2013-2016), and Bhikari (2017).

Deal is a town on the south coast of Kent with a long naval history as one of the major Cinque Ports. Deal’s seafront has a large green, promenade, small fishing fleet, huts, sailing boats, lifeboat station as well as an extensive pebble beach. Liar Series 1 & 2 (2017 – 2020) and Baptiste (2019) both recently filmed here.

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain was released in UK cinemas on Saturday 1st January 2022.

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