Shellness

Silent Witness – Series 26 (2023)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Rhiannon May as Cara, David Caves as Jack Hodgson, Emilia Fox as Nikki Alexander, Aki Omoshaybi as Gabriel and Alastair Michael as Velvy positioned above an image of the London City skyline, a train coming out of a tunnel and a blue tent.

Silent Witness Series 26 (2023) © BBC

Creator: Nigel McCrery
Starring: Emilia Fox, David Caves, Aki Omoshaybi, Alastair Michael, Rhiannon May
Production Company: BBC, A+E Networks, Cipango Productions Audiovisuelles
Kent Locations Used: New Sheppey Crossing, Kingsferry Bridge, Leysdown-on-Sea, Minster-on-Sea, Shellness, Warden

Silent Witness (2023) is a long-running BBC crime drama focusing on a group of forensic pathology experts and their investigations.

Originally created by Nigel McCrery (New Tricks, Born and Bred), Series 26 sees the return of Emilia Fox (The Carer (2016), The Tunnel (2016)) as Dr Nikki Alexander and David Caves (Jackie, Widow’s Walk) as Jack Hodgson. Aki Omoshaybi (Queens of Mystery (2019-2021), The Riot Club) joins the cast as Dr Gabriel Folukoya as well as Alastair Michael (Snatch, Ridley Road) as Velvy Schur and Rhiannon May returning in a more regular role as Cara Connelly.

For Series 26, production visited Kent to shoot in a variety of locations on the Isle of Sheppey for the final two episodes of the series, doubling as the fictional Southbay Island. The Kingsferry Bridge features throughout Episodes 9 & 10 as the bridge to Southbay Island, The Rose and Crown Pub car park in Leysdown-on-Sea appears in both episodes doubling as a caravan park called Harbour Fields, and a private house on The Leas in Minster-on-Sea stars as the house of the murdered Carol Laing (Melissa Batchelor). Other locations featured include Leysdown beach, Shellness beach, Minster beach, a section of land underneath the New Sheppey Crossing, woodland in Warden Springs Caravan Park and Warden beach.

Leysdown is situated at the Eastern end of the Isle of Sheppey. With access to a sandy beach and a slew of arcades, it is one of the largest holiday parks in Kent. Previous productions to have filmed there include Kiss Me First (2018), End of the F***ing World (2017) and Strawberry Fields (2012).

Minster is a large village on the Isle of Sheppey which has a sand and shingle beach, shops and an abbey.

Shellness beach is an SSSI mostly sandy beach with groynes and WWII lookout in a very remote part of Sheppey. Great Expectations (2012) also filmed on the beach and in the nature reserve.

Warden is a small village on the north-eastern coast of the Isle of Sheppey. Immediately northwest of the village and continuing towards the west is Warden Point, a pinnacle of eroding land and muddy foreshore. The pillboxes there are very popular, particularly for music videos.

The New Sheppey Crossing is a bridge across the Swale Estuary that links the Isle of Sheppey to mainland towns Sittingbourne and Kemsley. It was opened in 2006 and provides an alternative highway to the neighbouring Kingsferry Bridge, which allows for the Kingsferry Bridge to be closed for filming, which was done for Too Close (2021).

Series 26 of Silent Witness will begin airing on BBC One from Monday 2nd January 2023.

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

Our House (2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Tuppence Middleton as Fiona, Martin Compston as Bram and Rupert Penry-Jones as Toby stand outside the front door of a house. Fiona stands with her arms folded, looking defiantly forward, whilst Bram and Toby stand behind her looking off to the side. The image is cracked in the centre like a pane of glass.

Our House (2022) © Red Planet Productions /ITV

Writer: Simon Ashdown, Louise Candlish
Director: Sheree Folkson
Starring: Tuppence Middleton, Martin Compston, Rupert Penry-Jones, Weruche Opia
Production Company: Red Planet Pictures
Kent Locations Used: Shellness beach in Leysdown-on-Sea

Based on Louise Candlish’s novel of the same name, Our House (2022) follows Fiona Lawson, a woman whose home is taken over by strangers, all her possessions missing, and her husband Bram nowhere to be found. Told through a series of flashbacks, the couple’s unexpected secrets are slowly brought to light, culminating in a nail-biting finale.

The four-part drama was adapted for the screen by Simon Ashdown (EastEnders (2007-2023), Come Fly with Me), and is directed by Sheree Folkson (Bridgerton (2020), Call the Midwife (2012-2024)). The series stars Tuppence Middleton (The Current War (2019), The Imitation Game) as Fiona Lawson, Martin Compston (Mary Queen of Scots (2019), Line of Duty) as her estranged husband Bram, Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks, Whitechapel) as the enigmatic Toby, and Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You, Bad Education) as Fiona’s best friend and neighbour Merle.

Shellness beach in Leysdown-on-Sea, as well as a private beach house nearby, feature in Episode 3 during a family holiday flashback sequence.

Leysdown is situated at the Eastern end of the Isle of Sheppey. With access to a sandy beach and a slew of arcades it is one of the largest holiday parks in Kent. Previous productions to have filmed there include The End of the F***ing World (2017) who shot in Leysdown town for Series One, and Kiss Me First (2018), which features Leysdown promenade.

Our House began airing on ITV on Monday 7th March at 9pm.

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

Kiss Me First (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
animated Image of character Leila outside in a field

Image of Leila from Kiss Me First Movie © Channel 4

 

Writer: Bryan Elsley

Director: Misha Manson-Smith

Starring: Simona Brown, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Misha Butler, Matthew Aubrey, Haruka Abe

Production Company: Balloon Entertainment and Balloon

Kent Locations Used: Shellness, Leysdown

Based upon Lottie Moggach’s young adult novel of the same name, Kiss Me First is about Leila, a lonely girl who finds solace in the online game Agora. She befriends fellow player Tess, a cool and confident party girl. When Tess suddenly disappears, Leila assumes her friend’s identity.

Starring Simona Brown (The Night Manager) as Tess and Tallulah Rose Haddon (Taboo) as Leila, the series was adapted by and produced by Bryan Elsley (Skins) through his production company Balloon.

The Shellness Road Car Park was used in a sequence in which one character uses a pipe bomb to blow up his abusive carers. A further scene was filmed on Leysdown Promenade showing the arrival by one of the leads on a bus. Isle of Sheppey is a coastal town on the Isle of Sheppey, where previously, Channel 4 show The End of the F***ing World (2017-) and the film adaptation of the Sweeny (2012) we also shot.

Kiss Me First is expected to air on Channel 4 on Monday 02 April 2018 at 9pm.

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

Strawberry Fields (2012)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Strawberry Fields Film Poster- Strawberry Fields written in pink with a montage of images of the cast members and clips from the film

Strawberry Fields Film Poster

Director: Frances Lea

Writer: Frances Lea and Judith Johnson 

Starring: Emun Elliott, Philip Martin Brown and Anna Madeley

Production Companies: BBC Films, Film London, Spring Pictures

Kent Filming Locations: Foxbury Farm, Sevenoaks; Shellness, Leysdown

Strawberry Fields is another offering from the highly successful Film London Microwave Project and set for cinema release this week!

Directed by Frances Lea (Fugee Girl, Everyone’s Happy), Strawberry Fields is a tale of sibling rivalry and playing of mind games set in the strawberry fields of Kent. Starring Anna Madeley (In Bruges) Christine Bottomley (The Arbor, Shameless) and Emun Elliott (Prometheus, Game of Thrones) the film tells of the sexual awakening of Gillian during a long, hot British summer picking strawberries, where she meets and falls in love with fellow picker Kevin. But her idyllic new life is jeopardised by the arrival of her sister Emily.

 This ‘terrific British debut’, (Jason Solomons, The Observer)   is released across the UK this week. There will be a special preview at BFI Southbank on 4 July. The film will also be shown at the London Film Festival in October this year.

Making the most of what Kent has to offer, Strawberry Fields features locations in the Kent countryside such as Foxbury Farm in Sevenoaks, Groombridge Railway Station and the Isle of Sheppey.

The Isle of Sheppey boasts some unique landscapes, such as salt marshes and shell beaches that have attracted many previous filmmakers, such as The Hide (2009) and Great Expectations (1989).

Foxbury Farm is a large fruit grower in Sevenoaks and was a new find for this project.

Strawberry Fields was screened at selected cinemas in Summer 2012 and will be shown on Saturday 20th July 2013 at 23:00 on BBC 2.

 

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