Sweets Made Simple (2014)

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Kent Film Office

Sweets Made Simple - Kitty Hope and Mark Greenwood in the kitchen making sweets

Sweets Made Simple – Kitty Hope and Mark Greenwood © BBC/Screenchannel Television

Production Company: Screen Channel TV

Kent Locations Used: Littlestone- on- Sea, Shepway

Sweets Made Simple is a new BBC Two series featuring award-winning confectioners Kitty Hope and Mark Greenwood as they lovingly make childhood favourites such as Sherbet Dippers and Turkish Delight as well as modern treats, including Gingerbread Latte Fudge and Tequila Chilies.

The four part series will see the couple who share their passion for all things sugary and sweet, travel across the UK to try and find the best ingredients including tailored gin in Cambridge and the world’s best butter in Country Antrim.

The Sweets Made Simple team visited Kitty Hope and Mark Greenwood at their Kent home in Littlestone- on- Sea and filmed them on the beach.

Littlestone- on- Sea is a coastal village which lies between Greatstone and St Marys Bay, and has a beach consisting of shingle, mudflats and sand as well as a sea wall, promenade, beach huts and lifeboat station. Littlestone featured in The Harry Hill Movie (2013)and nearby Dungeness is a popular film location having been used by productions such as Parade’s End (2012) and The Poison Tree (2012).

Sweets Made Simple starts on Friday 8^th August 2014 on BBC Two at 20:30.

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

Greetings (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Kirsty (Kirsty Cox) looking at a mirror that has misted up

Kirsty (Kirsty Cox) looking at a mirror in Greetings © Dunne Productions

Director and writer: Ken Colley

Production Company: Dunne Productions

Kent Filming Location: Shepway

Greetings is a psychological horror, written and directed by Ken Colley, who lives in Kent. Ken Colley financed the project entirely on his own, with a budget of just under £100,000. Filming took twenty days and it was shot with a small cast and crew at Ken’s house in Shepway.

4 men with their hands on a Oujia Board in a living room

Lads playing the Oujia Board © Dunne Productions

Ken Colley’s wide and varied career as an actor spans over 40 years and he is best known for his portrayal of Admiral Piett in the original Star Wars trilogy.

At Cathy’s (Mel Stephenson) party the lads (Ben Shockley, Matthew Reynolds, John Rackham, Henry Dunn) decide to liven up the atmosphere by playing the Ouija board. When strange things start to happen they blame each other. But is there something else in control?

Greetings previewed at the Odeon cinema in Canterbury and at various festivals, including Kent’s own Swale Film Festival 2008. Ken is currently seeking a distribution deal for the film.

Greetings will have a special screening at the Folkestone University on Wednesday 4^th February 09 at 7.30p.m.

The film now has a DVD distribution deal through Brain Damage Films and is also available for online purchase.

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

Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)

Posted on October 25, 1951 by Kent Film Office

Black and white image of a beauty pageant - girls on the stage with an audience watching

Director: Frank Launder
Writer: Frank Launder, Val Valentine
Starring: Pauline Stroud, Dennis Price, John McCallum, Stanley Holloway, Diana Dors
Production Company: ZSA
Kent Locations Used: The Leas Cliff Hall, The Metropole, Rotunda Amusement Park, Folkestone West Train Station

Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) is a British comedy film about a small town girl who wins a local beauty pageant and finds herself unprepared for the cutthroat world of fame when she competes in a rigged Fascination Soap beauty competition.

The film was inspired by the 1950 Miss Kent beauty pageant which was held at The Leas Cliff Hall where director and writer Frank Launder was one of the judges in the competition.

The film was directed by Frank Launder (The Lady Vanishes, The Blue Lagoon) who also co-wrote alongside Val Valentine (The Constant Husband, The Rake’s Progress).

The cast includes Pauline Stroud (Dead of Night, Harpers West One), John McCallum (The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947), Trent’s Last Case), Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Rebel), Stanley Holloway (My Fair Lady, Brief Encounter) and Diana Dors (Oliver Twist, The Long Hall).

A gift for the crew of 21C170 Manston from the Chairman Of Herne Bay Council Sam Brealy Station © Kent Photo Archive	Cast members arriving at the Metropole Hotel Folkestone for the filming of Lady Godiva Rides Again July 1951 © Kent Photo Archive
Diana Dors and Dennis Hamilton arriving at the Metropole Hotel Folkestone for the filming of Lady Godiva Rides Again July 1951 © Kent Photo Archive	Parade on the Leas during filming of Lady Godiva Rides Again Folkestone July 1951 © Kent Photo Archive
Pauline Stroud arriving at the Metropole Hotel Folkestone for the filming of Lady Godiva Rides Again July 1951 © Kent Photo Archive	Diana Dors and Dennis Hamilton arriving at the Metropole Hotel Folkestone for the filming of Lady Godiva Rides Again July 1951 Pauline Stroud arriving at the Metropole Hotel Folkestone for the filming of Lady Godiva Rides Again July 1951 © Kent Photo Archive

exterior of The Metropole hotel and pavement in front

The production visited Folkestone where they filmed at The Leas Cliff Hall, which was used as the location for the beauty competition and The Metropole, which was the setting for the seaside hotel hosting the Fascination Soap Pageant. Folkestone West Train Station features in the film for the scenes where Marjorie Clark (Pauline Stroud), arrives and meets Dolores August (Diana Dors). The now closed Rotunda Amusement Park was also used for the scenes where Larry (John McCallum) and Marjorie visit and go on rides.

Folkestone is a town in the Shepway district of Kent and boasts a beach, quaint streets and many studios and galleries at the Creative Quarter. The Leas Cliff Hall is a theatre and entertainment venue offering splendid views across the channel. The Metropole is an old spa hotel which has been redeveloped into flats. The area has used for filming by productions such as The Tunnel (2013), Is Anybody There? (2009) and The Darling Buds of May (1991 – 1993).

Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) was released in cinemas on Thursday 25th October 1951 and is now available to buy on DVD.

With kind thanks to Kent Photo Archive for allowing us to share their images.

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

Kent's Premier Film Commission