Penelope Keiths Hidden Village © Reef Television Limited Channel 4
Production Company: Reef TV
Kent locations used: Upnor, Birchington, Biddenden and Tenterden.
Returning to More4 for a second series, Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages explores quintessentially British villages to discover their hidden features and study rural traditions.
Actress Penelope Keith, best known from her roles in The Good Life (1975) and To The Manor Born (1979) uses travel guides which were published 80 years ago, to look at the locations from a different perspective and consider the effects urbanisation and tourism could have on their future.
In episode four, Penelope explores villages in Sussex and Kent and the production visited Upnor, Birchington, Biddenden and Tenterden between May and June 2015.
Upnor is a small picturesque village in Medway with many houses finished in Kentish weatherboard. The village is home to Upnor Castle and is backed by rolling, wooded hills. Previous productions that have filmed in the area include Great Expectations (1989).
Birchington lies on the North Coast of Kent between Herne Bay and Margate and has a glorious beach, Minnis Bay. BBC Three drama The Things I Haven’t Told You (2008) has previously been filmed in the area.
Biddenden lies in the picturesque Weald of Kent countryside, has a cobbled high street with half-timbered medieval and Jacobean buildings and is the home of the famous Biddenden Cider. Nearby Tenterden has white-painted weatherboarding buildings and a market as well as quaint cafes and eateries. The area has been used as a film location for Mapp and Lucia (2014) and Last Passenger (2013).
You can catch the Kent and Sussex episode of Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages on Tuesday 22nd September on More4 at 21:00.
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.
