UK in Focus - page 24

REGIONAL CASE STUDY
SOUTHWEST
F
or some, the most eye-catching thing
about BBC1’s hit drama series
Poldark
is
seeing Aidan Turner take off his shirt. But
those who manage to tear their gaze from the
lead actor are rewarded with spectacular views
of Cornwall’s beaches, headlands, moors and
meadows.
Poldark
is set in Cornwall in the 18th cen-
tury, against the backdrop of the tin and copper
mining industry,” says the show’s Executive Pro-
ducer, Mammoth Screen’s Karen Thrussell. “We
looked at whether it was possible to do the
series somewhere else in Europe but the story
is so specific to Cornwall that we just had to
film it there. The colours, the cliffs, the sea, the
landscape were exactly as it should be.”
Key locations include the iconic old mining
stacks of the west Cornwall coast between
Botallack and Levant, with judicious use of CGI
to make them look operational. These are
complemented by the likes of St Agnes Head,
Bodmin Moor, Poldark Mine museum in
Helston, Charlestown, Porthcothan, Camel
Estuary and Church Cove, Gunwalloe; the latter
the setting for a shipwreck in season one
involving Turner and dozens of extras.
The production also utilises other locations
throughout the region. “A lot of scenes involv-
ing interiors or town centres were filmed near
our production base in Bristol,” says Thrussell,
while Prior Park College, just outside Bath, and
the Somerset town of Frome have also been
used. Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios plays host to
interior shots,while Ashton Hill Woods doubled
for Virginia, US.“Cornwall is a long way to go for
interior scenes that can be done closer to
home,” says Thrussell,“but aside from the logis-
tics issue of getting there, a lot of the looks we
wanted were near Bristol.”
Sky’s the limit
Season one of
Poldark
was shot in the summer
of 2014, which meant blissful weather but
competition with tourists for roads and accom-
modation. So production for season two was
done primarily in September and October
2015. “That was challenging,” says Thrussell,
“because we needed to complete as much of
the shoot as possible before the weather
turned. We did that by having two huge film
crews operating at the same time.”
David Johnson joined
Poldark
as Location
Manager ahead of season two, and was tasked
to find exciting new backdrops across the
region. He is keen to feature Kynance Cove
near the Lizard —“probably the most beautiful
beach in Cornwall”, he says.
The challenge for Johnson was “not just
finding beautiful locations but assessing
whether they are right for the production”. He
notes: “You don’t want them to be five miles
down a narrow lane or too near a campsite
where people will complain. You’ve also got to
make sure you’re not using locations people
have seen before.”
Talking to landowners is also a key part of
Johnson’s role, and he says his Cornish contacts
were very film-friendly. “The main reason you
come to Cornwall is the coast and the moors, so
you could be talking to local farmers or dealing
with large landowners such as the National
Trust, the Duchy of Cornwall, St Aubyn Estates
and Lord Falmouth Estates,” he says. “Either
way, I haven’t encountered problems, and the
council and police have been friendly.”
Shooting in Cornwall presents its own
particular challenges but Thrussell relishes
working in the region.“I love shooting in Corn-
wall,” she says. “We came here with another
BBC production,
And Then There Were None
.
That story is more associated with Devon, but
we ended up in Cornwall because it has such
dramatic, beautiful beaches. I think the cast
and crew had a great time.”
UK
Poldark, season two, will air on BBC1 in
the autumn
THE STORY IS
SO SPECIFIC TO
CORNWALL THAT
WE JUST HAD TO
FILM IT THERE
Karen Thrussell, Mammoth Screen
Flagship BBC series Poldark makes the most of its south west locations, with the rugged Cornish
coast and surrounding areas central to its production.
Andy Fry
discovers the region’s wild attraction.
SOUTHERN CHARMS
Poldark
22
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