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Friday, 24 September 2010

It's the BBC again!

(Click picture to view large)
As I said yesterday, there's always something new and different to see in Saltaire. I was walking hobbling (my back still pretending to be 20 years older than it really is ..) home yesterday and noticed a number of film company vans in Salts Mill car park. It didn't take long to find out where the action was. They are filming the period drama
"South Riding" for BBC TV. It's an adaptation, written by Andrew Davies, of a novel by Winifred Holtby, set in 1930s Yorkshire. Read more about it here. It's to be screened in the autumn, so we can all have fun trying to spot the familiar locations.

There didn't seem to be much actual filming going on when I was there, but they were taking a lot of trouble to 'dress' parts of Saltaire and the Mill to suit the period. There were also a number of actors around. I'm not familiar with the key actors listed, so I couldn't say if I saw any of them. I suspect most were simply extras - a job which seems to involve more hanging around waiting than anything. (Check out the lady standing on top of her shoes - ouch!)

Saltaire has been the backdrop to a number of films and TV dramas, most recently the BBC's "Spanish Flu - the Forgotten Fallen", screened in 2009, which saw the Victoria Hall transformed into a hospital dealing with the 1918 flu pandemic. Bradford is the world's first UNESCO City of Film, honouring
the rich tradition of film and film-making in this area.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Jenny

    I spotted the light rig on my way home last night ... meant to go and investigate but then got distracted and forgot.

    Looking at the building and the way the window area is part boarded, am I right that the "Working Men's Club" in your pictures is what, many moons ago, was the shop on the Upper Ada Street end of Shirley Street?

    If so, I don't remember that doorway in use as a shop but do feel that the shop space (currently a hairdressers) accessed at the "back" of the building is architecturally un-characteristic of the rest of the village, even though it is years old.

    Love your shots and observations, they make me take a fresh look at the area where I've lived for [help] 50years this month.

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  2. That would be interesting watching them. My Bill would be very excited, being a videographer, he loves anything like that.

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  3. beautiful capture and good presentation..thank you for share us! regards

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  4. Looks like a good opportunity to 'lurk' and get some good candids.

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  5. I'll look out for that programme! Have a great weekend!

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  6. I can't believe they didn't post for extras. I clapped and cheered for a concert scene, for a small amount and lunch when I was in college.You could have been in the movies......

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  7. I am sure I heard a radio adaptation of South Riding a few years ago. If I remember it right, the TV version should be worth waiting for. And Saltaire as a backdrop and a bonus.

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  8. I'm a big fan of the BBC series, hope to remember this when time comes.

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  9. Andrew Davies and a bunch of people in period dress!!! It's a lucky thing I wasn't there, or I would have made an utter fool of myself!

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  10. I don't watch TV, but for shows like this I'm a teensy weensy bit sorry. Nice post, Jenny.

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  11. LOVE it! Every once in a while here, I've happened along the filming of a Stephen King movie, but sadly, not since I've started my blog. ~Lili

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