Published: February 10, 2008
Lights, camera, action! Brean Down becomes a TV set for BBC drama

Brean Down was transformed into a film set over the weekend when a BBC film crew recorded scenes for a major new TV drama series.

The six-part, primetime BBC One series Bonekickers is being filmed across the West Country, with the Brean Down scenes shot on Sunday (February 10th) - as pictured here.

The drama is based around a Bath University archaeology team who are brought together to unearth bodies, books, weapons and other historical artefacts that lead them to various investigations.

The series - from the writers of the hit series Life On Mars - will be broadcast later this year and includes an episode in which a cave on Brean Down is searched.

Among those starring in the show are Julie Graham (Dalziel & Pascoe and William And Mary), Adrian Lester (Hustle and Ballet Shoes), Hugh Bonneville (Miss Austen Regrets and Tsunami) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Spooks and Doctor Who).

"Brean has provided the perfect setting for the sequences in one of our episodes where the archaeology team search a cave," a spokeswoman told Burnham-On-Sea.com on the set besides Brean Down Fort.

"Brean is a picturesque location that's perfect for filming and the weather has been very kind to us as well."

Polly Hill, the BBC's commissioning editor for independent drama, said Bone Kickers would make history and archaeology "sexy, accessible and exciting".

Brean has featured in several films and TV shows in recent years, with Oscar-nominated Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchett being the best-known in the summer of June 2006 and the BBC's Dracula in August 2006.

The four main stars of the show - Julie Graham (Dalziel & Pascoe and William And Mary), Adrian Lester (Hustle and Ballet Shoes), Hugh Bonneville (Miss Austen Regrets and Tsunami) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Spooks and Doctor Who) during Sunday's filming.

Actress Julie Graham signs an autograph for delighted young fan Sophie Adams besides Brean Down Fort.

A mass of caravans and trailers parked at Brean's Marine Cove acted as accommodation for the TV show's crew.

Brean Down Fort was the centre of activity during the weekend filming.

A busy weekend of filming at Brean seems to show on the faces of the actors and actresses as they take a breather during Sunday's filming.

Scaffolding and metal frames were winched into position for the camera crews during Sunday's filming

Take two! The clapperboard (shown in detail below) was used by the film crew to mark the start of another film take...

RELATED LINKS:

Brean Down transformed into movie set for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Dracula comes to Brean as BBC film crew film new TV series