OUTDOOR shots for a new television adaptation of J B Priestley's stage drama An Inspector Calls will be filmed in Saltaire next month.
The film, which stars Ken Stott, Miranda Richardson and David Thewlis as the mysterious Inspector Goole, is being made by Drama Republic, the independent company which made the seven-part Middle East political drama An Honourable Woman, screened on BBC 2 last year.
Mr Thewlis said: ‘An Inspector Calls is a British classic and I am thrilled to be working on this beautiful screen adaptation with Aisling Walsh.’
Three outdoor scenes will be filmed in Saltaire between 10.30am and 9.30pm on Sunday, March 1. The TV version, to be shown by the BBC later this year, is set in 1912 and requires temporary modifications to street locations in Albert Terrace, Victoria Road and inside the main entrance to Salts Mill.
The scenes include a car leaving the gates of Salts Mill, a crowd of workers entering them, mill workers walking up William Henry Street and two characters walking and running along Albert Terrace.
Leaflets explaining the film schedule were hand-delivered to residents in the World Heritage Site village on Friday. The film company wants to talk to people who regularly park along Albert Terrace.
Mark Gladwin, a spokesman for Drama Republic's location department has already visited Salts Mill to talk to Robin Silver, director of Salts Estates, and Saltaire residents, who have expressed interest in jobs as runners and film extras on the day.
He said: "We are approaching parking/highways to suspend the bays on Albert Terrace to keep the view clear of contemporary vehicles."
Other traffic measures being sought by the company include stop and go signs on busy Victoria Road during takes.
Mr Silver, who once said Bradford should develop its own film studio, welcomed the filming as yet another example of Bradford's success as a city of film.
"I am very glad they want to film in Saltaire and want to film at the mill. I only wish they were doing the rest of the filming in Bradford rather than York. The trees have been cut down in Victoria Road so it looks more as it did in 1912," he said.
Lucy Richer, commissioning editor, BBC Drama, said: “The mysterious and elusive Inspector Goole has fascinated audiences for generations and David Thewlis is the perfect actor to bring him to life. We’re delighted that he, Ken Stott and Miranda Richardson are heading up this stellar cast to bring one of the nation’s favourite stories to BBC1.”
Bradford-born J B Priestley wrote An Inspector Calls shortly before the end of the Second World War. The play premiered in Moscow in July 1945 and was eventually performed at Manchester Opera House and London's New Theatre in 1946.
Other cast members include Chloe Pirrie, Kyle Soller, Sophie Rundle and Finn Cole.
Aisling Walsh will direct. An Inspector Calls is adapted by playwright Helen Edmundson and will air on BBC One later this year as part of its season of classic 20th century literature adaptations.
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