FILM crews descended on historic Oakwell Hall as part of a new TV drama.
The former home of the Batt family in Nutter Lane, Birstall, is no stranger to the small screen having been used as a location for TV and film since the 1920s. The most recent filming was for the BBC drama Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. The hall also appeared in 'The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister' for the BBC in 2010 and Wuthering Heights.
Now Oakwell Hall is due to feature in another BBC drama series - the eight-part historical drama 'Gentleman Jack.'
Starring BAFTA award winner Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Save Me) as the Regency landowner Anne Lister whose ancestral family home was Shibden Hall, Halifax, 'Gentleman Jack' is written and directed by Sally Wainwright whose many credits include
'To Walk Invisible,' 'Last Tango in Halifax' and 'Happy Valley.')
'Gentleman Jack' explores Anne Lister's relationships with her family and her would-be wife Ann Walker and her challenge to transform Shibden Hall after she returns to her home town in 1832 following years of exotic travel.
Produced by Lookout Point production for the BBC and co-produced with HBO, Gentleman Jack is described as 'a remarkable and unlikely love story set in the complex, changing world of Halifax.'
The story is based on Anne Lister's diaries containing intimate details of her life with the de-coding of many of the extracts for the first time for the series.
A spokesman for Kirklees Council explained filming took place at Oakwell Hall over two days in July and September.
Other notable names featured in the cast are Gemma Jones (God's Own County, Bridget Jones's Diary) as Anne Lister; Sophie Rundle (Bodyguard, Peaky Blinders) as the wealthy heiress Ann Walker; Gemma Whelan (The Moorside, Game Of Thrones) who plays Anne Lister's sister Marian and Timothy West (Last Tango In Halifax, Bleak House) plays their father Jeremy Lister.
Anne Walker's aunt is played by Stephanie Cole (Waiting For God, Still Open All Hours); Peter Davison (Liar, Doctor Who) and Amelia Bullmore (Happy Valley, Scott & Bailey) will play William and Eliza Priestley, Ann Walker's cousin and his wife. Christopher Rawson, businessman and fierce rival to Anne Lister, will be played by Vincent Franklin (Cucumber, Happy Valley), whilst his brother and business partner Jeremiah will be played by Shaun Dooley (Gunpowder, Broadchurch).
Joe Armstrong (Darkest Hour, Britannia, Happy Valley) plays Samuel Washington, Jodhi May (Genius, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard) as Vere Hobart, Rosie Cavaliero (Hold The Sunset, Unforgotten) as Elizabeth Cordingley, Thomas Howes (Downton Abbey, United) as John Booth, Lydia Leonard (Apple Tree Yard, Life In Squares) as Marianna Lawton, Jessica Baglow (Waterloo Road) as Rachael Hemingway, and newcomers Albane Courtois as Eugénie Pierre and Ben Hunter as Joseph Booth.
The 8x60’ series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, and Piers Wenger, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning. It will be directed by Sally Wainwright and Sarah Harding, produced by Lookout Point for BBC One, and co-produced with HBO. Executive Producers are Sally Wainwright, Faith Penhale and Laura Lankester for Lookout Point, Ben Irving for BBC One, and Francesca Orsi and Kathleen McCaffrey for HBO. The producer is Phil Collinson.
Filming has taken place around Shibden Hall and in Bradford's Little Germany and also on location in Copenhagen. The series is due to air on BBC One in 2019.
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