A New romantic comedy film lost some of its romance when the heavens opened to almost drown the actors on Ilkley Moor this week.

Around 40 vehicles, hired by Scala Productions, of London, blocked normal traffic on Hangingstone Road when they turned up to begin three days of location filming on Monday.

'Fanny and Elvis' is a new feature film by 'Band of Gold' writer Kay Mellor and it stars Kerry Fox and Ray Winstone.

It also features top television comedienne Jennifer Saunders.

Assistant director Fin McGrath said he hoped that the poor weather would not mean the location crew had to put up with expensive delays, but as the week wore on there was little improvement.

Kay Mellor who wrote the new film is also making her directing debut with Fanny and Elvis. Filming, in Yorkshire and London is expected to take around seven weeks.

The plot of the film revolves around 30-something romantic novelist Kate Dickson (Kerry Fox) who discovers that her husband (David Morrissey) of eight years has run off with one of his students, and further, that time is running out for her to get pregnant.

Her biological clock kicks into overdrive.

Thrust into the work of sperm counts, ovulation and IVF, Kate finds that her search for the ideal sperm donor may not be as easy as she anticipated.

Fanny and Elvis is a Scala production for The Film Consortium, and it will be released in the UK.

Scala Productions, formerly known as Palace Productions was founded in 1983 by Nik Powell and Stephen Wooley and has been responsible for numerous feature films including Mona Lisa, Scandal, The Crying Game, Backbeat and Fever Pitch.

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