Herefordshire and the surrounding counties have proved irresistible to film makers and TV producers, ensuring that some of our best views and historic buildings have made it on to screens big and small.

Atonement

Stokesay Court Wartime blockbuster, Atonement, starring Keira Knightly and James McAvoy, was partly filmed in Stokesay Court , which was used for the Tallis’ home in the movie.

A magnificent Grade II* late-Victorian mansion imposingly set within extensive landscaped grounds, with far ranging views towards Ludlow.

Pre-coronavirus, the still lived-in, private home opened exclusively for pre-booked guided house tours to view the magnificent architecture, intricately crafted detailing and get a behind-the-scenes insight to the filming of Atonement.

Available to buy or rent on YouTube

Hereford Times:

The Regency House

Kentchurch Court A Channel 4 reality tv series where five men and five women spent nine weeks at Kentchurch, living as if they were in 1811 England.

The house is staffed by 40 servants.

An interesting study of life and courtship in Regency England. In the series a group of five men and five women, accompanied by four older female “chaperones,” were given the identities of Regency-era singles

Participants received instruction in the upper class courtship rituals of the time and were charged with seeking out a suitable marriages within the group. Think early 19th century Love Island in Regency dress in the Herefordshire countryside!

Midwinter of the Spirit

Various locations in Herefordshire ITV filmed Midwinter of the Spirit, a prime time drama based on Hay-on-Wye author Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watkins novels.

The Reverend Merrily Watkins is deliverance minister for the Diocese of Hereford and a local vicar too.

The villages of Dilwyn and Weobley, and perhaps a little bit of some others, were amalgamated to become the fictional village of Ledwardine and the church where Merrily is vicar.”

Because of the supernatural themes of the show, the cathedral featured only in exterior shots, filmed from council, not cathedral, land.

Watch Midwinter of the Spirit on BritBox

The cathedral has also hosted Songs of Praise and, most recently, The Bone Detectives, in which a team of scientists piece together the lives behind unearthed bones to find out their stories.

Star Wars, Doctor Who and Merlin

Puzzle Wood

Over the border, but a hugely popular location for film makers and TV producers.

Famous for its strange rock formations, secret caves and ancient trees, this magical and otherworldly environment can be seen in this year’s new version of The Secret Garden, starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters. It has also had a starring role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Doctor Who and Merlin among others.

Matt Smith filmed both his first and final Doctor Who episodes at Puzzlewood.

The 2013 Christmas special, where the Doctor regenerated and Peter Capaldi took over, also saw one of the Doctor’s scariest adversaries, the Weeping Angels on location.

See The Secret Garden on Netflix. All episodes of Merlin are available on BBC iPlayer

Survivors

Terry Nation’s drama series Survivors, broadcast by the BBC between 1975 to 1977, was one of the most popular series of the decade. Set in a post-apocalyptic, present day world ravaged by a devastating plague, Survivors explored how humanity would cope in a world stripped of modern technology and comforts.

The disease struck quickly and with devastating effect – a global plague that, in Britain, spares just a few thousand people. This is the chilling story of some of those who survive – Jenny, Greg, Abby and others – determined to construct a new community from the surrounding wasteland where the technology and skills of the old life have become obsolete. Scenes for the drama were shot in a variety of locations in the local area, including Skenfrith, Hereford and Hope-under-Dinmore.

Buy all three seasons on Amazon.co.uk

Come Dine with Me

In 2011, the popular show came to Herefordshire, where customer service adviser Mandy Fincher, John (now Councillor) Harrington, actor Simon Blood DeVay and straight-talking accountant Sarah Haines took turns hosting dinner parties featuring French-inspired cuisine, medieval sword-fighting and an evening set in an old skittle alley.

Find episodes of Come Dine with Me on All4

Time Team

Tony and the Team climbed a remote Herefordshire hill to investigate one of the biggest prehistoric sites ever featured on Time Team.

Was Dinmore Hill the site of a vast Iron Age hill fort? Stewart went with a much earlier cross-ridge dyke. To prove it one way or the other they needed dateable finds. But the dig was hampered by torrential rain. Despite this they uncovered a huge, magnificent ditch, which must have been dug by thousands of people during the Iron Age.

The team was joined by historian Bettany Hughes, county archaeologist Keith Ray and environmental archaeologist Mike Allen.

Dr Who

Skenfrith, 2010 Villagers in Skenfrith got first-hand experience of life on a TV set when the cast and crew of hit show Doctor Who spent two days filming there.

The 11th doctor, Matt Smith wore a plastic rain hood between takes while the crew battled against inclement weather conditions to recreate a mid 20th century summer’s day.

Find Doctor Who from 2005 onwards on BBC iPlayer, with 600 earlier episodes available on BritBox

Sex Education

The Forest of Dean You’ve got sex (of all kinds), debauchery, teenage romance and Gillian Anderson in a show about a teenager who inadvertently becomes his school’s sex therapist.

Yet, this British comedy set in rolling leafy hills left one unanswered question: where is this set?

A key filming location is the distinctive house that Otis (Asa Butterfield) and his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) live in, which overlooks the River Wye. The Scandinavian-inspired red and white house is situated in the Forest of Dean and borders Wales and Gloucestershire.

Escape to the Country

Herefordshire There have been several visits to the county by this popular BBC show, which helps people wanting to leave city life behind and discover the rural idyll. One show saw Jules Hudson, himself a Herefordshire resident, visit the Grade I listed Wellbrook Manor in Peterchurch, which was at the time being restored by the Viva Trust which subsequently went into liquidation and the house sold in November 2016.

Escape to the Country is on iPlayer

The Green Green Grass

Ratlinghope, Shropshire Green Green Grass was the hit BBC television series which followed Only Fools and Horses’ shifty car salesman Boycie and his wife Marlene as they swapped life in Peckham to start again in rural Shropshire.

Aired in September 2005, the series was based, and filmed, almost entirely in the tiny village of Ratlinghope near Church Stretton, over the border in Shropshire.

The plot mirrored its star, John Challis’s relocation to the village of Wigmore.

Buy all four series on Amazon.co.uk

Grand Designs

Orcop Ten years in the making, Ed and Rowena Waghorn’s handcrafted wood and clay house was the longest running Grand Designs ever.

It was a project which brought Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud to the almost reluctant recognition that there is as much value in the journey as there is in the destination, that the pleasure to be taken from making your own environment is its own reward.

Find Grand Designs on All4, where you will find other Herefordshire projects featured.