Woodstock Road Goes Back in Time a Hundred Years

Filming of BBC period drama leads to transformation of local street

The area around  Bedford Park became a film set with actors in period costume  today (Monday, November 28th) as BBC Two drama ‘Parade’s End’, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, started filming on Woodstock Road.

The street was closed off to onlookers and a large number of vans and cars from the set were allowed to park on the grass on Acton Green throughout the day, as curious locals walked by hoping for a glimpse of their favourite stars.

The five-part drama, adapted by British playwright Tom Stoppard, is taken from a quartet of novels by Ford Madox Ford, and is directed by Bafta-award winner Susanna White, who directed Jane Eyre and Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang.

Parade's End is set during a formative period of British history – from the twilight years of the Edwardian era to the end of the First World War. At its centre is English aristocrat Christopher Tietjens played by Cumberbatch (who starred in Sherlock, and Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy)  his beautiful but wilful wife Sylvia, played by Rebecca Hall (Vicky Christina Barcelona, The Awakening), and Valentine Wannop, a young suffragette, played by Logie-nominated actress  Adelaide Clemens (Silent Hill: Revelation).

The series, Mammoth Screen's epic  BBC Two drama and HBO miniseries  also  heralds the return of  Sir Tom Stoppard to British television.

Filming will take place across the UK and Belgium until December with a supporting cast including such acting luminaries as  Roger Allam (The Queen, The Woman In Black)  Anne-Marie Duff (The Virgin Queen, Nowhere Boy),  Rupert Everett (The Importance Of Being Earnest, Hysteria),  Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy),  Clare Higgins (A Fantastic Fear Of Everything, The Golden Compass),  Janet McTeer (The Woman In Black, Albert Nobbs) and Miranda Richardson (Made In Dagenham, The Lost Prince).

Also starring are  Freddie Fox (The Shadow Line),  Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire),  Tom Mison (One Day),  Geoffrey Palmer (The Lost Christmas),  Jamie Parker (The Hour) and  Steven Robertson (Red Riding).

Ben Stephenson , Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning, says: "It's great to be working with HBO again on this ambitious project which further demonstrates BBC Two's ongoing commitment to original British drama in 2012. The stellar cast assembled simply confirms the buzz and excitement around Sir Tom Stoppard's return to British television."

Kary Antholis , president, HBO Miniseries, says: "The marriage of Tom Stoppard’s extraordinary scripts and Susanna White's singular cinematic vision presented us with an irresistible opportunity. As we find ourselves approaching the centennial of the First World War, this work will resonate with contemporary audiences as a touchstone for the human effects of global social transformation."

Parade's End was commissioned by  Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning. It will join a raft of new drama series on the channel including Jed Mercurio's Line Of Duty, Paula Milne's White Heat, Stephen Poliakoff's Dancing On The Edge, and a major new cycle of Shakespeare's four most acclaimed historical works as part of a season based on the Bard's life and works.

Parade's End is produced by Oscar and Bafta-winning  David Parfitt (The Madness Of King George, Shakespeare In Love, My Week With Marilyn) and twice Bafta-winning  Selwyn Roberts (Longitude, Shackleton). Michele Buck,  Damien Timmer and Tom Stoppard are executive producers for Mammoth Screen,  Piers Wenger for the BBC.

It is a Mammoth Screen production for the BBC in association with HBO Miniseries and Trademark Films and BBC Worldwide and Lookout Point co-produced with BNP Paribas Fortis Film Fund and Anchorage Entertainment. Filmed with the support of the Belgian federal government's Tax Shelter scheme.

November 28, 2011