One thing people often comment on when they visit us here at MUD-UK is the scenic surroundings we are fortunate enough to live and work in. It's something that’s not gone unnoticed to the Film and TV industry with shows such as Last Tango in Halifax, Ackley Bridge and Happy Valley, and films Swallows & Amazons and Peterloo all being filmed here in recent years.
Gentleman Jack the new drama from HBO/BBC is the latest in a long line of West Yorkshire based TV productions which hits UK screens this Sunday (BBC One 9pm) having already been broadcast in the US (HBO Monday 10pm ET). For us this 8-part drama is particularly close to home…
Gentleman Jack tells the story of Anne Lister a 19th Century Land Owner/ Entrepreneur and Diarist from Halifax, West Yorkshire. The diaries (of which 1/6 was written in code) were hidden behind a wall at the family home of Shibden Hall after it had been deciphered by relatives and was deemed so shocking that it should be burnt. Fortunately, this did not happen and eventually the diaries were published in the late 1980s. For more information about Miss Lister and her diaries click here.
Interesting but how is this related to Land Rovers you may ask? Well we spent part of last summer filming promotional material for our new website (to launch later this year) and one of the locations we used shared filming time with Gentleman Jack over what turned out to be an idyllic summer in the Yorkshire Pennines. Filmed at a disused quarry under 2 miles from MUD HQ, we spent a very enjoyable couple of days with the guys at Forshaw Media to create new video content for the website which you should be able to see very soon. Just a week later the quarry was transformed into a 19th century coal mine doubling for Shibden were Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack) had one of her many businesses.
See if you can spot the similarities in the picture below and don’t forget to check out the programme itself starting Sunday 19th of May staring Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster) and Sophie Rundle (Bodyguard) in the place we are very lucky to call home.
