Screen Yorkshire is in for a big year.
It’s set to be one of the screen highlights this Easter a new version of the classic Jamaica Inn.
Jessica Brown Findlay, whose character Lady Sybil died after giving birth in one of Downton Abbey’s most heartbreaking scenes, will play Mary Yellan.
Joanne Whalley is her Aunt Patience and Scots actress and Harry Potter favourite Shirley Henderson is also part of the starry cast.
The lavish three-parter is the latest screen adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s atmospheric gothic novel. But there’s something a little different about this new BBC version Cornwall’s moved 350 miles north to Yorkshire!
While the real life pub that inspired du Maurier still sits proudly on Bodmin Moor and sold for a tasty £2 million this month, it wasn’t deemed suitable for filming.
Instead, an old barn outside Barnsley stands in for the original, much to the fury of Cornish locals.
Screen Yorkshire were said to have tempted telly bosses with a £500,000 grant.
It’s certainly another coup for the county’s proactive film unit, which has made Yorkshire a mecca for moviemakers and TV crews and made tourists flock there in huge numbers.
Filming is currently underway on another BBC drama, Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell starring Eddie Marsan, with shooting taking place at York Minster, again thanks to Screen Yorkshire backing.
It’s just the latest in a long line of productions.
The tiny North Yorks Moors village of Goathland played host to Heartbeat for some 17 years.
The ITV series brought a huge surge in visitors who will still find the little cluster of shops so familiar from the small screen.
While the pub frontage has now reverted to being the Goathland Hotel, the sign at the side still reads The Aidensfield Arms.
The station, part of the North Yorks Moors Railway, also featured in the Harry Potter films.
And the ongoing draw of being seen on screen is evident in Thirsk.
The whole area became known as Herriot Country thanks to the homespun charm of the BBC series All Creatures Great And Small.
That Herriot Country tag is still used and many fans make a bee line for the World of James Herriot Attraction. The building was the original practice of Scots vet Alf Wight and his partner Donald Sinclair, the real life Siegfried Farnon.
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