Earlier this week, it was revealed that both Alnwick and Bamburgh Castle were being used for filming in Hollywood movies. Indiana Jones 5, starring Harrison Ford (who has been spotted at Newcastle Quayside and in North Shields in the last week), is being filmed at Bamburgh, whilst an adaptation of the board game Dungeons and Dragons is being shot at Alnwick.
And Northumberland being a backdrop to movies and TV shows is nothing new. Here are six times the county has been on the screen.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
In 1991, Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman graced the county to film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – hitting up one of Northumberland’s most stunning natural sights. Sycamore Gap, a lone tree standing between two hills along Hadrian’s Wall was immortalised forever and is now one of the most photographed trees in the country.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone/Chamber of Secrets
Dungeons and Dragons is not the first movie to be shot at Alnwick Castle. In 2001 and 2002, the boy wizard came to Alnwick Castle in the first two movie adaptations of the Harry Potter series. Daniel Radcliffe starred alongside Zoe Wanamaker for his first flying lesson as the castle doubled up as Hogwarts.
Alnwick Castle has also starred in the final ever episode as Downtown Abbey as Brancaster Castle and in Transformers: The Last Knight.
Outlaw King
Dungeons and Dragons is not the first time Star Trek’s Captain Kirk aka Chris Pine has visited the North East. In Outlaw King, Pine played Robert the Bruce and filmed scenes on Berwick-upon-Tweed’s Old Bridge – while Newcastle’s Quayside became the Port of Glasgow!
Vera
The ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope has brought Northumberland to living rooms the length and breadth of the UK. So far this year, the 11th series of Vera has been filmed in Corbridge, Matfen and Allendale – and previous series have shown Rothbury and several locations along the North East Coast.
READ MORE: ITV's crime drama Vera heading again to Northumberland - here's when
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones wasn’t actually filmed in Northumberland. However, creator George R. R. Martin confirmed that his giant ice wall was inspired by the 73-mile long Hadrian’s Wall.
Cobra
Sky drama Cobra was first aired in January 2020 and put Hexham at the centre of a national emergency – namely a solar flare hitting Europe, blowing the electric grid, and hurling the country into a state of civil unrest. The fictional ‘Northumberland Royal Hospital’ was mentioned several times to treat casualties. However, viewers were unimpressed with the show’s geography as the crash happened over an hour away in Newton Aycliffe.
READ MORE: TV show that featured Hexham set for second series
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