SEVERAL celebrities have been spotted in Hexham and the wider Tynedale area recently.

Sheridan Smith and film crews were filming at the Sir Knott Memorial Hall in Heddon, according to residents, in September for the filming of I Fought the Law.

The award-winning singer and actress is starring in the lead role as real-life mother, Ann Ming, and her fight to change the Double Jeopardy Law and see her daughter’s murderer brought to justice.

Sheridan Smith on set filming for new ITV drama I Fought the Law in Shiremoor, North TynesideSheridan Smith on set filming for new ITV drama I Fought the Law in Shiremoor, North Tyneside (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA) The new ITV crime drama is expected to hit screens in 2025.  

Hollywood stars Cillian Murphy and Jodie Comer have been filming scenes for post-apocalyptic zombie horror 28 Years Later at Plankey Mill, in the rural outskirts of Hexham, since August.

The former campsite, located between Haydon Bridge and Allendale, is owned by The Jesuits in Britain, while the surrounding area – known as Allen Banks and Staward Gorge – is owned and maintained by the National Trust. 

A road closure notice posted by Northumberland County Council states that the U8047 access road has permission to be closed from August 12 until December 12.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is also featuring in the post-apocalyptic horror, 28 Years LaterAaron Taylor-Johnson is also featuring in the post-apocalyptic horror, 28 Years Later (Image: Ian West/PA Wire)

Filming took place in Rothbury and Kielder earlier this year, with Danny Boyle himself visiting Rothbury in April.

The Oscar-winning director of films such as Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire described Northumberland as a “wonderful place to come film” in July. He added: “It’s beautiful, absolutely gorgeous.”

Scenes for another popular ITV series, Vera, were also filmed in Hexham marketplace in May 2023.

The first episode of season 13 aired on January 7, featuring the marketplace and Hexham Abbey.

Robson Green, a celebrity who lives locally to Hexham, visited several spots in Tynedale for the second series of the BBC show, Weekend Escapes in 2023.

Owner of Stocksfield-based North Acomb Farm Shop, Robin Baty, featured in episode seven of series two.

Other Tynedale locations featured in the second series were The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, the moorlands of Allendale, Kielder Lakeside Way and Sweethope Lough.