Wolf Hall's Dorset location filming secrets revealed

The location manager for the Wolf Hall TV series has been revealing tales from the filming of the BBC historical drama.

Rebecca Pearson said she, along with the programme's designer, visited hundreds of locations while researching the second season.

Based on the trilogy by author Dame Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall traces the rise of King Henry VIII's top minister Thomas Cromwell.

One of the locations is the medieval and Elizabethan Wolfeton House near Dorchester, used as the location where Princess Mary was locked away.

The latest series - The Mirror and the Light - was filmed between November 2023 and April 2024, with the first episode broadcast on 10 November.

The cast and crew descended on Wolfeton in March at the end of a wet winter when the ground was quite soft.

Ms Pearson said: "It's quite tricky to get to because these houses weren't made for big trucks, they were built for horses and carts.

"We had to work with neighbours and local farmers to create a pathway for our vehicles, but we had one vehicle that wouldn't wait and got stuck in the field - so we had to spend a lot of time making sure we left it as we found it."

Another Dorset location was Forde Abbey, near Chard, chosen as the setting for Hampton Court Palace.

"They have got this amazing cloister corridor that just photographs so beautifully," said Rebecca.

"Everybody fell in love with it.

"We went there for the corridor but we also ended up using their Great Hall as a presence chamber for the king and we use it a lot in the series.

"It features quite a lot in episode one as they are walking back and forth."

Although they are selected for their historic authenticity, the buildings still need to be adapted for filming.

"We always need to make changes," Ms Pearson said.

"They have some fire exit doors so we had to build some wooden panels in front of those.

"We wanted to change the colour a little bit so we used this very clever low-tack tape to go on the panelling to bring it to our era.

"We always have to hide and change little pieces.

"I work on a host of shows and you never know what you're going to get asked for.

"I had a whole year when it seemed like I was looking for nothing but fields then I had a whole year when I was looking for nothing but Tudor palaces, so it really does vary," she added.

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