December 25, 2022 5.30 pm This story is over 25 months old

Lincolnshire’s starring role in film and television in 2022

Including a visit to Lincoln for Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott

Hollywood director Ridley Scott and acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix were in Lincoln this year, and Lincolnshire once again had a big part to play in Netflix’s The Crown, as we look back on film and television in the county this year.

2022 also saw Lincolnshire Police take centre stage in Channel 5’s ‘Inside The Force: 24/7’, while the new season of the television adaptation of a J.K Rowling book series had scenes filmed in Skegness.

Here is a round-up of our stories about Lincolnshire playing a key role or featuring in films and television shows this year, as well as local people who have appeared on our screens:


Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film

This spring saw grand props lifted from trucks onto the cobbled streets to transform Lincoln Cathedral into Notre Dame for Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ film. It has had a few working titles, including Kitbag, Marengo, and Napoleon.

Actors in Napoleonic costume arrived at Lincoln Cathedral to feature in scenes for the film, which charts the rise of the French emperor to power. Joaquin Phoenix plays the part of Napoleon Bonaparte and The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby replaced Jodie Comer in the role of Empress Josephine.

Local businesses believe the movie will have a positive long-term impact on the city and it is expected to be released in 2023.

Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

We even spoke to a local autograph hunter who got Ridley Scott’s signature to add to his growing collection as excitement continued to build in the city.

Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite


The Crown

Burghley House is used as Windsor Castle in The Crown, with a serious 1992 fire being depicted in the latest series. | Photo: Netflix

Lincolnshire once again had a big part to play in the creation of one of Netflix’s most popular shows – award-winning period drama The Crown.

Season five hit the streaming service in November this year, looking at the complex relationship of Charles and Diana, with Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki taking on the respective roles, while Imelda Staunton replaced Olivia Colman as The Queen.

Burghley House in Stamford was again a key filming spot for The Crown, with the show’s new series depicting a fire at Windsor Castle in 1992 – which destroyed 115 rooms.

Camera crews were seen in Stamford filming for the new series of The Crown on Netflix. | Photo: Stephen Daniels

Ironmonger Street was closed off in September 2021 and Nelsons of Stamford temporarily became a Chinese takeaway as film crews transformed the area for the show.

The Crown came under intense scrutiny earlier this year though, including from former Prime Minister John Major and Dame Judi Dench. Netflix defended its show saying events have “already been scrutinised and well-documented” elsewhere.


Three Day Millionaire

Actors who have appeared in Star Trek, Snatch, Layer Cake, and The Damned United, as well as BBC’s Robin Hood, starred in a film shot Grimsby which was released in cinemas and on digital platforms in November this year.

Three Day Millionaire is a ‘raucous black comedy about a gang of Grimsby Trawler-men who carry out the heist of a lifetime’ directed by 26-year-old London-born director Jack Spring. He spent most of his childhood in Grimsby and still visits family there regularly, as well as being an avid fan of the local football club.

Irish actor Colm Meaney plays the main ‘bad guy’ of the film Mr Barr, who decides to shut down his company for his own financial gain.

Actor Colm Meaney (left) plays the main ‘bad guy’ in Three Day Millionaire, a new film directed by Jack Spring (right) which was shot in Grimsby. | Photo: Courtesy of Signature Entertainment, Samuel Dore photography

Colm has appeared in a plethora of films including Layer Cake and Damned United, as well as in Star Trek and as himself in The Simpsons.

Among the rest of the cast list is Mr Barr’s right-hand man, Mr G, who is played by Jonas Armstrong, who starred as Robin Hood in the BBC series, as well as The Bay and Floodlights.


Inside The Force: 24/7

Sergeants Dan Cooper and Rosy Elkins, who both featured in Inside The Force: 24/7, outside South Park Police Station. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The strain on funding and resources at Lincolnshire Police came to the fore multiple times during the second series of Channel 5’s Inside The Force: 24/7, but what else did we learn from the show?

The eight-part series produced by Mentorn Media on Channel 5 was filmed as the lockdown restrictions eased in summer 2021, and the final episode aired on May 23.

One issue shown on numerous occasions was officers having to attend incidents on their own. Although two police sergeants we spoke to were both unphased by this, the show highlighted the tough the situations officers at Lincolnshire Police have to deal with.

We caught up with two of the police sergeants – Dan Cooper and Rosy Elkins – after the series had finished to find out what it was really like to be on the show and what they took away from the experience.


Bridgerton spin-off

Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte in Netflix smash hit Bridgerton | Photo: Netflix

It was originally rumoured that Belton House in Grantham would be the set for Doctor Who anniversary episodes, but it appears to have been the set of a Bridgerton spin-off about Queen Charlotte.

An anonymous inside source (perhaps Lady Whistledown herself) wrote to The Lincolnite to inform readers that crews were preparing the set for one of the biggest smashes in Netflix history.

Some of the production’s leading stars were spotted on set, including India Amerteifio, playing young Queen Charlotte.


Stephen Mulhern’s ‘In For A Penny’

Stephen Mulhern was in Lincoln on Thursday, June 9, 2022 as part of his filming for ITV’s ‘In For A Penny’ show. | Screenshot: Stephen Mulhern Facebook page

Television presenter Stephen Mulhern was in Lincoln this summer filming for his ITV pop-up game show ‘In For A Penny Show’.

Stephen was seen at Lincoln’s Brayford Pool during the morning of June 9 and uploaded a video in which he pretended to have been spotted by a ‘fan’. He was also spotted at locations including Lincoln Castle, a local car park, and local coffee shop Thomas2.

Leslie Wood (left) “loved being on the show” when Stephen Mulhern was filming ITV’s ‘In For A Penny’ in Lincoln (right) at the Tritton Road retail park, near where ASDA Living is located. | Photo: Leslie Wood

Lincoln man Leslie Wood said he “loved being on the show” after being among the people lucky enough to be involved in filming at Tritton Road retail park, near where ASDA Living is located. He added that he was told the show would air in spring 2023.


Strike: Troubled Blood

J.K. Rowling. | Photo: J.K. Rowling on Twitter

Strike: Troubled Blood, the television adaption of a J.K. Rowling book series, returned to BBC One in December 2022.

Troubled Blood is the fifth novel in the best-selling Cormoran Strike series written by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, and was published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith in September 2020.

Filming started for the latest season in early 2022 with North Parade in Skegness among the locations where scenes were shot.


Stars visiting Lincolnshire

Musical theatre legend Andrew Lloyd Webber (right), pictured with The Bronze Pig’s owner Pompeo Siracusa (left), and chef Philip Cooke (centre). | Photo: The Bronze Pig

Lincolnshire people starring and featuring in TV shows

Lincolnshire actress Harriet Bibby. | Photo: YellowBellyPhoto

Meanwhile, Doddington Hall, The Collection Museum in Lincoln, and Crowland in the Lincolnshire Fens were among the places in the county to feature on television this year.


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