Filming for new TV show begins at former Gloucester Prison

Filming for a new prime-time TV drama has begun in Gloucester today.

Actors and crew members were spotting setting up earlier at the former Gloucester Prison which has been re-branded as HMP Coldra for scenes.

The Westgate Street car park has been closed until Friday while it’s used as a production base for the UKTV drama Mudtown.

The six-part series is a co-commission with Welsh language free-to-air channel S4C and All3Media International. The series is produced by Severn Screen and has begun filming, shooting back-to-back in both English and Welsh language.

Mudtown centres around life at Newport’s Magistrates Court. This gripping new drama is written by exciting new writing duo Hannah Daniel (star of Keeping Faith, Holby City) and Georgia Lee, who also sits on the Bench as a Magistrate. All3Media International will handle distribution of the series outside the UK.

Erin Richards (Gotham, The Crown) is set to take the lead as Claire Lewis Jones, alongside Tom Cullen (The Gold, Becoming Elizabeth) as St Pete, Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch, Steeltown Murders) as Alun Lewis Jones, Lauren Morais (The Red King) as Beca Lewis Jones, Lloyd Meredith (The Red King, Gran Turismo) as Sonny Higgins, Kimberley Nixon (The Salisbury Poisonings, Life and Death in the Warehouse) as Sara Humphries, Sion Pritchard (Pila Pala, The Indian Doctor) as Davey Johns and Ifan Huw Dafydd (The Light in the Hall, Requiem) as Owen Williams.

Georgia Lee and Hannah Daniel said: “We are thrilled at the opportunity to represent the untold world of the magistrate’s court, shot through with an authentic South Walian spirit. We couldn’t be more excited about bringing the characters and this thrilling story to the screen with such strong partners.”

The series follows experienced Magistrate Claire Lewis Jones as she faces personal turmoil while presiding over cases at Newport Magistrates Court. When Ned Humphries, a childhood friend of Beca, Claire’s daughter, faces arson charges, Claire’s loyalty to her community is put to the test. Matters are made worse when local criminal kingpin Saint Pete appears on the scene. Claire and Saint Pete go back a long way – will her past come back to threaten her present? As she delves deeper into the case, and suspicions grow around her daughter’s new bad-boy boyfriend, Sonny Higgins, Claire uncovers a web of criminal activity that could put her and her family at risk.

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk