Though Bath plays the starring role again in the new series of the contemporary detective drama McDonald & Dodds this spring, look out for scenes filmed in and above Saltford in episode 1 of series 2.
For those not familiar with the programme, a synopsis is as follows:
Set in Bath, McDonald & Dodds pairs feisty DCI McDonald, who has recently transferred from London’s Met Police, with the unassuming DS Dodds. To McDonald’s surprise they form an unexpectedly effective crime solving partnership.
On a surprise day out, the friends are joined by their other housemate Frankie on a surprise hot air balloon trip. As they ascend above beautiful Bath, disaster strikes and suddenly the balloon lurches out of control. Panic rises and as the basket strains under the weight of the group, it dawns on them that they can’t all survive. As the balloon crash lands onto the meadow in Bath’s Royal Crescent, it’s revealed that Frankie is not there – has he died in the ultimate act of sacrifice for his friends, or was he pushed?
The series consists of three two-hour long episodes, the first two airing on ITV at 8 pm from Sunday 28th February.
Working in-line with Covid-19 restrictions, production company Mammoth Screen contacted Saltford Parish Council to let us know that they would be filming in the Saltford area, including shots of a hot air balloon. Some residents will remember the helicopter hovering over the river whilst circling / filming the hot air balloon scenes (as well as the High St parking suspensions and numerous stewards seen in the old village to ensure large filming equipment lorries had good access).
Mammoth Screen spent four months from September 2020 filming at various locations in Bath and Bristol. These included scenes at Royal Victoria Park, the Guildhall and the Indigo Hotel on South Parade in Bath, and at the Bond Tobacco Warehouse on Cumberland Road in Bristol which was transformed into a wartime bunker. Filming also took place in Bristol at Berkeley Square and at City Hall, in the Lord Mayor’s Reception Room.
The new series of McDonald & Dodds sees Tala Gouveia (Cold Feet) and BAFTA award winning actor Jason Watkins (The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jefferies, Des) reprise their roles as the smart and ambitious DCI McDonald and the humble and quietly brilliant DS Dodds in three new murder mysteries. They are joined in the first film by guest cast members Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey), Rupert Graves (Sherlock), Martin Kemp (The Krays), Patsy Kensit (Absolute Beginners) and Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa). Shelley Conn (Liar), Natalie Gumede (Strike), Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary) and John Thomson (Cold Feet) join the second film and Saira Choudhry (No Offence), Rosie Day (Outlander), Nitin Ganatra (EastEnders), Nicholas Goh (Skyfall), Siobhan Hewlett (Sherlock), Sarah Parish (Bancroft) and Rhashan Stone (Finding Alice) guest star in the third film. Returning cast includes James Murray as Chief Superintendent Houseman, Jack Riddiford as DC Darren Craig with Lily Sacofsky joining as DC Milena Pachiorkowski.