Kingdom come back for Swaffham
LAST year's highest-rating new drama series Kingdom, most of which is filmed on location in and around Swaffham, returns to ITV1 at 9.20pm on Sunday (13).
Actor Stephen Fry, who lives just five miles from the town, again takes the lead role as country solicitor Peter Kingdom, strongly supported by ex-Emmerdale star Karl Davies as his legal clerk, Lyle Anderson.
Hermione Norris returns as Peter Kingdom's wayward sister, Beatrice, Celia Imrie as his faithful receptionist and confidant, Gloria Millington, and Tony Slattery as the cantankerous Sidney Snell.
But a host of prestigious guest stars also join the regular cast in this second series, including Richard Wilson, Lucy Benjamin, Richard Briers, John Thomson and Diana Quick.
Many local extras will also appear over the six episodes, which are expected to thrust Swaffham back into the national spotlight as the setting for the fictional seaside town of Market Shipborough.
Locations used during last summer's filming included the Market Place, Oakleigh House as the solicitor's office and home, the parish church, the Greyhound pub and the BREAK charity shop, which was transformed into Tiger Lily's sex shop!
Swaffham is already experiencing the "Kingdom effect", with increasing numbers of tourists and visitors keen to see the series' location close up, and efforts are being made by local businesses to cater for this new trade.
Stephen Fry, who has lived locally for 22 years, said: "I love Swaffham and it never occurred to me that the filming would have such an effect. It is great to see the local cab company selling postcards saying Welcome to Kingdom country and Market Shipborough sticks of rock.
"It is true people will say don't say how lovely the place is or everyone will be coming here – but secretly, of course, you want everyone to know how lovely the countryside is where you live.
"There's plenty of room for more tourism in Norfolk without disturbing it. Part of its beauty is the openness of the skies and the relative emptiness of the roads and the beaches. Obviously there's a trade off between making it popular and keeping its quality."
Celia Imrie, who plays a drunken matron in the new St Trinian's film, rented a cottage in Swaffham during last year's Kingdom filming. She said: "I have grown to love the place."
ITV senior drama spokesman Naomi Phillipson said the second series was being shown earlier in the year, and the viewing audience was likely to determine whether a third series was filmed in Swaffham this summer.
"One would hope it will because it did very well last time," she said.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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