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26
Jul
TV film crews return to village – but not everybody's happy
Bishop Monkton is playing host to some glamorous visitors, as its village hall is used for a third series of BBC children’s programme Football Fantastics.
The village south of Ripon formed the backdrop to the comedy drama’s first season last year, and a second run was filmed earlier this year. Now, the programme-makers, Strike Productions, have returned to film the next 10 episodes of the story, which is described by the BBC as:
Six endearing kids bond at their weekend football group in Yorkshire, building friendships and experiencing adventures on and off the field.
The Football Fantastics gang.
'We've had to change to the programme'
But not everyone is happy. The village hall is a proper community hub, used for all kinds of events, hobbies and classes, and some regulars are not happy with the ‘invasion’ – Strike has block-booked the hall from June 29 till August 26, a period of more than eight weeks.
Sue Edmond of Bishop Monkton Bowling Club told us:
It’s been disruptive to us, because we’ve had to change the whole year’s programme to reduce the impact.
The club sometimes hosts visiting county teams, such as Cumbria and Durham, that need to play each other on a neutral green.
Ms Edmond said:
To bring county teams here when you don’t have the proper facilities just doesn’t look good. We’ve been provided with alternative parking on a green area, which has thankfully remained dry because of the warm weather. But it’s not sufficient when we have county matches and the teams come in the coaches.
Bowling in Bishop Monkton.
'Classic British look'
Which begs the question: why has Strike chosen to film in Bishop Monkton, of all places – a village of fewer than 900 people in the middle of the North Yorkshire countryside?
Series producer Dominic MacDonald said:
One of the biggest issues about filming in one location is that if you’re going to take over the whole thing, you need rooms. Spaces where characters can meet, can bump into each other, can hide from each other – all that stuff – to make the narrative work.
So it was important to get a location that has as many nooks and crannies as possible. Also, these beautiful playing fields are just stunning, and that’s what we wanted as well: that sort of classic British village-hall-playing-fields look.
It’s worked out very well in terms of the locals and the village working with production, and I think we’ve been able to create a good impression.
Bishop Monkton village hall.
'95% positive'
The bowling club aside, he may be right. The other club most affected by the filming is Bishop Monkton Table Tennis Club, which has had to move its operations to Markington. But club chair Tony Essex says he’s not bothered by it, and is happy that the filming is bringing money into the village. He said:
Places like this can disappear through lack of funding, so this windfall secures its long-term future for the croquet, bowls and cricket clubs, and all the other societies that use it. For the whole community it’s been a huge benefit.
It is the money that is making the difference, and seemingly causing most of the village to swing behind the production. The village hall’s coffers have been boosted to the tune of £70-80,000 for the three seasons of filming.
Phil Goodier, chair of the village hall committee, said:
If you took a straw poll around the village I think you’d find 95% of people are very positive about the filming. The local community are generally very proud that this has happened.
The money from previous filming has been used to create a perimeter path, install CCTV, buy new grass-cutting equipment, and improve the tennis courts. We wouldn’t have been able to do any of that without the money from the BBC.
We’ve been able to waive the affiliation fees that all the societies pay, and we also had it put in the contract that the BBC had to spend money in the area, so the Mason's Arms has benefitted hugely, so the money has trickled down.
The Mason's Arms pub in Bishop Monkton.
'Bent over backwards'
He said that the Bowling Club had been concerned about the use of the hall, so the committee made sure the contract with Strike provided for a marquee and extra toilets.
He said:
We’ve bent over backwards to accommodate the bowls club, and they benefit from the free affiliation fees, so really the impact on them is next to nothing.
In fact, when Strike filmed here in the spring, there was no impact on them at all, because their season hadn’t started yet. But the village hall is in rude financial health.
The Football Fantastic flag flying from the roof of Bishop Monkton village hall.
With just over four weeks to go before the end of the current filming schedule, there is as yet no word on whether Strike will want to come back for a fourth season. If they did, it would hardly be surprising – the kids’ comedy following the exploits of Theo, Sophie, Taran, Jaz, Elvis and Evie B attracted a healthy 7.4 million viewers over its first series, and that figure has grown since.
Ms Edmond is firmly against another season. She said:
We’ve said we don’t wish them [the production company] to come back again.
But it sounds as if she may be outnumbered by those who see the series as a valuable source of village funding at a time when money is tight but outgoings are as high as ever.
Mr Goodier added:
If anyone else can come up with a way to raise £25,000 in eight weeks, I’d like to hear from them.
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