This highly acclaimed BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name was nominated for 2 Golden Globes and received 5 BAFTA awards; the screenplay was by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice). Produced with an all-star cast for a budget of approximately £8 million, it was one of the first British drama series to be shot in HD format. The 15 episodes screened during 2005 and were controversially formatted as a soap opera, which was something that had not been done before. The result was a fast-paced, gripping drama. The plot has orphaned Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin) becoming embroiled in the absurdly protracted legal bargaining over an inherited estate. It was filmed on location in Hertfordshire, Essex and Bedfordshire as well as Kent. The cast included: Gillian Anderson (Lady Dedlock), Charles Dance (Mr Tulkinghorn), Patrick Kennedy (Richard Carstone), Timothy West (Sir Leicester Dedlock), Nathanial Parker (Harold Skimpole) and Philip Davis (Smallweed).
Release / Airing: 27/10/2005
Locations used for this production:
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Balls Park (not accessible) >
Nigel Stafford Clark, Producer of Bleak House, wanted to find a large historic house with a variety of different sized rooms that could be the interiors of a lot of different places. It would therefore save them having to move location every few weeks and would mean they could stay mainly in one place, which would become more like a studio. Screen East locations sourced them the perfect place - Balls Park, which not only had a Grade 1 listed building but had empty production offices too!
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Ingatestone Hall >
The exterior of Bleak House.
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Luton Hoo Estate >
Snagsby's and Krook's shops were created at the stable block at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire
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These productions were filmed nearby:
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