Written by on Jun 9, 2015. Posted in On Location

True-life Victorian drama Dark Angel to film in North Yorkshire

Victorian serial-killer drama Dark Angel will be filmed in North Yorkshire and County Durham in northern England from this August. Yorkshire has hosted several recent period dramas, including Northern Ireland drama ’71 and First World War memoir Testament Of Youth.

Dark Angel will tell the true story of Mary Ann Cotton, a serial poisoner who killed up to 21 people in the north-east of England during the mid-19th century.

Cotton escaped suspicion for several years as Victorian society could not envisage a woman being capable of such crimes.

“Dark Angel is an extraordinary and chilling true story,” said Victoria Fea, Controller of Drama at ITV.

“We’re delighted to have an actress of Joanne Froggatt’s calibre in the lead role. The combination of a tautly written script, an outstanding cast and great producers in World Productions make this a really exciting addition to the ITV drama slate.”

In the past week ITV has also announced historical dramas Churchill’s Secret and Victoria – based on the early life of the legendary Queen – as well as new episodes of Second World War series Home Fires (above).

Screen Yorkshire announced last week that three former RAF hangars are to be converted into film and TV studio facilities in a bid to boost the region’s production appeal.

“The opening of Yorkshire Studios is a significant landmark for the UK film and TV industry,” said Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire: “The Yorkshire Content Fund has enabled us to secure some incredible projects that have made great use of our existing portfolio of studio space.

“The lack of a larger-scale production facility, however, has prevented a number of major long-term film and TV productions from basing themselves here.

(Image: ITV)