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Filming of TV drama Pistol - directed by Danny Boyle - will see road closures in Dover from Monday

16:51, 23 April 2021

updated: 17:18, 23 April 2021

Dozens of residents will be unable to park in their roads when a TV crew arrives in Kent to film a new Sex Pistols rock TV drama.

The series Pistol, based on the life story of Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and directed by award-winning Danny Boyle, is due to shoot in Dover from Monday.

One of the filming sites in Camden Crescent, Dover
One of the filming sites in Camden Crescent, Dover

Some drivers will not be able to park in their roads during filming, although one vintage car owner says he sees no need to move his, as it will fit with the time period.

Parking is suspended from 12.01am to 11.59pm on Monday at Marine Parade between the junctions of Douro Place and Waterloo Crescent (taking about 67 parking spaces), Wellesley Road from Marine Parade to Camden Crescent and Camden Crescent between the junctions with New Bridge and Wellesley Road.

Tom Davies, resident of The Gateway flats, said: "We got a letter from the film company asking us to move our cars from the front of the flats.

"But we haven't been told where we can move them so I don't know what to do."

Other residents told KentOnline they would not be affected as they could keep their cars in the flats' garages.

Tom Davies has been told to move his car during the day. Picture: Sam Lennon
Tom Davies has been told to move his car during the day. Picture: Sam Lennon

They also believed that they would not be trapped in the flats during the day as there were road exits away from the filming area.

Gateway residents believe that the filming company wants modern cars out of shot because this is a series set in the 1970s.

But one car on the flats' private road in the area the filmers wants to clear, is a 1974 Rover 2200 - the Sex Pistols were formed in 1975.

The car's owner Gary Bownley said: "I should be all right."

The limited series is based on Steve Jones' 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, and will consist of six episodes.

The 1974 Rover, straight from the Pistols' era. Picture: Sam Lennon
The 1974 Rover, straight from the Pistols' era. Picture: Sam Lennon

The show's cast includes Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams, who will play punk icon Jordan (aka Pamela Rooke), and Babyteeth‘s Toby Wallace as Jones.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster, of Game of Thrones, Love Actually and The Maze Runner fame, has also recently joined the cast.

Anson Boon is Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge is Sid Vicious and newcomer Jacob Slater is drummer Paul Cook.

Filming will also take place in Folkestone and Deal.

Producers have approached Graham Stiles of the King's Head in Deal, with a view to setting up a crew base at Channel View Bed & Breakfast which he owns.

A first look at the Sex Pistols biopic
A first look at the Sex Pistols biopic
Danny Boyle will be directing the upcoming biopic. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
Danny Boyle will be directing the upcoming biopic. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

The outdoor terrace, known as The Square, has also been booked and will be taped off while actors are filmed.

Businesses in King Street have also been approached, including Mr Dapper Master Barbers and the Royal Leisure Centre.

Shortly after visiting Deal, filming will move to The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone.

The hotel will host an interior scene in which the protagonists perform to a restaurant and the windows will be blacked out to help provide a night-time setting.

One of the warning notices for Monday
One of the warning notices for Monday

In an announcement with FX, which commissioned the series, Oscar-winner Danny Boyle described the Pistols’ breakthrough as “the moment that British society and culture changed forever”.

The director and executive producer added: “This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever.

“It is the detonation point for British street culture… where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion... and everyone had to watch and listen…and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols."

Pistol is due to appear on streaming service Hulu in 2022.

Dover District Council has been approached for a comment.

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