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Game of Thrones and Hollyoaks stars filming in Kent for Danny Boyle Sex Pistols biopic

12:00, 20 April 2021

updated: 15:57, 20 April 2021

A star-studded cast is coming to Kent to film scenes for a new TV series directed by Danny Boyle.

Filming for Pistol, which stars actors from Game of Thrones, 1917, Hollyoaks and The Witcher, will take place in the county at the end of the month.

A first look at the Sex Pistols biopic
A first look at the Sex Pistols biopic

The limited series will be based around the life and career of punk rock legend and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

Produced under the watchful eye of the award-winning director, the series is based on his 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, and will consist of six episodes.

Film crews will be coming to both Deal and Folkestone this month to film various scenes.

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.

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

The old Royal Leisure building will be used for filming in the new series
The old Royal Leisure building will be used for filming in the new series

Mr Stiles said: "It's going to be great for the area. The crew will be staying at the B&B and this area [the Square] will be closed off while they film."

The crew will arrive in the town on Monday, April 26, and filming will start two days later on Wednesday, April 28.

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.

The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone will also be used. Picture: Gary Browne
The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone will also be used. Picture: Gary Browne

The show's stellar 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.

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: “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent...This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever.

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

“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, which has been created for TV by Craig Pearce (The Great Gatsby) and written by Pearce and Frank Cottrell-Boyce (24 Hour Party People), is reported to have began filming on March 7 and is due to appear on streaming service Hulu in 2022.

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