Celebrities including Paul O'Grady and Michael Portillo flock to Sheppey to see forts
10:55, 12 October 2020
updated: 13:04, 12 October 2020
Could Sheppey be set to become Kent’s version of Hollywood for celebrity appearances?
The Island has welcomed a host of TV stars, famous journalists and personalities over the past weeks with more filming scheduled for later this month.
Entertainer Paul O’Grady was pictured heading out from Sheppey to record an ITV documentary about the Second World War Maunsell sea forts.
It comes as part of new series he has been filming across Kent, looking at a number of different attractions in the county, including and East Sussex Railway in Tenterden.
It is thought the documentary will be broadcast in November.
The 65-year-old was accompanied by Margaret Flo McEwan to get to the sea forts for his filming.
Ms McEwan gave the TV personality his very own Maunsell branded face mask, to keep himself and others safe from the coronavirus.
'He was a hoot to work with...'
She said: “He was a hoot to work with.”
Magaret is one of the forts’ regular ‘guides’ and often sails out with teams of sightseers on the X-Pilot, a former pilot vessel moored at Queenborough and owned by Martin Harmer who works with conservation group Project Redsand.
A couple of days after Margaret met O’Grady she was joined by Michael Portillo to look around the forts.
The former Conservative politician turned TV presenter was filming in Whitstable before taking a trip to see them.
He has made a number of appearances in Kent over the years to film.
His most recent visits included Dartford and Gravesend in 2019, which featured on the BBC series The Great British Railway Journeys.
The sea isn’t the only place you might catch a glimpse of the stars.
Later this month Sheppey Way will be closed from for an entire weekend as ITV film part of their new psychological thriller, Too Close, on the Kingsferry Bridge.
Kent Highways has agreed to shut the road from 7am on Saturday, October 24, to 2am on Monday, October 26.
The closure has been coordinated by Kent County Council’s Film Office and traffic will be diverted over the Sheppey Crossing.
Too Close, set to air next year, tells the story of a forensic psychiatrist who must assess a criminal suspect - only to fall victim to their manipulative nature.
It will star Emily Watson, who recently appeared in Sky’s horror three-part series The Third Day, which was also filmed on the Island, at Harty and Shellness.
The first two parts have just aired.
