Bill Nighy in Essex town to film new BBC spy drama

THE BBC has been in Saffron Walden today (Feb 11) to film a new spy drama called Page Eight – written by Sir David Hare.

Film and TV star Bill Nighy has been in town since around 2pm and film crews will be working for the rest of the day outside and inside the i2Art gallery on Church Street.

The spy drama is set to go out in the autumn or may be held until Christmas but is almost certain to be screened on BBC2.

Apart from Mr Nighy the cast also includes Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon and Ewen Bremner – but none were present in the town on Friday.

On Thursday the crew had been filming in Cambridge but a member of the production team told The Saffron Walden Reporter that the Saffron Walden location had been picked because of the old and unusual buildings.

The i2Art gallery is located in one of the oldest buildings in the town but also on the busiest road in town.

Traffic did not seem to be an issue for the BBC crew though and Mr Nighy happily stopped to sign autographs, pose for photos and also read some literature out loud to people who had gathered round.

According to the BBC, Page Eight sees Nighy play a long-serving M15 officer who is forced to quit his job in order to find the truth behind a mystery file which threatens its stability.

Sir David, who will also direct Page Eight and is best-known as an award-winning playwright, was twice Oscar nominated for The Hours in 2002 and The Reader in 2008.

IF YOU were there e-mail us your pictures and comments. editor@saffronwalden-reporter.co.uk