Category: The Winter King

The Winter King: Final Week of Filming at Lydney Park Estate

Lydney Park Estate

Cast and crew of the upcoming adaptation of Bernard Cornwell‘s The Winter King have reportedly wrapped production at Lynday Park Estate in Gloucestershire, England, last week from 9 – 14 January 2023.

Filming of the “revisionist take on the well-loved Arthurian legends”, is now completed, which some actors have shared on their Social Media, including Valene Kane, who plays Morgan, Arthur’s sister.

A staff member confirmed that crews were filming at different locations around the privately owned estate. They further said that the fitful weather effected their choice of locations in which to film on the estate.

Lynday Park belongs to the Bathurst family since the 18th century and the current owner Rupert Bathurst, 4th Viscount Bledisloe, is the older brother of The Winter King‘s lead director Otto Bathurst. The estate was used for filming on previous occasions, though, so it’s not just a matter of family connections.

Other than its gardens and large park areas, the estate is also famous for the archeological sites that were excavated in the early 20th century by Tessa Wheeler and her husband.

They found the remnants of an old Roman temple to the Celtic god Noden (Romans often assimilated foreign gods and goddesses into their own belief) which was built on much older structures known as ‘Lydney Camp’ dating back to the British Iron Age and ‘Dwarf’s Hill’, an open-cast mining site for iron ore in Roman times.

Soon after the Romans abandoned Britain, local people thought the ruins were the homes of dwarves and hobgoblins and were afraid of the hill. The Lord of the Ring‘s author J.R.R. Tolkien, who was part of the Wheeler excavation team in the 1920s and was working on The Hobbit at the time, is said to have taken large inspiration from these tales and the landscape at Lynday Park Estate.

Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles – set in the 5th century AD, roughly 100 years after the Roman departure – in turn often mention buildings and other Roman architecture that are used by the protagonists of the books. Maybe we can expect to see some of the old ruins at Lynday Park Estate during the TV series.

The Winter King stars Iain De Caestecker as a young Arthur Pendragon and Stuart Campbell as his loyal spearman and narrator of the story. More cast members were confirmed last year, among them Andrew Gower as Sansum, an ambitious, scheming priest.

The series is expected to be released on ITV’s new streaming platform ITVX exclusively in the UK later this year. There is no information on international distributors yet, but we will keep you informed as always as soon as we find out more.

First Look at Sansum the Priest (The Winter King)

Huge thanks to Twitter user @todbristol who shared this screenshot from the set of The Winter King with us.

The Winter King is a 10-part returning series currently filming in Wales and the West Country based on the best-selling Warlord Chronicles book series by The Last Kingdom author Bernard Cornwell. Andrew Gower plays Sansum the Priest, a character described as “unsympathetic and intriguing”, in this re-telling of the Arthurian legend. He is joined, among others, by actors Iain De Caestecker (Arthur), Jordan Alexandra (Guinevere) and Stuart Campbell (Derfel Cadarn).

The Winter King is produced by Bad Wolf for ITVX and is expected to hit the British streaming service in late 2023 / early 2024.

The Winter King – Wrapping at Blaise Castle

(c) Dronestagram

Twitter user @todbristol has shared some important information about filming The Winter King at Blaise Castle Estate in Bristol. According to them, filming at the 650 acre parkland surrounding the 18th century Blaise Castle will wrap on Tuesday, 13 December 2022, and sets are expected to be taken down immediately afterwards.

See @todbristol’s tweets and photos from set below.

The Winter King – Cast Confirmed

In a press release ITVX have confirmed some of the cast already rumoured for the upcoming adaption of Bernard Cornwell‘s Warlord Chronicles.

A bold and revisionist take on the well-loved Arthurian Legends, The Winter King follows Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from outcast to legendary warrior and leader. 

The Winter King is set in the 5th century long before Britain was united. In a land of warring factions and tribes when the World was brutal and lives were often fleeting.

Source: ITVX

Andrew Gower as well as some other actors have been previously confirmed for The Winter King – which is currently filming in Wales and the West Country – by their agencies.

Iain De Caestecker plays a young Arthur Pendragon, who begins as an exiled bastard before becoming the greatest hope for Britain.

Iain is a Scottish actor known for playing Leo Fitz in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Stuart Campbell plays Derfel Cadarn, the narrator of the story. He transforms from left-for-dead orphan to the truest of all warlords.

Stuart is a Scottish actor who Outlander fans might remember as Young Rabbie McNab. He most recently starred in the mini series SAS Rogue Heroes.

Ellie James is Nimue, a priestess saved by Merlin because she can see the gods – he gives her power, wisdom and learning.

Ellie is known for her roles in I May Destroy You, I Am… and Giri/Haji.

Eddie Marsan is Uther, High King of all Dumnonia, old and battle tested. He commands incredible authority, over almost all, bar Merlin.

Eddie was born in East London and has acted in TV mini series The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe as well as Deceit.

Nathaniel Martello-White portrays Merlin, a politician, powerful, enlightened, and absolute. Fearless in the face of a King’s wrath he follows his connection to his Gods in all things.

Nathaniel is an English actor and writer, known for Cla’am, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and Red Tails.

Daniel Ings plays Owain, Uther’s champion of Dumnonia, an experienced but not always honest senior warrior.

Daniel is an English actor who has appeared in I Hate Suzie and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? He also appeared in an episode of Black Mirror.

Valene Kane is Morgan, Arthur’s half-sister and another bastard child of King Uther. She is a sharp-tongued and independent minded pagan and student of Merlin.

Valene is from Northern Ireland and can be seen in The Fall and Gangs of London.

Simon Merrells is Gundleus, King of rival kingdom Siluria. Imposing and savage, Gundleus is prepared to slaughter whoever he needs to secure power.

Simon can be seen in Spartacus, The Tomorrow People and Knightfall.

The Winter King – Who is in the Cast?

As filming for the new ITV series The Winter King based on the Warlord Chronicles by best-selling author Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom) is well under way, fans are eager to learn who will be in the cast.

The story is a retelling of the Arthurian legend and takes place in Post-Roman Dark Age Britain, a land where the warlord Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared,Saxons are invading and a child-king sits unprotected on the throne. We meet a vain and unpopular Lancelot, an ambitious and scheming Guinevere, a Merlin who is more absent Druid than mystic magician, and a Mordred who is Uther’s grandson and legitimate heir. The tale is told by the Saxon-born monk Derfel Cadarn for Igraine, a young queen.

Source: Wikipedia

So far there have been no official statements from the production itself but we were able to gather some information about some of the main cast.

Iain De Caestecker plays Arthur Pendragon, the illegitimate son of King Uther, an exiled warlord who returns to Britain.

Iain is a Scottish actor known for playing Leo Fitz in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Jordan Alexandra plays Arthur’s wife Guinevere, an ambitious woman who cares very little for others and seems only to want power and a high social status.

Jordan can also be seen in the film Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Netflix hit series Bridgerton.

Stuart Campbell plays Derfel Cadarn, the narrator of the story. He is a warrior and loyal to Arthur. Even though he sees Arthur’s flaws, he recognizes greatness and knows that Arthur is the only hope for Britain.

Stuart is a Scottish actor who Outlander fans might remember as Young Rabbie McNab. He most recently starred in the mini series SAS Rogue Heroes.

Daniel Ings plays Owain, Uther’s champion of Dumnonia, an experienced but not always honest senior warrior.

Daniel is an English actor known for I Hate Suzie and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? He also appeared in an episode of Black Mirror.

Ken Nwosu plays Sagramor, a fierce Numidian from Africa Nova and veteran of the old Roman army who has followed Arthur to Britain after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

Ken has previously appeared in Christopher Robin, The Witches and Killing Eve.

Andrew Gower plays Sansum, a character that is loosely based on the Cornish saint Samson of Dol, a Catholic priest and later a Bishop. Sansum is described as unsympathetic and intriguing.

Andrew of course needs no further introduction on this page. 😉

Valene Kane was also cast in the series but her character is not yet known. Speculation sees her maybe as Nimue, a druid priestess and Merlin’s lover. She’s also a first love to Derfel and his life long friend.

Valene is from Northern Ireland and can be seen in The Fall and Gangs of London.

Welsh actor Steve Ryan is also confirmed to be starring in the series but it is not yet known which character he will play.

Steve has previously appeared in His Dark Materials and Sex Education

ETA (29 November 2022):

In a press release ITVX have confirmed some of the cast already rumoured. Read more about it here.

The Winter King – Filming at Brabazon Hangars

According to the Bristol Post and confirmed by some watchful eyes on Twitter filming of The Winter King has moved from Blaise Castle to the Brabazon Hangars.

The Brabazon Hangars, at what once was Filton Airfield, are being transformed into the YTL Arena, a 17,000 capacity arena, festival hall and ‘hub’ for eating, drinking and leisure, which is due to be open by 2024.

We’re still waiting for a first look at Andrew Gower as Priest Sansum but #WatchThisSpace!

Otto Bathurst & Farren Blackburn Directing The Winter King

As previously announced, Andrew Gower has been cast in an upcoming adaptation of Bernard Cornwell‘s Warlord Chronicles. The popular book series by The Last Kingdom author is a modern reimagination of stories surrounding the legendary King Arthur. Most of the narrative is recounted in a series of flashbacks to the main protagonist Derfel Cadarn’s life as a young man when he met the many famous heroes of Arthurian times.

Originally set up at US cabler Epix, the project later moved to Bad Wolf / Sony Pictures / Paramount Plus. The 10 episode series is expected to be released in 2023 on ITV’s new streaming platform ITVX in the UK. Kate Brooke (A Discovery Of Witches, Medici) and Ed Whitmore (Manhunt) are reported to be showrunners and head writers.

Otto Bathurst (His Dark Materials, Peaky Blinders) serves as lead director and according to his Twitter account, Farren Blackburn (A Discovery Of Witches, The Innocents) is also directing some of the show’s episodes.

The clapperboard also confirms Danish cinematographer Stephan Pehrsson (Black Mirror, Tolkien) as Director of Photography.

ETA (18 October 2022):

Director Farren Blackburn posted this selfie from the set of The Winter King on his Twitter.

The Winter King – Video Clips from Set

Twitter user Chris Baker provided us today with two short video clips from filming The Winter King at Blaise Castle Estate in Bristol.

There appear to be men carrying wolfsheads on large poles, so they’re probably part of the main character Derfel’s band of spearmen.

Another Twitter account, Bristol Mosaic, added a few more pictures from the same day on set. Click to view the pictures in more detail.

We are sure one of these days someone will snag a picture of Andrew Gower as Priest Sansum. It’s only a matter of time!

The Winter King – Filming locations

So far there is not much information on The Winter King, the new series that Andrew Gower is currently filming as a series regular playing a chararcter named Sansum. We tried to compile as much as we could find out about the different filming locations in the article below:

Based on Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles, The Winter King is an epic but intimate 10 part returning series which will shoot in Wales and the West Country in 2022.

Portraying a revisionist take on the well-loved Arthurian legends, the series follows Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from outcast son to legendary warrior and leader. The Winter King is set in the 5th century, long before Britain was united, in a land of warring factions and tribes when the world was brutal and lives were often fleeting.

The series is being produced by Bad Wolf, in association with One Big Picture, with international distribution being handled by Sony Pictures Television.

Kate Brooke (A Discovery Of Witches, Bancroft) and Ed Whitmore (Manhunt, Rillington Place) are adapting Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles for the series and Otto Bathurst (His Dark Materials, Halo) will be the lead director.

Source: Bad Wolf Official Website

Gallos, a representation of King Arthur by Rubin Eynon at Tintagel, Cornwall. (Image: Pixabay licence)

The Bristol Post reported about film sets in the West Country and around Bristol for the upcoming series, including “mocked-up medieval villages and forts” in Patchway and Blaise Castle Estate.

Plans for a temporary film set off Highwood Lane in Patchway Trading Estate, which will be used between July 2022 and January 2023, were submitted to the South Gloucestershire Council.

The units primary purpose is to provide a space for the construction of both interior and exterior ‘sets’ which the series requires. In addition to these temporary set structures, the site will provide space for the supporting infrastructure, cast, crew and logistical vehicles required to facilitate the filming of the show.
Due to the nature of the film making process, the level of activity at the site will vary across the period this planning application pertains to. After an initial construction phase, the filming operation itself – including cast and crew, will vary between 70 and 150 persons to span across circa 70 days between July 2022 and January 2023. As a result, it is not foreseen that the activity at this site will impact the local community in an adverse way.

Source

The exterior sets include a ‘fortified encampment’ and ‘mountainous ravine’ appropriate to Arthurian Britain – the time period in which the series is set.

(c) Dronestagram

Blaise Castle Estate seems to be another major filming site being transformed into a medieval village. The grade II-listed parkland will host thatched dwellings of wood, wattle and daub covering almost 30,000 sqm. Two film sets will be built on the estate: a cluster of houses and animal pens amongst trees adjacent to woodland, named on plans as “Avalon Village”, plus a wooden tower with a “scaffold plinth” and “scaffold birdcage”.

(c) Bristol Live

Tropiquaria was also used as a base filming took place within around a five-mile radius of the Watchet wildlife park and aquarium.

The Swindon Advertiser also reported about film crews being spotted near Bradford on Avon in the Iford Valley below Iford Manor Gardens.

They used the Iford Cider premises on the road to Freshford as a film base and were in the area for two nights […]. It is understood that horses were involved and some of the actors were seen wearing loincloths and other period costumes.

Souce: Swindon Advertiser

It does need to be pointed out that the cast mentioned in the article is the one for the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves that was also partly shot in the area according to the Somerset County Gazette. The cast for The Winter King – other than Andrew Gower – has yet to be revealed.

The Winter King will debut in the UK on ITV’s new streaming platform ITVX (Source: Variety), possibly in late 2023 / early 2024.

The Winter King – Filming At Blaise Castle

Our Twitter spies are out and provide us with some set photos from filming The Winter King in and around Bristol. Production of the new adaption of the best-selling Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling book series Warlord Chronicles, currently takes place at Blaise Castle Estate and in the Redcliff area.

The 650 acre Grade II registered parkland surrounding the 18th century Blaise Castle is used to built two film sets: cluster of houses and animal pens amongst trees adjacent to woodland, named on plans as “Avalon Village”, plus a wooden tower with a “scaffold plinth” and “scaffold birdcage”.

We’ll update this article as soon as we find out more!

Flickr User Jeremy Fennell also shared some set photos on his photostream. You can find more pictures on the Bristol Live website.