Episodes 3 and 4 of Ellis season 2 take DCI Ellis and DS Harper to the the fictional village of Elmsly – but where did filming take place in real life?
DS Harper and DCI Ellis return to Channel 5 as season 2 continues (Image: Channel 5)
Channel 5‘s hugely popular detective drama Ellis returned for season 2 earlier this month.
The new series, like the first season, follows Sharon D Clarke in her role as DCI Ellis and Andrew Gower’s DS Harper as they continue to crack cases across the north of England.
Season two returned on Tuesday, March 10, with episodes one and two and saw the team head to the fictional and tiny village of Ashenham, where the body of respected local businessman, Peter Barron, was discovered.
Episodes three and four will air on Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18, and will take the team to the fictional village of Elmsly after university student Abi Marshall is found crushed beneath fallen scaffolding at Quinn Artisan Stone – a construction firm and the area’s economic powerhouse.
Both the stone works and Elmsly feature in the episodes extensively, so many might be wondering where the scenes were actually shot. As fans of Ellis will know, while the drama is set in the north of England, it’s actually filmed in Northern Ireland.
Teasing the beautiful scenes yet to come, Sharon D Clarke, who plays DCI Ellis, said: “We have more great locations coming up. That’s the beautiful thing about the show: it’s location-based, so you’re not in the same police station every week with the same colleagues. You get out and about and you see different people, and such beautiful, lovely creative talent have joined the Ellis family this year.”
The village of Elmsly was actually shot across two villages, Downpatrick and Drumaness.
Said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick, Channel 5 shot its police station scenes and the Quinn family home in Downpatrick, thanks to the village’s stunning Georgian brick buildings.
Meanwhile, Drumaness, which is a historical mill village, is where the broadcaster filmed Abi Marshall’s house and her memorial.
The stone works that feature in the penultimate episode, fictionally known as Quinn Heritage Stone, were filmed at a family run building supplies company on the outskirts of Belfast.
Speaking about filming in Northern Ireland, Andrew said: “It’s special. The landscape is amazing. It gives you everything you need. You’ve got the hills, the beaches, the industry, so it’s an amazing experience. I had never filmed in Northern Ireland or even been here before series one so it was a great experience for me to get to know not only the amazing infrastructure that they have for filming, but also to get to know Belfast and the beautiful landscapes of Northern Ireland.”
He added: “We’ve got a lot to be proud of when it comes to our scenery, and Northern Ireland really offers that. It gives each episode a real backdrop and palette to play with.”
Ellis S2 continuies Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18 at 9pm on 5.
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