Lynley on BBC One: The detective drama is set in and around Norfolk, but a totally different filming location was used
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Lynley, BBC One’s new detective drama, has some seriously stunning backdrops, with cast and crew visiting some of the UK’s most beautiful filming locations.
The new crime series is based on the bestselling books by Elizabeth George. They were famously set in and around the UK – including locations like Cornwall, Lancashire, and London.
However, the BBC One has now transported DI Thomas Lynley and DS Barbara Havers to Norfolk. In fact, their police department is based in Norwich. Or, should we say, it’s supposed to be.
In fact, the four-part crime drama was filmed somewhere else entirely. So here’s everything you need to know about the Lynley filming locations.
Where is the BBC One detective drama set?
While the Elizabeth George books were primarily set in London, the detectives famously travelled across the UK. The stories saw DI Lynley and DS Havers investigate crimes in the Yorkshire Moors, South Lakeland, and Cornwall.
Meanwhile, the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries, starring Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small, was filmed across London, Cornwall, Suffolk, and Kent. Exteriors for their HQ were filmed in Bircham Dyson Bell in London.
However, the new BBC One reboot has set the drama in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire.
The Beeb tells us: “Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley is assigned to the Three Counties Major Investigation Team which investigates crimes throughout Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. In his new job, Lynley not only has to navigate his differences with his new partner, the blunt and outspoken Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, but he also must face an old nemesis from his days in the Metropolitan Police – his superior officer, Chief Inspector Nies.”
Over the course of the series, Lynley and Havers’ investigations will take them from grandiose manors on estuary islands to the small communities nestled within the Norfolk Broads. But cast and crew didn’t actually film anywhere near Norfolk…
Where was Lynley filmed?
The crime drama was actually filmed in Ireland in the late summer of 2024. Specifically in and around Dublin.
Cast and crew filmed in Ireland’s capital, as well as Wicklow Mountains. Leading actor Leo Suter, who plays DI Lynley in the cast, told Precinct TV: “That’s the magic of movies. It’s set in East Anglia, and there are some little moments where we pop up in Cambridge and London. But we actually filmed it in Dublin and the environs, beyond the pale, in the Wicklow Mountains, which are stunning and beautiful.
“So, I really enjoyed that, and Ireland was such a wonderful place to film. We did get some footage of the countryside, but we were not there.”
Meanwhile, Barbara Havers star Sofia Barclay added: “But what is great is that the gorgeousness of the countryside is really shown. I think director Ed Bazalgette really did an amazing job of showcasing the British countryside element and highlighting that in the field. It’s just really fun because there are amazing scenes with Leo running in ditches and getting wet.”
What filming locations were used in Lynley?
Other filming locations used in Lynley included Mallow Castle, a National Monument in state guardianship. The historic fortified house can be found in County Cork, Ireland, and dates back to the 1500s.
Filming also took place on the Thames Estuary, and episode 1 sees the detective duo visit London. As they investigate the mysterious death of a Roman scholar, they can be seen with the majestic backdrop of London’s Thames, including the Shard, and the infamous Gherkin.
Are Salcott Island and Fakenham real places?
Throughout Lynley series 1, the two detectives investigate crimes in places such as Salcott Island (episode one), and Fakenham (episode two).
Both Salcott Island and Fakenham are real places. But the BBC One did not film there. Salcott Island is a small tidal island in the Blackwater Estuary, Essex. It’s known for its salt marshes, and history of smuggling. The island is largely submerged at high spring tides.
Meanwhile, Fakenham is a market town in Norfolk. You can find it on the River Wensum, about 25 miles north-west of Norwich.
Lynley filming locations: ‘I found that coat in a small shop in Dublin’
Talking about the filming locations for Lynley, Lynley actor Leo Suter revealed an unexpected highlight of filming in the Irish capital of Dublin.
Talking about Lynley’s upper-class upbringing, including his tailor-made suits, he told us: “There are definitely some perks for me as an actor getting to play Inspector Lynley. Getting to drive the Jensen Interceptor was most certainly a highlight. There was one sequence where I got to skid across a gravel drive, which felt very exhilarating.
“And the process of finding the right tweed jacket for The Inspector was very special. I actually found that coat for myself in a small shop in Dublin. Our director (Ed Bazelgette) loved the coat so much that he got the costume department to go buy the rest of their stock and that became Inspector Lynley’s jacket!”
Lynley filming locations: ‘Why hasn’t anyone got a local accent?
Of course, come canny viewers were quick to pick up on the fact that Lynley’s filming locations did not include Norfolk, where it’s set.
One said: “If it’s in Norfolk, why hasn’t anyone got a local accent? #Lynley.”
Another said: “The new series on BBC One [called] Lynley is set in Cambridge and East Anglia [but] was actually filmed in Dublin Wicklow mountains and Mallow Castle. Watch the scenery.”
A third jibed: “The new version of #Lynley seemed very multicultural for Norfolk.”
“The best thing about #Lynley was the beautiful scenery,” stated another.
If there are any Cooper & Fry fans among you, you’ll know that the Channel 5 detective series was set in the Peak District in Derbyshire. But, like Lynley, it was filmed in Ireland. Which basically meant a lot of Irish actors pretending to be from somewhere else with varying success!
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