ITV film crews set up base in a Dorchester car park as they film for a brand-new drama.
It is understood that the filming which saw Wollaston Field car park, off Charles Street shut for two days from Friday, October 27, was for the four-part drama Ruth.
Ruth, starring Lucy Boynton is set in 1955, and follows the life of Ruth Ellis, Britain’s last woman to hang, told over two parallel timelines.
Filming for the drama took place in Dorchester Prison and the ‘B Wing Hanging Shed’ was completely closed for filming with one of the cells being labelled ‘Ruth’s cell.’
Dorset Council announced that Wollaston Field car park would close as the production company used the car park as its base, however, remained tight lipped about what the filming was for.
A spokesperson for the council said: “We can’t spill the beans as to what they’re filming, but please seek alternative parking if you are in Dorchester during that time.”
Plenty of production vehicles, motorhomes and security were seen in the car park as Silverprint Pictures (the production company) made it their home for a couple of days.
The drama depicts Ruth’s entry into a dizzying upper class London world that promises so much, but ultimately delivers treachery.
It follows her glamorous lifestyle as a young nightclub manageress, her abusive relationship with the man she later gunned down in cold blood, her arrest, trial and the subsequent legal fight to reprieve her before she was hanged by infamous hangman, Albert Pierrepoint, in Holloway Prison, aged just 28.
It is also believed that Disney + were filming in the prison just weeks ago for the production for a new 10-part drama titled Say Nothing, which is set to hit the streaming service next year.
Say Nothing is based on a book by the same name written by Patrick Radden Keefe, detailing the life and death of Jean McConville, who was abducted and murdered by the IRA in 1972.
HMP Dorchester was a local men’s prison built in the 1800’s and was formally closed in 2014
The prison which housed criminals, murderers and even held public executions is now a popular filming location for shows like Luther, Enola Holmes 2, and The Gold.
Equally, it is believed that the site may be haunted and is also used for ghost tours.
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