BERGERAC is back, with the cast and crew for season two filming in Jersey from this week.
The first series of the rebooted crime drama attracted 2.4m viewers across its six episodes – which were considered very good figures in TV industry terms and more than enough for broadcaster UKTV to commission a second outing.
Damien Molony, who plays the brilliant yet troubled detective Jim Bergerac, was among the cast members to film in Jersey this week for the first of two blocks of shooting.
Bergerac is based on the original series created by Robert Banks Stewart, starring John Nettles and running for nine series on the BBC between 1981 and 1991.
Unlike the original hit from the 80s, the new reboot sees one character-led murder mystery run across all six episodes, in place of a new storyline each episode.
Filming began on Monday in St Brelade’s Bay and will involve a number of locations around the Island, including the Havre des Pas bathing pool.
In the first series, viewers discovered that Bergerac was struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife.
The second series sees him starting to put his life back together, while his mother-in-law Charlie Hungerford, played by Zoë Wanamaker, has a new man in her life.
Bergerac is even tentatively dating, with the encouragement of his daughter Kim, played by Chloe Sweetlove. However, he then meets Nicola (Camilla Beeput), a visitor to Jersey, and they connect.
But before the relationship even has time to blossom, Jim is pulled back into his next big case. When the groom at a wedding reception on the island is found murdered in his hotel room, the wedding party comes under intense suspicion and scrutiny.
Executive producer Brian Constantine, the former ITV Channel news reader who was instrumental in getting the reboot commissioned, said he was delighted that the new Bergerac was back.
He said: “I’ve always said that I never got into this business for just one season so I was thrilled when a second season was commissioned.
“Artistically, the first season is always tricky because you have to establish your characters very quickly, and Bergerac is very layered, very complex. You have one shot of getting that across.
“Toby Whithouse has written a very knotty and dramatic storyline and director Josh Agnew, who is leading on this first block of shooting, is brilliant at making that come alive.
“We’ve taken on feedback; people wanted to see more of Jersey, so the Island is very much at the forefront in season two.
“St Brelade’s beach looked fantastic this week and there will be many more beautiful coastal shots in the series.”
Mr Constantine added: “I’m incredibly excited that more people are involved in this series, including 30 supporting artists and eight trainees; it’s great that so many Islanders want to be involved.
“We also have local security firms, caterers, drivers and other professions all coming together to make Bergerac season two a reality.
“I’m incredibly proud; it’s been a long journey of almost a decade, with a pandemic thrown into the middle, but I’m thrilled that it has now fallen into place.”
Filming will continue throughout September and crews will also shoot in Plymouth, where there is a fixed set in place.
Mr Constantine said that having a separate location for interior shots was normal in the industry and helped to keep costs down.
