Sky producers say cast and crew are set to descend on East Lancashire as filming for Brassic season five commences.
Filming for the BAFTA-nominated series started at the end of August and viewers can expect more of the eccentric plans and hi-jinks from the Brassic gang that includes Vinnie, Erin, Tommo, Ashley, JJ, Cardi, Carol, Sugar, farmer Jim and Dr Chris.
While cast and crew are yet to be spotted in the county, Sky producers say they will return to Bacup, and many of the “same areas as previous series”, before the fifth season airs next year.
Bacup doubles as the backdrop to the series, the fictional town of Hawley, and the cast of Brassic have said they can’t wait to return to the Lancashire town.
Michelle Keegan, who plays Erin Croft, said she enjoys filming in the town.
She said: “Everyone is so lovely there.
“When we are filming up there, so many people are watching on the streets and with a pub that we film in, there's a sweet shop next door. Every time I'm in there, I go to the sweet shop and the lady always gives me a free bag of sweets.
“It's just a really friendly community there and because it's a small community I think as soon as they get wind that we're filming there, everyone just wants to come out and get involved and see it, see the crew and say hello.
“So it's a really nice place to film.”
Damien Molony, who plays Dylan, says he is “blown away” by the reaction from locals when they film in the area.
He said: “We love going back there.
“There's been so many iconic scenes on the streets of Bacup and all around the north west, whether it's Blackburn, or Bolton, or inner city Manchester.
“That's the great thing about this show for us is that every day we're in a different part of the country.
“I'm constantly blown away by how much people love the gang in Brassic, and so much so that they want to go and do a tour of the north west to follow our trail from around Manchester and the surrounding area.
“I think we need to organise a Brassic pub crawl taking in all the locations.”
Tom Hanson, who plays Cardi, says he is “more famous in Bacup than anywhere else in the world” and had high praise for the Forest of Bowland.
He said: “The north of England is so beautiful - I just love it. Especially if we get a sunny day and we are up the side of a mountain in Lancashire or Yorkshire.
“We did some stuff in the Forest of Bowland. It's stunning, and it's so rugged and unforgiving and beautiful. I love being up there.”
He said school children in Bacup are eager to talk to cast during filming.
Tom said: “The kids get out of school and then they want to come and film with us. But it's mad. It's like we're the Beatles.
“It feels really lovely that they kind of trust us with making the little of corner of the world look good. And the occasional pasty shop will give us some free pasties. There’s quite a lot of little local independent shops, like the cupcake shop. So, it suits me.”
Joanna Higgson plays Sugar and says locals are happy to see them during filming.
She said: “It's nice because they really like having us there. It's not like you've gone somewhere and you're kind of annoying everybody by closing roads and they're shouting abuse at you and stuff.
“They're really happy to see us when we're there, and that's lovely because you're sort of getting that instant feedback from the show and from your character.
“It's almost the closest thing, when you do television, to any kind of live performance because you're there and they are actually watching what you're doing as you're filming.”
Brassic is a comedy-drama television series which follows the lives of Vinnie O'Neill, played by Chorley actor Joe Gilgun, and his friends as they find unconventional ways to win at life in their northern home town.
Brassic season four, which was also filmed in East Lancashire, will return to our screens on Wednesday, September 7.
READ MORE: Brassic season four: Sky series filmed in Accrington set to air next week
In January, camera crews and the star-studded cast were spotted in Rising Bridge.
At the end of October 2021 pictures also emerged of the cast in Church Street.
The team have regularly been spotted filming in East Lancashire locations such as Tockholes, Bacup, in previous years.
Series four follows Vinnie as he tracks down Erin (Keegan), who fled Hawley at the end of the last series to escape dangerous criminal Terence McCann.
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