‘Everything’s a cheat’ – The Fear actor

Filming The Fear on Brighton seafront Filming The Fear on Brighton seafront

It has been billed as a powerful drama which chronicles the criminal ganglands of Brighton.

But citizens of Brighton and Hove have been taking to Twitter and other social media to dissect the Channel 4 four-parter, and point out that large sections were filmed elsewhere.

Eagled-eyed viewers also complained that The Fear has not been faithful to the city’s geography.

During Monday and Tuesday night’s episode, characters played golf at Hollingbury Park, drove south along Grand Parade – before turning right into Edward Street – wandered through the streets of Hastings old town, and had an unpleasant experience at Birling Gap, Eastbourne.

The finale last night (December 6) saw the lead character drive to the West Pier on a contorted route – travelling east past Adelaide Cresent, west along Madeira drive and in both directions past Brunswick Terrace.

Scenes also appeared to have been shot in Bristol, Bath and London.

Cara Courage took to twitter to point out that a body which was supposed to be dumped was actually dropped from Marine Parade onto Madeira Drive.

Mixed locations

On The Argus’ website, one commentator wrote: “Did anyone notice the location mistake in the first episode?

Unicyclist “We see the main character nearly get run over by a unicyclist at the bandstand near West Pier heading towards Shoreham.

"Yet the next couple of shots are the limo passing the Palace Pier heading back to Shoreham then the main character beating up the unicyclist near the Concorde 2!”

The Fear chronicled the disintegration of the mind of Brighton crime boss, Richie Beckett. Pursuing his dream of rebuilding Brighton’s derelict West Pier, Beckett’s hard-earned respectability is threatened by two new enemies: an invading Albanian mafia and an aggressive form of early onset dementia.

Harry Lloyd, who plays son Matty Beckett, admitted some parts were filmed in Bristol and had seagull noises dubbed over. He said: “Everything’s a cheat – anything to cover up the cracks of the acting.”

In Sussex the show was shot in Adelaide Crescent, Madeira Drive, Palace Pier, West Pier, Warren Road, Bear Road, Racecourse, South Downs and Hollingbury Park Golf Club as well as Birling Gap in Eastbourne.

'Pleasing pier'

A spokesman for the show said: “The Fear is set among the criminal ganglands of Brighton, but filmed largely in Bristol and Bath. Additional scenes were shot in Bath’s Circle Private Hospital, Kingswood School and Red Rag art gallery.”

The show caused controversy earlier this year when it emerged the promotional video of the show, starring Richard E Grant, used Worthing Pier instead of the Palace Pier.

Guy Weller-Poley, locations manager for the show, said: “We chose Worthing because it is a more aesthetically pleasing pier than the Palace Pier.”

It is believed CGI will alter the background to make it look like Brighton.

 

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Comments(18)

Hove Actually says...
12:37pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Who cares it wasn't meant to a documentary, just a TV show and anyone who wants to can always switch off or watch some other rubbish like x factor or sad old bruce struggling to read the auto cue for his bad jokes

Daneboy1414 says...
12:39pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Why dont people stop moaning and just apprecaite it for what it is... Awesome

Euly says...
12:39pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Hove Actually wrote:
Who cares it wasn't meant to a documentary, just a TV show and anyone who wants to can always switch off or watch some other rubbish like x factor or sad old bruce struggling to read the auto cue for his bad jokes
Exactly who really cares is this news ???

Cyclic says...
12:40pm Fri 7 Dec 12

And?

It is a fictional drama!!!!

It all started when Robbie Coltraine drove into the little chef at Warninglid from the wrong direction in Mona Lisa.

Call the continuity police.

Gary Manilow says...
12:56pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Coltrane stayed there for 6 hours.

Neillo says...
12:56pm Fri 7 Dec 12

The Sopranos had similar location '' issues ''....so what ??

Number Six says...
1:02pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Cyclic wrote:
And?

It is a fictional drama!!!!

It all started when Robbie Coltraine drove into the little chef at Warninglid from the wrong direction in Mona Lisa.

Call the continuity police.
Ah yes. That was when Bob Oskins came down from London and went past Roedean

lordenglandofsussex says...
1:22pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Like all the mainstream media in general, it is just fiction and should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Ballroom Blitz says...
1:22pm Fri 7 Dec 12

It was a great drama that used iconic parts of Brighton to tell the story. It was beautifully filmed, and so what if some of it was filmed elsewhere?
There was an awful lot of Brighton in it, and it was a top adult drama.
What is there to complain about?
Doctor Who isn't really filmed in outer space or in a different time continuum! It's filmed in Wales.

rolivan says...
1:25pm Fri 7 Dec 12

I remember when I watched the film Oh What A Lovely War which was filmed around Sussex with Sheepcoote Valley used as a Battle Ground scene.What really got m attention was the piece showingn the Seafront from what was the West Pier and showing the Brand new Bedford Hotel which someone in the cutting room obviosly missed.Anyone remember Harvey Holford?

sussexguy says...
1:49pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Endless tiresome closeups of one eye, crass dialogue consisting mainly of the f word, totally unlikable characters and a dreary plot. So what difference does it make if the continuity was abysmal?

Tammy Flugh says...
3:06pm Fri 7 Dec 12

So? Midsomer Murders wasn't filmed in Midsomer either.

SmileyD says...
3:39pm Fri 7 Dec 12

or in Quadrophenia - when all the mods come charging out of East Street, turn right & appear in Marine Parade- tsk tsk!

paulbak2 says...
5:02pm Fri 7 Dec 12

Does it really matter! I have to say that this made for compulsive viewing in my house. Well acted, beautifully shot and in particular a stunning performance from Peter Mullan.

Ringmer Rich says...
5:23pm Fri 7 Dec 12

If a drama is shot in a location why does it have to be geographically correct, it's fiction isn't it?

Ballroom Blitz says...
6:16pm Fri 7 Dec 12

paulbak2 wrote:
Does it really matter! I have to say that this made for compulsive viewing in my house. Well acted, beautifully shot and in particular a stunning performance from Peter Mullan.
Exactly. Well said. Nice to see a proper adult drama instead of watered down for the masses dross.

pebble counter says...
10:49am Sat 8 Dec 12

I thought it was absolute *ollocks. The locations were mixed up but as everyone else says, that doesen't matter, they were taking advantage of Brighton's scenic beauty. What does matter is that the whole plot was really a modernised 'Of mice and men'. Also, the whole thing seemed only to last a couple of days. In the beginning, the main character was OK, within a couple of days, he had deteriorated to the point where he didn't know who anyone was. Realistic? No. Rubbish story, nice locations. Must have added a huge amount to the value of that beachfront house in Lancing though.

billy goat-gruff says...
11:47am Mon 10 Dec 12

King Lear, wasn't it? I love how in films, anybody going anywhere drives up and down Madeira Drive (cos it's easy to film there?). In Quadrophenia, the mods approched Brighton from Devil's Dyke! Great fun spotting the locations...

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