Trespasses is the new Channel 4 drama based on Louise Kennedy’s breakout debut novel and stars Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen and Gillian Anderson – but where was it filmed?
Trespasses, the brand new drama series, is set to air on Channel 4 starting Sunday, November 9. This four-part series, based on Louise Kennedy’s debut novel, features a star-studded cast including Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen and Gillian Anderson.
The narrative is a forbidden love story set against the backdrop of the Troubles. The series synopsis reveals: “Trespasses is the story of Cushla, a young Catholic schoolteacher whose life in 1975 Northern Ireland is shadowed by the Troubles. Amid curfews, bombings, and betrayals, she works nights in her family’s pub, serving both sides and British soldiers, when she meets and falls for Michael – an older, married Protestant barrister.
“Their affair is intoxicating and dangerous. Cushla’s world is full of defiant spirits: her drunk, sharp-tongued mother Gina, her lively pupils, and beloved colleague Gerry. As the forbidden love between Cushla and Michael deepens, violence looms and tensions rise. Cushla is pulled between duty and desire, family and freedom.”
Gillian Anderson as Gina in Channel 4’s Trespasses(Image: Channel 4)
Filming for Trespasses was carried out in Belfast during autumn last year. Producer Maria Mulhall spoke about the filming location, stating: “Belfast is an exceptional place to film.
“On a practical level, it offers an extraordinary variety of locations within easy reach. You can land at the airport and be on a beach, in a forest, a quarry, a train station or a studio in under twenty minutes.”, reports Belfast Live.
Lola, who portrays Cushla in the drama, praised the “fantastic” filming locations used across the region. They said: “A lot of the locations here in the North are absolutely stunning and beautiful.
“We shot in this house in Finaghy for three weeks and there was an incredible bakery, shout-out Coyle’s Bakery, where the women in the bakery kept us fed with lovely bowls of stew and tuna sandwiches, just little comforts like that. The people here… There’s nowhere like it in the world.”
Gillian, who stars as Gina and serves as executive producer on the programme, explained why Channel 4 audiences should tune in to Trespasses, describing it as a “beautifully shot quiet love story set against a real slice of Belfast life in the 70’s.”
Reflecting on her experience working in Northern Ireland, she continued: “I think it is the third or fourth time I’ve shot in Northern Ireland, I did a three season series called The Fall and also Robot Overlords. There was another show, but I’m too old to remember those things. I love filming in Northern Ireland, I love the people and feel very comfortable and at home.”
Novelist Louise also discussed a bar used on location, she said: “The first day I visited the set was quite early in the production timeline. They were on location in a bar in North Antrim. My family had a bar, and while it didn’t look exactly like ours, it looked like a bar from 1975… As if it was still trading. I wasn’t prepared for the level of detail the art department had gone to replicate things that were in the book. There was a Babycham fawn behind the counter, black and-white whiskey dogs – even the costumes and hairstyles were perfect. The cigarette smoke, the men hunched at the bar, the kids in the corner – it all felt incredibly authentic.”
