The ITV drama was filmed in a variety of locations – some of which you might recognise.
After the Flood, a new ITV six-part mystery thriller from Mick Ford, looks at the fallout from a catastrophic deluge on Waterside, a town in Yorkshire – with more bad weather expected in the coming days.
Alongside that, a murder investigation gets underway when the body of a man is found in a lift in an underground carpark. Initially, it’s thought he’s a victim of the flood, but it quickly becomes clear that there’s far more to his death lurking beneath the surface.
“I found this picture of a town in Yorkshire, which was in a flash flood, and it was just this rage of water coming between houses,” said Ford of an image that inspired this particular story. “It was important to get that impact.
“We are talking about things that can’t be denied. Even though we can see all the news feeds from around the world, we still believe that we live in a certain world, that we can make plans. But with nature and flash floods, that is out the window.”
He added: “It doesn’t give a toss about you and what you have left is just the community and those around you.”
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Speaking about what came first, the body or the flood, Ford said: “The idea of a body found after a flood, but it has been dead from before the flood, was a good one. That was early on, so we then felt we could write about climate change.
“It’s great if you can write about important things, but if you are too worthy about it no one will make it. It must be just part of the fabric of the story.
“Once I’d got into the locked-room aspect, I found [a] story had happened to a couple in Tel Aviv in a hotel. They went down in the lift into a flash flood, which fused the electrics, and they drowned. I took that and then that fed into ‘so how did the body get there? Who put the body there?’”
Water and the surrounding scenery is a key part of this narrative, with filming taking place in a number of locations.
For more information about where the cast and crew pitched up for After the Flood, read on.
After the Flood filming locations
For the opening scene, in which a river bursts its banks, threatening to drown a baby, the cast and crew spent a week in Stockton-on-Tees. They were based at Tees Barrage White Water Centre, which lead Sophie Rundle described as “like being on a school trip”.
She explained that it’s “where they train all the emergency services”, adding: “There’s this water course and they have control of the speed and the scale of the water.”
As you’d expect, the physicality of the role proved a challenge.
“Filming days are long and they’re hard,” said Rundle. “I was totally knackered. I just took a lot of vitamins and then I went away to Spain at the end of it and drank a gallon of white wine.”
The cast and crew also spent time “in and around Manchester”, and a number of viewers will recognise Stockport’s historic Market Hall, which pops up in episode 4.
And some of the shooting took place on a set near a popular Manchester shopping destination.
“We’re over Barton Bridge and you can look down on the Trafford Centre,” said Nicholas Gleaves, who plays Sergeant Phil Mackie. “There is Manchester getting on with its business and in a part of the car park there is this kind of Hollywood set.
“Then we put our waders on and literally stepped into a gigantic, half a football pitch sized tank that was a terraced street in a Northern town. It had an effect on everyone. It was quite an experience to do it and I think the show will be much richer for it.”
The team also set up in Glossop, Derbyshire, which Gleaves described as a “beautiful town”.
“Any valley town I always adore them,” he added. “Just looking up and seeing hills and a beautiful square and a gorgeous river that runs through it.
“I’d never been there before but I’ll be sad if I never go back.”
After the Flood premieres on ITV1 and ITVX on Wednesday 10th January at 9pm. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what’s on.
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