Pop and Ma Larkin are making a very welcome return to our screens, 30 years after the charming family were last seen on our screens.
Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan will be playing the titular couple in The Larkins, a reboot of ’90s ITV classic The Darling Buds Of May.
As in the original series, the Larkins will once again reside from Kent, running their own farm in the countryside – but did the show actually film in the county known as “the Garden of England”?
Read on for everything you need to know about filming locations for The Larkins – hopefully it won’t ruin the illusion.
Was The Larkins filmed in Kent?
Yes! Given the rural Kent backdrop was just as much a key part of the show as the Larkins themselves, the show could hardly neglect the Southern county.
However, the show did not reuse Buss Farm in Pluckley, which was of course the iconic home farm used in the original Darling Buds of May – instead the series was filmed on a different Kent farm, which has not been identified.
Production then moved to the surrounding areas of Kent for scenes that were not farm-related, including the villages of Underriver, Eynsford and West Peckham.
Filming received quite a bit of attention in Faversham, where the shops in the town’s Market Place were given a retro 1950s makeover, while Walsh was also spotted in costume at Walpole Bay Hotel in Broadstairs.
Executive producer Sophie Clarke-Jervoise said: “We wanted it to be in Kent because the novels are set in Kent. We wanted these lovely rolling hills, farms in the background, it’s just gorgeous, we’ve been so lucky.
She added: “We did look at other locations options but we just kept coming back to Kent because it has that authenticity of the novels.”
Star Bradley Walsh agreed, saying: “The joy of shooting here in Kent is the fact that this is where the books took place, so you get an infinity with it and you get a real feel for it. I think the farm we’re working on has a good couple of hundred, three hundred acres maybe, it’s beautiful.
“The interiors are the true inside of the farmhouse, it’s so lovely.”
However while filming did mostly take place in Kent, production did also occur in London and Surrey. Film crews spotted at Flanchford Farm in Reigate in April 2021 were widely thought to be for the Darling Buds of May reboot, while filming also took place at a nearby primary school in Betchworth.
The Larkins premieres on ITV at 9pm on Sunday 10th October. For more take a look at our other Drama coverage, or check out our TV guide to find out what’s on TV tonight.