A pub based on the edge of Bristol is being used as a location for a new drama series based on a best-selling Jilly Cooper novel. ITV Studios is filming at The Battleaxes in Wraxall - which closed at the start of lockdown - for filming of Rivals.
The drama is set in the mid-1980’s in the fictional county of Rutshire in the Cotswolds and is set amongst the lives of rich, upper-class British people vying for the franchise of the local television station. Within the story, staff and friends of the television franchise meet to socialise and network in a local Rutshire restaurant - aka The Battleaxes, reports Somerset Live.
Filming crews are expected to be based at the pub between April and September. The eight-episode drama has been commissioned by Disney + and will be produced by Happy Prince which is part of ITV Studios.
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In the fictional upper-class county of Rutshire, a long-standing rivalry between two powerful men is about to boil over: ex-Olympian, member of parliament, and notorious womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black, and his Rutshire neighbour Tony Baddingham, controller of the independent TV franchise Corinium Television.
As tensions rise and rivalries deepen, there are spilled secrets, forged alliances, and snatched liaisons that draw wives, lovers, colleagues, friends, and families into their battle. Rivals is a joyously mischievous rollercoaster ride, steamy in its love stories and packed with larger-than-life characters.
Rivals author Jilly Cooper said: “I am so, so excited. Throughout my childhood, my favourite word was ‘Disney’, and by a miraculous coincidence, greater-than-ever Disney are joining forces with an utterly brilliant drama company, Happy Prince, to turn my novel into a TV series.
"I know they will bring the boardroom battles and love triangles of my characters to life – particularly those of my devastatingly handsome hero.” The use of the site for filming comes at the same time as plans are being drawn up to redevelop the pub site.
Development company Studio Hive - also behind plans to build a new medical centre on the grounds of Weston-super-Mare Rugby Club - want to turn the former pub into a mixed use development. Early visions for the site include retaining the eight guest bedrooms as B&B accommodation and using parts of the building for offices. The plans also include introducing a farm shop and cafe and bar area within the main building.
Existing barns on the site could be used for smaller businesses. Ideas also include building a new office building on the car park. A small number of homes - around half a dozen - would also be built on the car park. Bosses at Studio Hive have already held talks with North Somerset Council planners and detailed surveys of the site have been carried out.
Studio Hive would also base its offices at The Battleaxes as part of the redevelopment plans, which would see the main building - built in 1838 - restored and retained. A planning application is expected later this year.
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