Dewsbury landmark to star in new ITV drama Eternal Law

Kirklees Council’s Richard Batterby, who promotes the district’s town halls as locations, said the three days of filming had created a real buzz.

“It’s really exciting,” he said. “It’s adding something a bit different to what normally goes on in the town hall. We had the Northern Sinfonia in on Friday as well which meant a bit of juggling.”

Locations used by the film crew included corridors, foyers and the courtroom.

Mr Batterby said: “They were using the rooms that aren’t always used, particularly the courtroom which is very popular with film and TV crews.

“It’s listed so it’s got all the original benches and docks, the stairs down to the cells and the viewing galleries. It’s not been in regular use since the early 1980s.

“They also used some of our corridors and foyers as well.”

Due to air in 2012, Eternal Law follows two angels sent to earth who take up jobs as lawyers so that they can teach humans to understand the consequences of their actions.

It stars Samuel West (Iris, Any Human Heart) and Ukweli Roach (Streetdance 3D, Romeo and Juliet) as angels Zak and Tom, alongside Orla Brady (Mistresses), Hattie Morahan (Lark Rise to Candleford) and Tobias Menzies (Rome).

The crews from Monastic and Kudos are the fourth to visit the town hall in the past 18 months.

Other shows which have made use of the town hall’s imposing rooms are BBC1’s Five Days, BBC Four’s Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen and the broadcaster’s flagship political show Question Time.

The increase in the venue’s popularity is the result of close work between Kirklees Council and Screen Yorkshire.

Mr Batterby said: “We’ve been working a lot with Screen Yorkshire who are based in Leeds and promote the region as a film location.

“It brings income into the town halls and raises the profile of the venues, but it’s good for Dewsbury as well.

“We had 60 or 70 cast and crew here for three days of filming.

“All that time they’re parking in the town, staying in local hotels and spending money in the town’s shops.”