Saltaire: Film crews and actors spotted in historic village

Film crews and actors including Ralph Fiennes and Jim Broadbent are shooting scenes for a new film in a Yorkshire village.

Saltaire, near Bradford, has been transformed for the filming of The Choral, a period BBC production written by Leeds author Alan Bennett.

The Unesco World Heritage Site stands in for the fictional “Ramsden” in the film, which is set in 1916.

The production, directed by Nicholas Hytner, also features Sir Simon Russell Beale.

It tells the story of a community that has lost its male choristers to World War One.

The choirmaster instead recruits teenagers, who discover the joys of singing in the face of the boys’ imminent conscription into the armed forces.

One resident said the village was “buzzing” on Monday morning.

Several shopfronts in Victoria Road were given a vintage makeover for the filming, with one renamed Ramsden Post Office.

A synopsis on BBC Film, the feature filmmaking arm of the BBC, said The Choral “explores the humour and humanity at the heart of a community facing an uncertain future”.

Saltaire was built by industrialist Sir Titus Salt for workers at his textile mill in the 19th Century.

It has been used as a filming location for several other productions, including Netflix period drama The English Game and Agatha Christie adaptation The ABC Murders.

Leeds-born playwright Bennett’s other work includes The History Boys.