Ripon Cathedral becomes Westminster Abbey for a day
Ripon Cathedral will feature in the second series of the flagship ITV period drama Victoria which stars Jenna Coleman, Rufus Sewell and Tom Hughes.
Filming has taken place at the Cathedral this week with a location unit spending three days in Ripon, one day to get in and ‘dress the set’, one day filming and one day to return everything back to normal. The Cathedral’s south nave aisle and north quire aisle were used to depict Westminster Abbey and Hall for the next series, expected to be broadcast in Autumn 2017.
Welcoming cast and crew into the building was the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, who said, “Ripon Cathedral has been transported back in time by about 160 years and moved south by 230 miles!
“We are thoroughly enjoying hosting the filming of Victoria, serving as Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. People are welcome to come and see where it has all been happening.”
The second series - once again written by creator and executive producer Daisy Goodwin – sees Queen Victoria face the new challenge of motherhood.
Locations include not only Westminster Abbey and Hall, but of course Buckingham Palace, as well as France and Germany, as the series touches on tragedy in Ireland and war in Afghanistan, and see Victoria and Albert discovering sanctuary in the Isle of Wight.
The first series of the drama was ITV’s highest rating drama of 2016, receiving critical acclaim and a consolidated average of 7.7m viewers with a 29% share. It has been sold in 350 territories worldwide.