Harsh Vardhan
Phil Dunning and his team are heading back to the banks of the River Tees soon! The filming of BBC’s ‘Smoggie Queens’ will start in Middlesbrough, England, this coming July. As reported earlier, Mark Benton and Alexandra Mardell star in this forthcoming series written by Dunning. Tom Kingsley and Nick Collett are on board as the directors. The show’s plot is under wraps but Benton will appear as a drag queen.
The project marks Dunning’s first major production as a writer. As an actor, he portrayed Andrew in Amazon Freevee/BBC’s ‘Boat Story,’ Frankie in the sitcom ‘The Other One,’ and Gavin in Hulu/BBC’s comedy-thriller ‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’
Benton’s recent roles include Barry Grossman in ‘The Devil Went Down to Islington,’ a horror comedy that unfolds over Halloween weekend, following an underachieving music teacher and his colleague who accidentally sell their souls to the devil for a brief stroke of good luck. He also featured in ‘Grantchester’ as Sam “Mac” MacKenzie and in the comedy film ‘Secrets of a Wallaby Boy’ as Roland. Additionally, he has appeared in shows such as ‘The Nevers’ and ‘Dodgers.’
Mardell portrayed Gaynor in ‘The Family Pile,’ a comedic exploration of four sisters navigating life after losing their parents as they pack up the family home. The actress is also known for her performance as Emma Brooker in ‘Coronation Street,’ the iconic British soap opera that delves into the lives of working-class individuals in Manchester. Additionally, she appeared in an episode of ‘Vera’ as Kelly Horton.
Kingsley’s recent directorial credits include an episode of the legendary science fiction series ‘Doctor Who’ and the satirical documentary ‘Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat,’ in which Gregg Wallace investigates a new lab-grown meat product as a potential solution to rising food prices. Kingsley helmed episodes of the miniseries ‘This Is Going to Hurt,’ starring Ben Whishaw, which offers a candid portrayal of the life of a junior doctor who balances the highs and lows of working in a labor ward. On the other hand, Collett directed seven episodes of BBC’s ‘Ghosts’ and six episodes of The CW’s ‘Everyone Else Burns.’
Middlesbrough and nearby regions previously hosted the shooting of the show’s pilot. Last year, Benton was spotted in elaborate drag attire near an ice cream van stationed in Hartlepool. Recent productions like ‘Baked Bean’ and ‘Parallel Lies’ were also shot in Middlesbrough.
Read More: Netflix’s The Seven Dials Mystery Begins Filming in Lincolnshire in the Summer
