A NEW drama series starring Colin Farrell which was partly filmed in Basingstoke is being shown on BBC 2.

The first episode of The North Water aired on Friday evening, with the series telling the story of whaling ship the Volunteer and its work in the Arctic during the late 1850s.

Production began in 2019 with filming taking place in the Arctic on the frozen seas north of the Svalbard Archipelago in Norway.

The cast and crew are reported to have travelled as far as 81 degrees north for filming, thought to be the furthest point north a drama series has ever filmed.

In 2020, filming had to be paused in Budapest, Hungary, because of the Covid pandemic.

Production then resumed at Black Hangar Studios in Lasham, near Basingstoke, where the team reportedly completed the final four days of shooting.

Black Hangar Studios features one of the largest stages in the UK of 32,000 square foot and has the UK’s largest permanent green screen.

It has been home to a variety of film and television productions including Star Wars: Rogue One, Dumbo, and Top Gear.

The North Water is the latest television show to be filmed there, and is based on the acclaimed novel by Ian McGuire, telling the story of Patrick Sumner (played by Jack O’Connell), a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as a ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic.

The show, which also stars Stephen Graham, follows Sumner on his ill-fated journey in search of redemption, which becomes a harsh struggle for survival in the Arctic wasteland.

The five-part series will be shown weekly on BBC2 on Fridays at 9.30pm.