Brit Movie Tours is obviously interested in everything that is British, however I’ve noticed that a lot of my time and attention seems to focus around the main tourist hot-spots in Britain. As a tour company, this makes a lot of sense, but it seems unfair to the rest of the country, so I’ve been looking at other places that Britain has to offer.
One county that has become more and more prominent in recent years is Essex. Billericay, Essex is the home of Gavin, Mick, Pam and Smithy in Gavin and Stacey, and recently Brentwood, Essex has become an unlikely tourist attraction for fans of the BAFTA award-winning show The Only Way is Essex. So what is it about this county that has got us talking about it? After all, this is the county where brides ‘totter down the aisle in a mini skirt and white stilettos’ to quote Stacey’s Mum in Gavin and Stacey. Or is it?
Although it is only recently that Essex has started making a name for itself, it has produced some very well known names in the past. St Trinians actor Russell Brand is an Essex boy, as is Russell Tovey from Being Human. Would it surprise you though to find out that some of the cast from the much loved Downton Abbey are actually Essex girls? The great Maggie Smith who plays Dowager Countess of Grantham and the elegant Michelle Dockery who plays Lady Mary Crawley are in fact Essex girls!
It seems that with the help of some fantastic TV series and amazing actors, Essex is grabbing our attention and becoming one of Britain’s TV tourism hot-spots!
