The cast and crew of the new BBC comedy series ‘Blandings’ descended upon the tranquil setting of Crom Castle earlier this week to start filming.

Blandings, based on the celebrated stories by PG Wodehouse, will star Timothy Spall as the amiable and befuddled Lord Emsworth (Clarence to his friends), with Jennifer Saunders as his indomitable sister Connie.

The series is set in 1929, and will be filmed on location at Crom Castle, Co. Fermanagh with the support of Northern Ireland Screen.

Crom Castle stands on elevated parkland amidst an archipelago of wooded islands and peninsulae in tranquil Upper Lough Erne. Built for the Third Earl of Erne in the 1830s it was designed by the English architect Edward Blore who was responsible for sections of Buckingham Palace, and has been the home to the Crichton family, Earls of Erne for centuries.

The Earl of Erne and staff at Crom Castle are “honored” that Crom has been selected for such a pretigious production. Producers had originally viewed the Castle last June and fell in love with it and its surroundings.

Manager of Crom Castle, Noel Johnston, says “From a tourism point of view this is brilliant for Fermanagh…It takes a lot of money to keep the Castle going so to get something like this is a big boost, not just to us, but to the local area.”

A crew of 100+ have now arrived in Fermanagh and work has begun. With over 40 days scheduled for filming, the crew are staying at Crom but hope to make time to check the local area and all it has to offer. We hope they enjoy our beautiful County!