Portsoy plays a blinder
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PORTSOY is back to being itself this week after the filming of a hit gangster drama in the village was closely followed on social media by the show's legions of fans around the globe.
The production crew of the BBC's Peaky Blinders had transformed the harbour into a French port for the shoot last week at the UK filming hotspot.
Director Anthony Byrne thanked locals who helped make the shoot possible.
He tweeted as the crew packed up: "Portsoy, you've been amazing.
"A huge thanks to the people who welcomed us and let us take over their town for a week.
"It's been an absolute joy.
"I can’t wait for you all to see what we've done."
The filming was carried out under strict Covid-19 restrictions, with closed sets, roads out of bounds and the public urged not to gather.
Cullen's Seafield Arms Hotel and Portsoy's Durn House and Station Hotel looked after cast and crew for the week.
And two film crew members – along with a canary named Peaky – were later among 30 people who had to be put up for the night in Huntly after drifting snow made the A96 impassable on Saturday.
Local councillors were delighted that Portsoy will feature on screen once again after the village was the main location for the remake of the 1949 film Whisky Galore in 2015, and was a backdrop for scenes in the thriller Repression in 2018.
However, one local councillor suggested Aberdeenshire Council review its charges for location usage given the area's popularity among film-makers.
Banff and District SNP councillor Glen Reynolds said: "The north-east coast of Scotland is home to some of the world’s most beautiful and scenic landscapes, along with iconic landmarks and historic buildings.
"It is hardly a surprise that directors and writers aspire to showcase these locations in their own films and TV shows, and whilst this can have advantages and disadvantages, these projects can only be seen as a benefit to the local economy in the long term if not the short.
"Tourism and hospitality are key sectors, and Peaky Blinders is the latest to take advantage of what we have to offer, albeit in the most horrendous of Covid circumstances.
"But locals do not want to be living in a constant film set, with the necessary disruption that causes, in and out of Covid. Ultimately the local community must benefit from these events."
Cllr Reynolds added: "I would ask that in light of the increased popularity, the council reviews its charges when it decided to introduce a £300-per-day charge at all seven of its harbours for location and facility usage.
"That has to be seen as nominal when you consider the disruption to locals and the huge effort by council staff and volunteers to preserve and maintain these stunning locations."
Councillor John Cox (Aligned Independent) said the north-east could not put a monetary value on the benefits to be gained from such TV and film projects, pointing out that the area still reaps rewards decades on from the filming of 1983 movie Local Hero in Pennan.
Cllr Cox said: "This will leave a tremendous legacy for the north-east.
"It's an amazing setting offering wonderful hospitality, and local people are generally delighted to see events like this taking place in the area.
"I look forward, as Covid-19 restrictions eventually ease, to seeing more and more productions taking advantage of our beautiful coastline and fairytale castles."
Peaky Blinders is set in inter-war Birmingham and stars Cillian Murphy as the troubled Tommy Shelby, a powerful member of the Shelby crime family.
Filming of the sixth series marks the end of the epic story, with the fifth series in 2019 drawing in audiences of over seven million.
The Peaky Blinders cast and crew left Portsoy bound for Manchester for the next phase of filming.
