00:00Your sister seems happy. Yes. Sucked spirit is all too rare.
00:04Stepping into a world of romance, secrets and unrequited love.
00:10Jane Austen's iconic sense and sensibility brought to life here in Kent.
00:15Very, very hectic. More than 100 crew, up to 150.
00:19There were around 100 extras.
00:23There were dogs involved in it, there were children involved.
00:25It was a very active, joyous scene that they were filming here, which was this country hop dance.
00:31Cast and crew of the book's latest on-screen adaptation filled Penthurst Place last summer
00:37to film one of the two main dance scenes.
00:40Spending most of the filming days up in the Hall's minstrels gallery,
00:45Ben watched on as stars including Daisy Edgar-Jones, who plays Eleanor Dashwood,
00:50and George McKay, playing her love interest Edward Ferrars,
00:53dance their way across the Baron's Hall.
00:56We try very hard to blend into the background, which is difficult when you are a bit starstruck.
01:01But they were all delightful and we were very fortunate that only recently
01:06Daisy Edgar-Jones did say that one of her favourite scenes to shoot was actually the hop dance.
01:11During filming, the Baron's Hall was filled with acting royalty.
01:15But it's also no stranger to actual royalty.
01:19In fact, King Henry VIII himself owned Penthurst Place in the 1500s.
01:24He came to a big function here himself, hosted by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham,
01:29who for his sins had his head chopped off and Henry VIII assumed control of the estate for 30 years
01:35or so.
01:36It was certainly useful for him, as Anne Boleyn's family lived only four miles down the road at Hever Castle,
01:42so perhaps courtship was at the back of his mind as well.
01:45The hall was built in 1341, a few hundred years before Jane Austen's time.
01:51But Ben says transforming it was a relatively simple task,
01:55with the team just removing the hall's armour and pictures,
01:58alongside covering up some more modern additions like plug sockets.
02:03For now, the hall has been restored back to its usual medieval state,
02:07but there just might be some more transformations happening soon.
02:11It's a bit of a watch, this space.
02:13There are one or two things in the pipeline that would be lovely if they come off,
02:16but unfortunately, yes, we're bound by a code of silence.
02:19While Ben might be sworn to secrecy on what's next for the hall,
02:23the film's release marks the beginning of a new chapter for a timeless classic.
02:29Sophie Denny for KMTV in Tunbridge.
