'I fought tooth and nail to film in Somerset'

The director of new film Savage House said he "fought tooth and nail" to be able to film in Somerset.

The period drama, featuring Richard E Grant and Claire Foy, was shot on location at Montacute House near Yeovil in the south of the county.

Director and writer Peter Glands said the main location of the film, which is now in cinemas, was chosen after he had a "revelation" when he first saw it.

"I scouted dozens of houses and it wasn't until I saw Montacute that I saw Savage House. We fell in love with it," Glands told BBC Radio Somerset.

"It costs more to shoot there but it was worth every penny and I fought for it tooth and nail because it was just the perfect location."

Glands added he "loved it all and can't wait to go back" to Somerset.

The film was inspired by the US Capital riots on 6 January 2021, Glands said.

"I was trying to make sense of a mad world. The beauty of period films is it gives you a bit of distance and allows you to laugh at your reflection," he added.

Foy and Grant play the main characters in the film, a married couple living at Montacute House in the 18th Century.

Montacute House is a listed property which is looked after by the National Trust.

Gareth Parker, property operations manager at the property, was involved in the process and said it had been a "considerable logistical undertaking".

"One of the most memorable things from the filming of Savage House was working around an enormous heap of manure and rubbish just outside the door to the Old Kitchen. It looked so realistic that we expected to be able to smell it," Parker added.

Foy plays Lady Savage in the film, who is high born, but "falls in love with an absolute bounder", played by Grant.

"The thing about this film is it's absurdist," Foy added.

"At the time, the way people lives was quite extreme, you can sort of smell it.

"There was no personal hygiene, what people ate was nuts. That's reflected in the film."

It is not the first time that Montacute House has been used in TV and film productions.

It doubled as Cleveland, the Palmers' residence, in the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, and has featured in productions including The Libertine, Wolf Hall, and The Mirror & the Light.

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