Wirksworth in lead role

Wirksworth had a starring role in a tense new drama shown on ITV last night.

In ITV's latest drama Premiere, Mobile, the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in Wirksworth forms part of the programme's dramatic conclusion.

The series involves the global mobile phone business in the context of the Iraq war and tells the stories of several characters in three feature-length episodes.

ITV chose the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway because it could offer an up-to-date InterCity train in an environment that is highly-suited to the requirements of the film and television industry.

Andy Morgan, Granada's production director said: "What surprised us was the sheer professionalism of the setup at Wirksworth.

"WyvernRail were able to provide us with a high-quality train for several days and gave us the freedom to operate to the standards we require to produce a series of this magnitude" he added.

Extensive temporary modifications were made to the railway's former Gatwick Express train which was re-branded for the duration of the filming.

This is the second time that the railway's modern rolling stock has been used for filming.

In 2004, Darlow Smithson productions filmed scenes for the National Geographic documentary series Seconds from Disaster, where a German high speed ICE unit was depicted.

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-20 01:22:30