Fire up the Quattro in Belfast

I found myself in an industrial estate down by the Belfast docks today. On a film set. "Undisclosed", billed as a four part conspiracy thriller is currently being made for the BBC. It's been written by Belfast born writer Ronan Bennett and stars David Suchet, (Poirot) Philip Glenister (Ashes to Ashes) and Thekla Reuten (The American, In Bruges).

Inside one of the warehouses, behind an area cordoned off with black curtains, was a green screen. This was being set up, I was told, for a driving scene. A Volvo was slowly driven up a ramp and into the area. Cameras were being set up and it all looked very technical and mysterious. The green screen looked strangely dull, a bit flat, but everyone from Hollywood blockbusters to the weather people use it to magically create somewhere else.

People were flitting around me, Maggie Taggart arrived for the tv news and as she chatted camera set ups to the PR girl, I see Richard Dormer. The brilliant local actor, star of "Hurricane", is in the film too. He introduced me to Philip Glenister. Now, this is where it all gets a bit fuzzy as I am a bit of a DI Gene Hunt fan. I kind of liked the unreconstructed macho man of "Life on Mars" and "Ashes to Ashes". I feel I am staring. A bit too much. I am not listening to Richard anymore. I hear myself say "I'm so excited to be on an actual film set" and then Phil Glenister speaks "It's only a bloody warehouse"! Bubble burst. Pure Gene Hunt. And off he goes to fire up the Volvo.